Almost everyone knows who Tom Cruise is … well, part of him.
The Oscar-nominated actor has been a bonafide movie star for decades, but behind the curtain
is a man whose personal woes seem to stand in direct contrast to his squeaky-clean superstardom.
Here's the rundown on the complicated double life led by one of Hollywood's longest lasting
A-listers.
Fearless hero?
Ever since his earliest days as a Hollywood heartthrob-turned-action star, Cruise has
developed a reputation for being completely willing to "go there" with dangerous stunt
work and usually arrives as the capable hero of his movies.
Even when he does pick up a villainous role, he's usually still likable on some level.
For his Mission: Impossible series, he's done a ton of death- and gravity-defying hands-on
work as the unconquerable Ethan Hunt, including holding onto the side of an airplane during
take-off.
Rogue Nation's stunt coordinator once quipped that "his stuntman has the least work of any
stuntman in the world."
In other words, he's represented as a tough, hardworking, good guy by Hollywood standards.
However, as solid as his star status has remained, Cruise's personal affairs have been the subject
of many raised eyebrows.
His three divorces (from Mimi Rogers in 1990, Nicole Kidman in 2001, and Katie Holmes in
2012) have prompted no shortage of speculation.
With Kidman, for example, rumors abounded that the reason they never had biological
kids and instead adopted two children together was that Cruise was secretly gay.
Kidman later revealed to Vanity Fair that they once suffered a traumatic miscarriage,
however, and Cruise has consistently denied rumors about his sexuality.
What he hasn't been able to dispel, though, are the stories about his controlling behaviors
in his relationships.
Holmes, for example, shocked fans of their seemingly whirlwind romance by suddenly removing
herself and their daughter Suri Cruise from his home and life, after reportedly feeling
trapped within it.
One source compared the level of control and confinement to the 1968 classic horror film
Rosemary's Baby, saying, "every move she made and everything she did was controlled."
That's hardly the same gleeful image the Powers that Be have painted of the actor over the
years.
The Church of Scientology's stronghold
Cruise ranks among the most famous and fiercely devoted members of L. Ron Hubbard's much-scrutinized
religious sect, and he has done a number of very strange things in the name of Scientology
over the years.
Among the most troubling: he reportedly allowed the church to secretly tap ex-wife Nicole
Kidman's phone because her father was a psychologist, which was viewed as an enemy of the institution.
The organization allegedly even aided him in turning their adoptive children against
her by labeling her a "suppressive person."
"I'm just living my life and I'm doing the best that I can and in a way that I feel is
right.'
The dissolution of his marriage to Holmes, too, seems largely attributable to his co-dependency
with the church.
Reportedly, certain members moved into their home and Holmes feared they'd convince Suri
to cut off contact with her if and when she left the church.
Cruise's ties to the religious organization have also been implicated in his divorce from
first wife Rogers.
Cruise's relationship with Scientology leader David Miscavige, however, has remained unfettered
all the while.
In her tell-all book, actress Leah Remini revealed that the two share a "bromance" that
includes their own special language, and Miscavige is rumored to be heavily involved in Cruise's
personal affairs.
"People who knew Tom before he was brainwashed say he was a sweet and loving person and he's
turned into something else"
A geek in the streets
At his birthday party in 2008, which was thrown by Miscavige, of course, Cruise was shown
enthusiastically cutting a rug and dancing without abandon.
And in Tropic Thunder, released that same year, Cruise was willing to don a prosthetic
suit that multiplied his size to create Les Grossman, a Hollywood studio exec persona
that took a hilarious poke at the movie business.
"It's a ten, let's go, let's go."
"... I like that old time rock and roll!"
In reality, though, Cruise is reportedly an exceedingly serious person.
Not only does he allegedly tape his own interviews, but he also has a very aggressive romantic
courtship process.
Modern Family star Sofia Vergara once reportedly experienced "a blizzard of phone calls, text
messages, and emails" and an invitation to go on a vacation with him on a trip to Scientology's
center in Clearwater, Florida just a day after meeting Cruise.
She allegedly even had to go into hiding to avoid him.
It's not the first time Cruise's oddball courtship rituals have been called into question, either:
a Norwegian actress named Anette Iren Johansen once reported being screen-tested in an actual
audition for the real-life role of Cruise's girlfriend.
The doting dad act
In War of the Worlds, Cruise played a sort of Superdad who'd go to the ends of the earth
to keep his children safe and sound.
"I always wanted to be a father. You don't remember when you first held your child and it was like, whoa, tremendous sense of responsibility?"
According to reports, though, in real life he hasn't seen his daughter Suri in years,
reportedly due to his unfailing commitment to the Church of Scientology.
In June 2016, a source told InTouch that Tom hadn't seen his only biological child in over
1,000 days at that point saying, "They used to Skype and text, but that trailed off drastically
… Tom eats, breathes and sleeps Scientology.
He's disconnected from Katie, and then de facto from Suri because of her connection
to Katie.
He hasn't seen her since she was 7."
Cruise does, however, maintain a close relationship with his elder two children, Connor and Bella,
both of whom are members of Scientology, but as part of the aforementioned disconnection
policy, they are said to have rejected Kidman since the divorce.
Public feud alert
On-screen, Tom Cruise is usually the kind of guy whose jets are way too cool to engage
in major celeb spats, but the truth is, he's been a party to his fair share.
His very public objection to Brooke Shields' use of antidepressants for her postpartum
disorder, for instance, made waves because he called her use of anything but "vitamins
and exercise" to cure their various emotional ills "irresponsible."
"You gotta understand I really care about Brooke Shields."
The two later resolved their differences in a face-to-face discussion…
"But then he came over to my house without cameras or anything and he apologized."
But his controversial words continued on-air in a sit-down interview with Matt Lauer in
2005 when the subject of Scientology's rejection of psychiatry came up.
"Before I was a Scientologist I never agreed with psychiatry and when I started studying the history of psychiatry
I started realizing more and more why I didn't agree with psychiatry."
He went on to call Lauer "glib" and claimed "there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance"
to justify the use of prescription meds.
He later apologized for being "arrogant," but the mask of Cruise being a mainstream
guy was fully and forever lifted.
Thanks for watching!
Click the Nicki Swift icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!