When he's not jumping off cliffs on a motorcycle, he might be out fishing with
his son. Tom Cruise may be a busy movie star, but he's also a pretty normal dad.
When Tom Cruise was married to Nicole Kidman, they adopted a son,
Connor, and a daughter, Isabella. After the couple split, Cruise married Katie Holmes,
and they had a daughter together, Suri. It has been reported that Cruise has
distanced himself from Suri as she is not a member of Scientology. However,
Cruise maintained a relationship with his two other children, and is rather close with his son.
In 2016, the Daily Mail offered a glimpse into Connor's life in Clearwater, Florida,
where he drove a GT Mustang and hung out on his $500,000 boat paid for by
his father. He also spent a lot of time at the Scientology headquarters in Clearwater,
where he was given star treatment. A source told the Daily Mail at the time:
"The security treat him like a god, they look starstruck whenever he
arrives and practically queue up to high-five him and say hello."
Connor used to be a DJ, but has since pivoted to deep-sea fishing. He also runs a business,
Connor's Meat Shack, which provides brisket, burgers,
chicken and various other types of meat, according to the company's Instagram page.
Over the years, Connor has bonded with his dad over shared passions. Tom Cruise's devout faith
is well-known, and it is something that Connor has adopted as well. A source told People in 2019:
"Connor has been able to remain close with Tom because of Scientology."
"I think it's a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist
and it's something you have to earn."
Cruise was photographed with Connor in 2019 as the two boarded a private helicopter.
Not only was it a rare public appearance for the father-son duo, but the pair was
headed to the International Association of Scientologists together. The insider added:
"Tom and Connor stepping out together in London was a big deal."
While the two do not make many public appearances together, they are supportive
of one another behind the scenes. When the 2023 Academy Award nominations were announced,
Connor showed support for his pops with a post on his Instagram Stories. In the post, Connor
listed the six nominations "Top Gun: Maverick" had nabbed, along with a row of trophy emojis.
Even though Connor is the son of one of Hollywood's biggest stars,
he leads "a pretty simple life" in Clearwater, and spends a lot of time fishing, a source told People
in 2018. Connor's passion for fishing comes from time with his dad. Connor told People in 2016:
"We used to go fishing a lot when I was a little kid."
Another hobby of his as a kid was music. Connor added that
he started DJing in his bedroom as a young teen.
Connor has since given up DJing, but Cruise was a longtime supporter of his music. When
Connor was still pursuing a career as a DJ, he played a show in London, and his
dad showed up to give his support. A bystander in attendance at the show told People in 2012:
"Tom walked in and went straight over to Connor and hugged him."
"It was pretty crazy. It was fun."
The bystander also mentioned that Cruise stayed for the entire set to watch his son
play. That same year, Connor returned the favor and supported his dad at work. He
visited the set of "Oblivion" in 2012, which was an important time to be supportive as Cruise had
just finalized his divorce from Katie Holmes. There were claims that the actor's devotion
to Scientology had caused the split. However, Cruise's lawyer, Bert Fields, told E! at the time:
"Let me be very clear about this. The Church of Scientology played
absolutely NO ROLE in the divorce settlement talks at all. Period."
Four years later, while Cruise was working on "Jack Reacher:
Never Go Back," Connor once again dropped by the film set to visit
his dad. The pair exchanged a "loving hug" before parting ways, according to People.
While Connor has grown closer with his father thanks to their shared involvement in Scientology,
his faith has been rumored to cause a rift with his mom, Nicole Kidman. When Connor tied the knot
with a fellow Scientologist in 2019, Kidman was reportedly not invited to the ceremony,
per Tom Cruise's wishes. An insider told Radar at the time:
"Connor worships the ground his father walks on and would never disobey Tom."