There certainly has not been a shortage of stories aboutTom Cruisethat have been reported on over the years, though there’s one that stands out as the weirdest for the actor. As of now, the release of Cruise’s newest movie,Mission: Impossible - Deda Reckoning Part One, is imminent. Ahead of the premiere, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie spoke withThe Timesto help promote the film. During the conversation, McQuarrie revealed how when he first met Cruise, he asked the actor to tell him the “weirdest story you’ve heard about yourself.“To that, Cruise laughed and shared how the greatest myth about his is that people on movie sets “were not allowed to look me in the eye.” That’s a rumor that goes back many years, with claims that Cruise would forbid eye contact on the sets of films likeMagnoliaandThe Last Samurai. In any case, it hasn’t come up often in more recent years, given the personable reputation Cruise has since developed, which includes having dance-offs with the cast and crew on movie sets.
An exception may be when Cruise had warned a crew member that they’d be fired if they continued to violate strict safety protocols that were put in place while filmingMission: Impossible 7during the pandemic. Whilehaving the interaction recordedwasn’t Cruise’s best moment, the actor had actually gotten a lot of support at the time because of how seriously he was taking the production’s safety measures. As hisMission: Impossibleco-star Simon Pegg now adds to The Times, there was alotat stake with the production, providing some further context to the situation.
“Everything that Tom cares about, in terms of his job, was at stake due to the pandemic,” Pegg says. “For him there was a danger this virus could wipe cinema off the face of this earth.”
Related:Mission: Impossible 7 Rises as Tom Cruise’s Highest-Rated Film on Rotten Tomatoes
Tom Cruise Says That Eye Contact With Him Is Just Fine
Cruise has also been described as someone who enjoys interacting with fans. In a Jimmy Kimmel interview, Cruise spoke about how he’s so often taking pictures, signing autographs, and conversing with people who approach him - certainly not typical behavior for someone who’s rumored to abhor eye contact. Even Kimmel remarked how he’s personally seen Cruise stopping for a “group of 500 people out back of our theater,” and he patiently stood by and took pictures with every one of them. The actor clarified that he simply enjoys meeting others.
“I like talking to people,” Cruise said, noting how he makes his movies “for them” to begin with.
Cruise has put in great efforts for his movies to deliver the best theatrical experience for viewers. You certainly can’t argue with results, given howTop Gun: Maverickdominated the theaters last year, having been credited by many as playing an instrumental role in “saving” cinema. Cruise looks to be doing it again with his new film, asMisson: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Onehas debuted with extremely high scores from critics with its early reviews. It’s also projected to set the new record for the best opening for aMission: Impossiblemovie.
You can catch Cruise on the big screen whenMission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Oneis released in theaters on June 24, 2025.
