After two decades of largely avoiding mainstream interviews, Tom Cruise has returned to the media circuit as his latest film, Digger, puts him in contention for an Academy Award and brings renewed attention to both his career and his personal history.
The 64-year-old actor has remained one of Hollywood’s biggest stars while keeping his distance from traditional media. In recent years, he has allowed his work to speak for him, particularly through the elaborate stunts he performs himself in the Mission: Impossible films and his highly visible support for theatrical cinema.
His public appearances have also reinforced that image. Cruise took part in the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics and appeared at the World Cup final, while footage of him angrily insisting that the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One production crew follow Covid safety measures was widely interpreted as evidence of his commitment to protecting the film industry and its workers.
Now, however, an Oscar campaign appears to have changed the strategy.
Cruise has given an extensive interview to GQ, including a widely discussed cover photograph in which he appears shirtless and shows off his physique. The image generated sharply divided reactions online, with some users mocking his determination to maintain a youthful appearance while others praised him for embracing his age and continuing to maintain his physical condition.
The debate has also followed him into Digger, a black comedy directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Cruise plays an oil tycoon whose appearance includes grey hair, bald patches and visible signs of aging.
One viral social media post joked that Cruise needed extensive makeup to play a 65-year-old despite being 64. When the comment was read to him during another interview, Cruise laughed and treated it as a compliment, avoiding speculation about cosmetic procedures.
His return to the public eye has produced other viral moments. On The Jennifer Hudson Show, he recreated dance moves from Risky Business, while footage of him unexpectedly greeting a woman at her workplace spread on TikTok.
The contrast with the Cruise of the past two decades is striking. His carefully controlled public image has largely centred on his films, his stunts and his commitment to cinema rather than his private life.
The personal history behind the image
That strategy helped Cruise rebuild his public standing after a turbulent period in the mid-2000s.
Between 2004 and 2006, he changed public relations representatives twice, while Paramount ended its 14-year relationship with the actor. The dispute came after a series of highly publicised incidents involving his promotion of Scientology, his relationship with actress Katie Holmes and increasingly controversial public statements.
Cruise famously jumped on Oprah Winfrey’s couch while declaring his love for Holmes, while other comments about psychiatry and Scientology generated further controversy.
His long association with the Church of Scientology has continued to shape perceptions of the actor. Cruise has remained close to the organisation’s leader, David Miscavige, and his religious affiliation has also been connected to his relationships with members and former members of the church.
His family life has attracted particular attention. Cruise has two adopted children from his marriage to Nicole Kidman, both of whom are Scientologists. He is also estranged from his biological daughter, Suri, whose mother, Holmes, left the church. Suri has reportedly stopped using her father’s surname.
Former Scientologist and actress Nazanin Boniadi has also made allegations about the organisation’s involvement in Cruise’s personal relationships. Cruise has not publicly confirmed those claims.
The actor’s connection to Scientology began through his first wife, Mimi Rogers, and Cruise has said that the organisation helped him deal with dyslexia. He has nevertheless largely avoided discussing the subject publicly in recent years.
That history presents a challenge for an actor whose current campaign depends partly on reconnecting with audiences on a more personal level.
Recent Oscar campaigns have often benefited from compelling personal narratives surrounding performers. Cruise’s public story is considerably more complicated, meaning that greater media exposure also risks bringing controversies from his past back into focus.
His GQ interview largely avoids that territory. Instead, Cruise talks about his passion for filmmaking, the physical demands of his Mission: Impossible stunts and his approach to aging.
He also discusses a six-hour video he reportedly created as a filmmaking guide, adding another layer to the image he has cultivated as one of Hollywood’s most committed craftsmen.
Can Digger bring Cruise his Oscar?
Cruise has never won the Academy Award for Best Actor, despite becoming one of the most commercially successful and recognisable actors of his generation.
Digger gives him a new opportunity, although the film itself has received mixed reviews and faces uncertain box-office prospects.
Cruise’s performance has generally been better received than the film as a whole, with critics highlighting his comic turn. It recalls his memorable supporting performance in Tropic Thunder, another role that allowed him to move away from the conventional image of the heroic leading man.
Iñárritu also brings considerable awards pedigree to the project. The Mexican director won Best Director and Best Picture for The Revenant and has collected five Academy Awards during his career.
Digger also addresses the climate crisis, another subject outside the usual territory of Cruise’s public persona. The actor has generally avoided becoming heavily involved in political issues, making the film another departure from the image audiences have traditionally associated with him.
Whether the performance ultimately earns Cruise his first acting Oscar remains uncertain. But the campaign has already forced him back into a world he has largely avoided for 20 years.
Cruise has spent decades building a cinematic legacy around risk, physical commitment and an almost obsessive devotion to movies and theaters. His challenge now is not simply to add an Oscar to that legacy, but to navigate the much more complicated story surrounding the man behind the star.
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