To be in the Resistance. Yet to be a Nazi. How can the two possibly merge? In the complicated, geeked-out, don’t-call-it-a-comeback world of Tom Cruise, anything is possible, especially from an actor who, regardless of what side he’s on, commands authority. From Top Gun to Tropic Thunder, he’s been prepping for a role — that now lands him squarely in messy WW II Germany’s tight-lipped uprisings — where conviction means everything and inflexibility: nothing.
The Cruis-ian definition of success.
“I’m going to do this [act] for the rest of my life — I just love movies. I’ve told people before, when I was making Taps or Risky Business, I just wanted to enjoy the moment because you don’t know if it’s going to end right here.”
Oscar buzz to a Golden Globe nom — don’t call it a comeback.
“I really don’t see it that way. I’ve just been making movies.”
Waaaay controversial film — cyber rumors, lies and reality.
“There’s been a few things written about this film before — just a couple [Ironic laugh]. So many times, the internet has accelerated this ‘drama’ out there, and there’s a perception out there versus what we’re doing artistically. Even when our friends have seen the film they say, ‘Oh!? [Epiphany] This is a suspense thriller?!’ [Incredulous laugh] What’d you think we were making?? So many times in my career, people have said, ‘Why are you doing that?’ … Top Gun, Born on the Fourth of July, or Rain Man … I’ve always chosen things I thought would be challenging, but wanted to entertain an audience.”
But all those delays in the release date …
“We were making a film not necessarily for a release date, to be honest …The most important thing is the film. I want to entertain an audience, you want to get it right.”
And success on the indoors.
“I mean, personal success is raising my kids and having my family; as much as I love movies, that’s always been the priority. I’m happy my family is healthy and happy and doing well, and that is the most important thing.”
Sometimes tha eyepatch was a pain!
“Yeah — especially when it was dark, I lost depth perception and balance. It was a challenge going into a room with the eyepatch.”
Defiance, Good, The Reader, Striped Pajamas … what makes this Holocaust film different?
“It’s important to know that it’s not everyone [German] that felt way and fell into that Nazi ideology. I mean, I grew up wanting to kill Nazis, wanting to kill Hitler. As a child I thought, ‘Why didn’t somebody just shoot him?”
Tom the producer vs. Tom the actor.
“There’s always the balance of art and commerce, and the challenges of that is that I like to look at opportunities and restrictions … It’s not just not about having talent and making a film, it’s important to surround yourself with great people.”
Tom Cruise: precision, performance — history geek?
“You look at the colors — the reds. The whole point is to try and give the audience that visceral feeling of being on their edge of their seat — even down to the wardrobe. We went through and studied these kind of films and it’s like, ‘Why does it look like sometimes people are wearing wardrobe rather than it feeling real?’ So what kind of fabrics — even down to Hitler’s signature — this is the kind of stuff we history geeked out on!”
On being a father, not as Tom Cruise but as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
“… The moment his daughter is saluting him, of course, on the day, July 20th [the plot to kill Hitler] … and when you know the story that his son was indoctrinated into the Hitler Youth. Now, knowing Stauffenberg who despised the Nazis, as a parent he was looking at this. [Shakes head] And these were little moments that Bryan [Singer, the director] wanted to see in there … [Stauffenberg] not being able to have that [anti-Hitler] conversation with his children.”
On being a father, not as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg but as Tom Cruise.
“I’m gonna be Santa. I’m always Santa. I love it. , I love being a father. I remember being four or five years old, and I couldn’t wait to work and grow up to be a father. All three of my kids … I’ve enjoyed every part of it. I’ve enjoy having a teenager and a toddler — I’ve enjoyed the journey of that.”
