Tom Cruise is known to be heavily involved in the movie-making process. However, in a recent episode of Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, the Hollywood veteran shared the bizarre yet clever first step he takes before committing to a project.
Cruise doesn’t read scripts out loud; instead he has the writers and director read them to him. Why, you ask? He doesn’t want his ideas to invade the story prematurely. Because these scripts are the brainchild of the filmmakers, Cruise wants to fuklly understand what they are trying to communicate first. Once they are through with this, Cruise finally provides his inputs, combining his vision with their to bring out the best possible outcome.
He Acts as the “Moviegoer”
This simple exercise, as Cruise suggests, lets him step into the shoes of the moviegoer, helping him understand what’s working and what’s not.
“I’m the audience. I am a movie, I’m a popcorn guy. Like, I’m a meat and potatoes, popcorn, [guy]. Is it moving me or am I invested? Am I not invested? Where am I engaged? Where am I not engaged? That’s just who I am,” the 64-year-old actor said.
Only after he understands the director’s and writer’s tone along with their decisions regarding wardrobe, lighting, and cinematography, does he shares his perspectives.
Cruise Jokes the Process Is Like “Playing Jazz”
Cruise is really a man of action who prefers showing over telling. “I’m not going to sit here and say I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that. I hear all the notes. I know the lenses. I know the choreography. I know tonally what they’re going for.” the actor concluded.
Tom Cruise Next Project Drops This October In Theaters
After a bringing down curtain to Mission: Impossible franchise, Cruise began working on his next big thing – Digger. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, starring Tom Cruise in the titular role alongside Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jesse Plemons. The film is set to hit theaters on October 2, 2026 in North America.
The movie traces the life of Digger Rockwell (Cruise), the world’s most powerful man, as he embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he unleashed destroys everything.
When Diggers’ trailer dropped, fans raved about Cruise unrecognizable transformation. While this territory isn’t new to him, this time Cruise has surpassed his managerial abilities by pushing his team to cut down the transformation time from six hours to one.
Getty“The first time we did the makeup, it took six hours,” Cruise said on the same podcast. “I had a guy there with a stopwatch, and I’m like, ‘OK, you see that time, six hours? By the time we’re done, we’re going to get it under an hour,’”
His team of course was reluctant, and thought couldn’t pull this Impossible feat, but Cruise knew exactly how to motivate them.
He said, “OK, first of all, if you say no, you can’t do it; you will never get there. So can we agree that we’ll maybe make it a little less?’ So with each piece that was going on, it was timed and then we’d drill and practice.”
