From Fox News · Stephanie Giang-Paunon · · 1m 40s
Tom Cruise owns his intense reputation
Cruise says the set rumors are true, and he sees that pressure as part of how he works, learns and makes movies.
In brief
Cruise says the set rumors are true, and he sees that pressure as part of how he works, learns and makes movies. Cruise treats intensity as a working method, not a persona, and expects collaborators to know that before they join him. Originally reported by Fox News.
The rumors are true
Tom Cruise confirmed his reputation for being demanding on set. He said he warns collaborators from the start about the pace and standards he brings.
“The rumors are true. And do you want this?”
Intensity came early
Cruise said this was not a movie-star act. Even as a kid, people called him intense, and he now treats that trait with humor.
“I don't know what to say. I am intense”
Curiosity drives it
For Cruise, the pressure comes from wanting to learn things deeply. When a subject grabs him, he wants to understand it and build real ability.
“When I'm interested in something, I want to learn it.”
Cinema means a crowd
Cruise said he respects TV, cable and Netflix, but he still prizes movie theaters. What matters to him is people sharing one experience in the same room.
“What I like about cinema is it is all of us coming together in a room”
Preparation never stops
When he is away from a set, Cruise said he is studying for the next one. Some films begin for him years before cameras roll.
“I'm always studying something. I'm always learning something, always.”
Stunts fit his worldview
Cruise has ridden motorcycles off cliffs and hung from aircraft. He described that appetite for risk as part of how he sees life, physically and mentally.
“I like standing on the edge of a cliff physically and metaphorically”
Movies connect people
Cruise said filming around the world lets him know people more deeply than tourism would. He is looking for shared ground across different lives and cultures.
“I'm looking for that common ground.”
Next up, Digger
Cruise will bring that energy to Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Digger, playing oil magnate Digger Rockwell as an $18 trillion disaster looms.
“humanity's hero before the disaster he's unleashed destroys everything”
The main idea
Cruise treats intensity as a working method, not a persona, and expects collaborators to know that before they join him.
