Tom Cruise‘s Mission: Impossible costar Simon Pegg and director Richard McQuarrie have tried to set the record straight about rumors that have dogged the actor for years.
In an interview published Sunday by the The Sunday Times, McQuarrie, who helms Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, shared that Cruise revealed the rumor’s existence to him to him years earlier during the first meeting.
Cruise also got some defense from his friend Simon, 53, when it came to his infamous outburst on Dead Reckoning’s set in 2020 over crew members allegedly not following Covid protocols properly.
The clarifications on the 61-year-old actor, who recently revealed he wants to follow Harrison Ford‘s lead by continuing to make Mission: Impossible films until he’s 80, came shortly before he was spotted on Monday stepping out of the Mark hotel in New York City.
Cruise looked as good as ever in a smart slate gray suit that shimmered in the light.
He stayed on theme with shiny black leather shoes, and he added a casual–cool touch with a complementary gray polo shirt.
The War Of The Worlds star wore his dark hair in a stylish, shaggy ‘do, and he covered up with a set of cool square-shaped, military-style silver aviator sunglasses.
Not surprisingly, the global superstar was surrounded by fans and onlookers as he emerged from the hotel to mark the release of Mission: Impossible 7, which is already in select theaters, with a fuller release to begin on Tuesday.
He was heading a short distance to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theatre for a premiere of the action thriller, which has so far received a stellar 98 percent fresh rating from critics surveyed by Rotten Tomatoes.
Tom proved himself to be a gracious showman as he stopped to sign autographs and memorabilia for fans before heading over to the premiere.
In the Sunday Times story, McQuarrie helped to humanize the larger-than-life star by shutting down a rumor Cruise shared with him.
While explaining how Cruise is far more personable than people seem to assume based on his celebrity, the filmmaker recalled asking him for the ‘weirdest story you’ve heard about yourself’ the first time that they sat down together.
After a laugh, Cruise told him the biggest myth about him was that people on set ‘were not allowed to look me in the eye.’
Nailed it: Cruise looked as good as ever in a smart slate gray suit that shimmered in the light. He stayed on theme with shiny black leather shoes, and he added a casual–cool touch with a complementary gray polo shirt
Looking cool: The War Of The Worlds star wore his dark hair in a stylish, shaggy ‘do, and he covered up with a set of cool square-shaped, military-style silver aviator sunglasses
Loving the attention: Tom proved himself to be a gracious showman as he stopped to sign autographs and memorabilia for fans before heading over to the premiere
Similar rumors have dogged Ellen DeGeneres for years, and it’s unclear if Cruise is alleged to have told that to his costars or just crew members working on sets.
However, his response put McQuarrie at ease, at The Times noted that the Top Gun: Maverick star has been known to have dance-offs with crew members on set, suggesting that he isn’t afraid to social with people who don’t have his level of star power.
Pegg, who joined the franchise with 2011’s Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, made it clear that he had also engaged in some amateur myth busting when it came to his costar.
‘I’ve been able to hack my way through all the bizarre mythology that surrounds him,’ the Shaun Of The Dead star explained. ‘On one side he’s Tom Cruise — this enigmatic film star everyone wants to know about. And on the other, he’s just a guy. I like being normal with him.’
Pegg also defended Cruise over leaked audio of him blowing up on Dead Reckoning’s set in 2010, after it became one of the first major productions to begin shooting again even as Covid-19 continued to rage.
The actor reportedly was set off after seeing two crew members ignoring social distancing guidelines and hanging out together too closely by a monitor.
‘If I see you do it again you’re f***ing gone,’ he yelled at one of the crew members in the on-set audio.
But Simon tried to clarify that Cruise was only using that tone because of the perceived stakes if the production had failed.
Debunked: M:I director Christopher McQuarrie (L) recalled to The Sunday Times that Cruise said at their first meeting that the biggest rumor about him was that people on set ‘were not allowed to look me in the eye’; seen Sunday in NYC
Support: Tom’s costar Simon Pegg (R) also defended him over leaked audio of him berating a crew member on Dead Reckoning’s set over breached Covid protocols in 2020
On the line: ‘Everything that Tom cares about, in terms of his job, was at stake due to the pandemic,’ Pegg said. ‘For him, there was a danger this virus could wipe cinema off the face of this earth’; seen in November 2020 in Rome
‘Everything that Tom cares about, in terms of his job, was at stake due to the pandemic,’ he said. ‘For him, there was a danger this virus could wipe cinema off the face of this earth.’
Ironically, it was Cruise himself who helped resuscitate the film industry after projects release in the first couple years of the pandemic failed to attract much business.
His long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick ended up being a smash hit with both critics and audiences when it arrived in theaters in May 2022, and it played at cinemas for months while still commanding impressive ticket sales.
The film has so far grossed nearly $1.5 billion, making it a much-needed hit for Paramount and signaling that Cruise could still command the box office even into his 60s.
