For an actor, Tom Cruise sure is a bad liar, but he’s only human


A lot has already been said about the Tom Cruise interview on Oprah Friday, and now that I’ve had a chance to watch it I wanted to add my opinion. I came away with about a 10-15% better opinion of Tom, which was largely based on the final part of the interview in which his insane grin and rehearsed answers fell away and you could see that he was a guy who really loves his family and has what sounds like a great appreciation for them and for his lifestyle.

Here are a few things that I noticed about the interview that haven’t been covered elsewhere. Star Magazine and US Weekly have some good summaries of Tom’s response to specific controversies. Oprah.com also has a decent overview, but some sections of the interview are not covered.


Tom calls Holmes, “Kate” throughout, she only appears in the beginning
Katie Holmes and her monotone cooing voice only appeared at the beginning of the interview, in which she says hello to Oprah, shows her the mudroom of their Telluride home, and says that she’s going to town with the kids. You can tell that Tom chose to have the interview in Telluride because their house has a cosy feel to it. This is surely a sharp contrast to their new $35 million Beverly Hills mansion that’s being renovated and decorated with no expense spared. Tom gave a tour of the home which included Suri’s cute playroom under the stairs and her giant room with kids’ toys and stuffed animals.

The first part of the interview was more of Tom spinning things to make it seem like he’s not the wild-eyed cult devotee we know and mock. He wasn’t that convincing at first and came across like I expected him to. To paraphrase: “The Scientology tapes were stolen, they were taken out of context, it’s a minority religion, etc.” He referred to Katie as “Kate” throughout and Oprah followed suit.

Reveals that Suri was born a year to the day after he met “Kate” Holmes
He said that he can’t articulate what Kate means to him, it’s so special, and when Oprah asked him if he’s ever felt this way about anyone before, he said “no.”

“Suri was born a year to the day that I met her. The same day, April 18, is the day that I met her, April 18 Suri was born, and it just kinda has that thing, you know and it was just something that just… it just gets spun and spun and spun.”

As for the way people mocked him after that, he said he just took it in stride and it was a “confluence of things.”

Uses “amazing” way too many times to describe Holmes’ family
Cruises’ response to Oprah’s question “How’s Kate’s family accepting you?” sounded like the stuff that wide-eyed Holmes was spouting before she learned how to speak in that soothing low tone about how fabulous their life is. He used “amazing” way too many times without much detail:

“They’re amazing. I love them. Oh I love them. They’re such amazing people, and you see why Kate is such an amazing woman. Incredible integrity and strength and they’re family.”


Tom tries to say he has joint custody of children with Nicole, but is totally unconvincing
When Oprah asked Tom if Bella and Connor got to see Nicole, he again gave general answers without specifics and seemed like he was full of it.

Oprah: “What’s your relationship like with Nicole now?”
Tom: “Good. Easy.”
Oprah: “I’d read that she’d been pushed out of the children’s lives. True or not true?”
Tom [laughs, bobs head]: “No, that’s ridiculous.”
Oprah: “The children still maintain a relationship with her and see her?”
Tom: “No they share custody.”
Oprah: “How is it.. Is there a time when everyone’s together, Kate and Nicole.. whatever?”
Tom: “No, it’s just so busy… it just hasn’t eventuated in that way.”
Oprah: “But the children get to see her regularly?”
Tom: “We share custody whenever. Whenever. That’s what it is.”

When Tom talks about Suri his rapport improves with Oprah and she really warms up to him and the conversation flows. He calls Suri “magical” and tells a cute story about how Kate had a Santa outfit custom made for him. Suri immediately realized it was him and said “No daddy!”

It seems like too little too late for Cruise, but he’ll have another whole show with Oprah on Monday in front of the studio audience. The guy is really charming and gracious to fans and he will probably make a much better impression at that point. He got through the tough questions already and now it’s on to wowing the women with his bright eyes and laughing personality. He might make us forget his antics for the time being, but I don’t know if it will be enough to save that Valkyrie movie or his cult. It’s time that the axe came down hard on Scientology, and Cruise has been their apologist for way too long.

Here are the videos.

If you don’t have time: short clip where Cruise gives the quotes mentioned above

Full Interview follows
(some clips have commercials which are easily skipped by moving the cursor)

Introduction: Katie says goodbye and Tom shows Oprah the house:

Part 1 of interview:

Part 2 of interview:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6:

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

44 Responses to “For an actor, Tom Cruise sure is a bad liar, but he’s only human”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. jan says:

    Careful with the word “cult” celebitchy. I don’t want you to get sued by the Supernuts.

    Too late, Tom. I will not be seeing anymore of your movies because you are a manipulative liar. The public has given you and your associates enough money to live the lifestyle you have in Colorado and Hollywood. I’m spending my money on rice and gas now. Ta-ta!

  2. geronimo says:

    “Tom: “No, it’s just so busy… it just hasn’t eventuated in that way.”

    Eventuated? Well it all sounds lovely and cozy and normal in the Cruise household where things ‘eventuate’ or ‘are eventuated’. Poor Tom, he tries so hard to be normal.

    Must go now and get food prep underway or lunch won’t eventuate in my household.

  3. Anon says:

    “Tough questions” ? Hardly. It was softball all the way.

  4. Most troubling says:

    I feel he has pushed out Nicole from her 2 children and that’s the worst in this whole sad story.

    Suri has distinct Asian features and a friend of mine, who is Asian, told me that for sure. but that is just a mystery.

    However, Nicole and her children deserve to maintain a normal relationship. Why are those children raised by his sister instead of Nicole?!

  5. Ling says:

    You’ll find most (real) actors are lousy liars. They’re so into the character of themselves that it’s difficult to be anything but completely open. (I have this problem.)

    Jan – Solution: wait 10 years and watch his movies on TBS. He makes decent films; don’t boycott them because you have a personal beef with some remote man you’ve NEVER SPOKEN TO.

  6. HE's not the only one says:

    If he is a lousy liar, that what should we call Angelina Jolie?

    She has made about a million false statements for publicity purposes.

    Indeed a devoted stay at home mom as she promised to be after changing that 3 years old name to something more commercial and catchy (pax).

    I don’t care if they lie. It just shows their true color.
    I care only if there are children involved that get might hurt.

  7. Sasha says:

    Wow, what a carefully orchestrated attempt to redeem his character in front of the paying audience. /he can’t give a straight answer to a simple question about his wife’s family. I’m not buying it for a second. He’s still the same manically laughing techno-babble spouting midget would-be Christ figure of Scientology and neither he nor his supporters deserve my money.

    And it’s KATIE, Tom- no Kate, you asswad.

    And Ling is someone wants to boycott movies because to deny Scientology any more money- that’s their choice- not yours.

  8. poopie says:

    Suri’s ‘asian’ features originated from her 600 billion light year journey from that FAR FAR AWAY planet, when she entered the pull of earth her face was stretcheddddddddddddddd wayyyyy out to ‘there’, resulting in the ‘asian’ appearing eyes. i think she may be the antichrist. RUN RUN RUN FAST..

  9. Alexis says:

    Not to mention how many times he said “it’s like you just kinda go ok”.
    I thought it was interesting that he would not mention what Scientology is about and intstead suggested that if anyone want to know about it they should read up on it. As everyone knows you have to pay for every scientology “lesson”.

    Oprah didn’t look comfortable at all despite her best efforts to appear so, like saying that she had to pee and showing us her bare feet.

    Tom looks like he lost some wieght though.:)

  10. mollination says:

    All of his responses are so out-of-whack. For instance the answer to “I read that nicole got pushed out of the kids’ lives, true or not true?”, should have been “no that’s a hurtful rumor” instead of laughing maniacally! (not to mention how wrong it is that those kids clearly don’t ever see nicole)

    And the answer to how “kate’s” family is should have been more like “really great people. just a really warm nice family. they’re funny and I can see where kate gets all the qualities I love about her”. But instead his answer is formal and impersonal with words like “strength.integrity. amazing human beings” like he doesn’t know them personally!!!!! That’s not real at all.

  11. CJ says:

    DO you think it was weird how he kept saying April 18 was Suri’s birthdate?

    Wasn’t there something that she was born earlier and they lied becasue the baby didn’t belong to Tom?

  12. xiaoecho says:

    The guy can’t lie straight in bed and we all know it 😐

  13. jan says:

    I think he’s plotting to release his dud around the time Nicole Kidman gives birth (for p.r. reasons). He never got over how Nicole got the Oscar and he didn’t. I think he’s that arrogant and competitive. I heard that Suri was born like two weeks before Brooke Shield’s baby but that he had Katie pretend that she had given birth the same day as Brooke Shields to show that their Suri’s birth was more important (for p.r. reasons). That is sick. Katie should stay up in the Colorado mountains with Tom because the little film career she had has been obliterated. Meaning, I will no longer be paying for her designer clothes either.

  14. sandy says:

    it was very disrespectful of tom to compare his feelings of 3rd wife-katie to his 2nd wife nicole. disrespectful to nicole and to their 2 children. no need to compare. they are completely different people therefore the love is going to be different. a child should never hear these details about their parents.
    do we ever hear nicole comparing her new man to tom? she’s too classy for that!
    when tom lost part of his core audience (30+ older women) for jumping on the couch, etc., yes, we were shocked by his manic excitement. but more than that, it was the forced intimate moments and PDA we couldn’t stomach. the dipping and long kisses at the premieres, pushing katie out on oprah, putting her on the back of his motorcycle, proposing at eiffel tower… it felt and still feels so contrived. when will he learn to keep his intimate moments private?
    i wish oprah asked more about how they met- exactly how. he and katie say he asked her to read for a part. what part? what movie? i don’t think she was ever up for a role in his movie?
    why is he so proud that they had a baby so quickly? i don’t think it’s a good message to send to his teenage daughter isabella. most parents would be disappointed if their daughter got pregnant 3 months after her first date with a man!

  15. poopie says:

    I don’t get what career KATIE had BEFORE tom. It’s not like she had producers pawing at her door for leading movie roles ! she was a minimal actress at best – and now that she is a robotress and lets tinytom tell her what TO do and what NOT to do
    career wise, she just comes across as a total fake- the beginning of the oprah interview where katIE was shown was sooooooo embarassing- she is such the SCRIPT READER – Both of them are just SICK – no more of MY $$$ going to them

  16. Megan says:

    They’ve played out their whole relationship in front of the media, making out on the red carpet, going on Oprah and jumping on the sofa, telling everyone about the proposal, etc. And then they get angry when the media comment on their relationship and their family, and people start to dislike them because it all seems so false.

    The marriages that last and are respected in Hollywood are the ones that are kept entirely private, the way it should be. Tom Cruise is an actor, it’s a job, why should we have to witness his relationship with his wife and children? What does that have to do with his job? Many other actors keep their families private, completely away from the media, and never comment on their relationships. The minute you make it public is the minute the media won’t leave you alone and turn you into the bad guy. It’s too late now for Tom and Katie, their whole relationship has been played out in public from the beginning, and they can’t expect to suddenly go private now.

  17. headache says:

    Big whoo! Grown ass people acting stupid is all scientology is. A dangerous cult that adults pay to enter of their own free will. Like Amway for aliens or something. You just can’t rescue people from their own stupidity.

    Besides, cults are like porn. No one can really describe it (which is why it’s hard to take legal action) but everyone knows it when they see it. (except the idiots who waste their money on it.)

    But I tell you what, I will see a thousand Tom Cruise movies, each and every one before I will watch 75% of the tripe that comes out every damn week with barely talented semi stars.

    At least the man can act.

    oh and KatE or what the hell ever is no different than Nicole Kidman. They both attached their names to his big star ass in furtherance of their careers and pocketbooks and then they both more than willingly brought children into L. Ron Hubbard’s bad sci-fi convention. I hope both of them put money aside out of the divorce settlements to pay for the five million trips to rehab, court costs, and therapy. All those kids are going to need it.

    Selling your children off for Prada and/or an Oscar. Whatthehellever!

  18. FeFeLarue says:

    I truly like Tom Cruise and will always be a fan of him as a person and his movies. I think he is a good person who is very misunderstood, alot of that misunderstanding being perpetuited by the media. JUST STOP…HE’s AN ACTOR!!

    I do believe that Suri is his because she looks exactly like him. A dam blind man could see that. You people need to get over it and yourselves and stop hating on this man, everyone deserves a second chance…GIVE HIM HIS.

    He loves his wife and kids and believes strongly in his religion…sounds like half of the me in America!! I wish him and his family all the best…and NO I am NOT a Scientoligist!!!

    HATERS…back the F-UP!!

  19. Kolby says:

    I had to keep myself from barfing all over my keyboard when Katie hugged Tom and said, with so much glee, “Have FUN! I LOVE YOOOOUUU!”

    I doubt I have ever seen anything more contrived in my life.

  20. flatbellydance says:

    I think the biggest problem in this situation is that Tom Cruise is obviously bipolar, and seems to be unmedicated for most of the time (which would make sense, what with his anti-psychotic drug thing).

    The studios seemed to keep a lid on his manic periods pretty well when he was making good movies, but now he’s just out there, wandering around, making an ass of himself. When they cut him loose, it did more damage than anything he could’ve done himself….which ended up happening. Now he speaks for himself, and we’re all getting front row seats to the crazy.

    I don’t think he’s a bad guy, per se, I just think he’s totally batshit manic most of the time. Most of the stories we’ve heard over the past year are all indicative of a manic bipolar: Katie not sleeping – Tom keeps her up all night, his rigorous schedules, vise grip controlling behavior, etc, his weird laughter, the crazy videos coming out of the Scientology center….I just don’t see how more people haven’t picked up on this. Plus, how strongly he reacted to Brooke Shields? That’s a man who isn’t on meds, but wishes he was.

    And Katie’s not the first person who married for money and fame. She’s in the same catagory as K-Fed, only she dresses better. She had no career to speak of, and wanted celebrity worse than anything. She’s just another golddigging, shallow person who thought she could hitch a ride on the fast lane without consequences. She’s getting everything she deserves, and I don’t feel the least bit sorry for either her or her husband. He won’t address what is an obvious problem, hoping Xanadu or whoever will solve it for him; and she married his money and celebrity name. They deserve whatever they get.

  21. headache says:

    Flatbelly, I didn’t think of that. I bet his ass is bipolar. He probably was on meds while married to Nicole with her dad being a therapist/psychiatrist or whatever and then when they hit splitsville, he went off the meds and back to Scientology.

  22. Melanie says:

    I like Tom Cruise too. I don’t believe his career is over, this is a fickle industry. Remember when every one thought Kate Moss was over. Never say never. I don’t see any lie. Thanks CB for the videos. Wanted to catch the interview again.

    He seems a good guy and an excellent father.

  23. poopie says:

    TinyTom has this all encompassing NEED to FORCE people/EVERYONE to LIKE him and feed his NEED to feel like THE KING of all things- he CANNOT let it go and let the media go off on him or katIE- it was stated well that HE is the one who put the fam OUT THERE for all to see, so now he reaps what he asked for – PUBLICITY- that’s all this is. he’s pimped out katIE and katIE’s daughter to try and FORCE everyone to believe they are a happily married couple just LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. HA!
    He needs to just backoff the PR tour

  24. Scott F. says:

    I didn’t want to be the first to say anything, because well… I’m not a psychologist, but I feel more comfortable saying this now that others have come to the same conclusion. I’ve always believed Tom Cruise exhibits classical signs of being bipolar, as well as being a raving co-dependent narcissist.

    Scientology and it’s anti-psychiatry stance probably appeals so much to him because it’s a perfect vehicle for him to deny he has any problems. “I can’t be bipolar, because psychiatry is fake. I don’t need to take responsibility for being a nutbar, it’s just that I have an excess of alien souls fucking up my brain.”

    It’s telling that he went back to Opera instead of talking to Matt Lauer again. I would bet every penny I’ve ever made that his PR people approved every question weeks in advance to make sure they were suitably softball.

  25. Geronimo says:

    A lot of people called him on this after the original Oprah interview. Lots of commentry about it on the web at the time. Certainly a plausible conclusion.

  26. cc says:

    I think he is a talented actor and for me, his personal life has no bearing on if I see his movies or not. If they look good, I’ll go. If not, I won’t. Everyone in that family made their choices and they have to live with it. I, on the other hand, don’t have to buy that magazine, can change the channel and not go to that web page to see what they may or may not be dealing with as consequence of their actions.

    As far as Suri goes, she has Tom’s nose. It is way too prominent. I am ashamed of you mothers out there who say, well she looks bigger than my baby, she has too much hair, etc. Haven’t we all been assaulted my people who make little comments designed to be helpful or an observation that bugged the hell out of us? For the commenter who said she looked asian, I am Spanish German on my mother’s side and Italian- Spanish on my father’s side. People always comment on how almond shaped my eyes are, am I Asian? No. It is the way my genetics came together.

    Lay off the little girl. When she is old enough to use the internet, it is bad enough she will see what was written about her mom and dad. She doesn’t need to see any speculation about her father. That is for the Cruise family to discuss with her.

  27. Shay says:

    At what point did he tell Oprah to call her “Kate” and not “Katie”.

    I used to like Tom and thought he was cool. He always seemed so positive but after I found out he was a Scientologist and in turned read up on it I found him a bit strange but that’s his business.

    It wasn’t until he attacked Brooke Shields and snapped at Matt Laurer that my perception of him changed. I believe that was Tom being himself when he went off on Matt. Kinda like everyone thought Rosie O’Donnel was just this happy portly lady until she showed her true self yelling at Tom Selek.

    I’m devided on the Nicole and kids issue. Part of me feels that they were always Toms kids and that Nicole was ok with that. So after the divorce they continued to be his kids and Nicoles presense is more like an Aunt than a mom. Strong possibility that she wants to be with the kids and was pushed out but both scenario’s are probable. I’m sure all of this will come out when the kids are adults.

    I like some of Toms movies although after his wackiness he’s not a draw for me. I go to the Mission Impossible movies but I think it’s more so that it’s an MI movie and not Tom.

  28. Larissa says:

    wait a few more years, this guy will go completely mental and/or do something incredibly stupid!
    You cant keep living a lie for way too long…

  29. Cici says:

    I believe Suri is his because at times she looks A LOT like a “Mapother.” Tom AND cousin, William. Anyway, my REAL question is: why is their 2 yr old still sucking on a BOTTLE every time she’s photographed? My 2 yr old drank from regular cups – at the very least, Suri should be on sippy cup by now.

  30. Bodhi says:

    Ugh, I’ve always hated Kat(i)e Holmes-Cruise. SHe has always bugged the hell out of me…

    As for TinyTom… I think he is so brainwashed that he honestly doesn’t see what a fucking nutjob he is.

    The idea that he is bipolar is an interesting one. I haven’t heard that one before & I honestly don’t know all that much about the condition, but from what I do know, it seems plausible

  31. poopie says:

    i hate all three of them and hope someone ‘outs’ them for the fake $cientolojerks that they all are.

  32. eajk says:

    I wonder if Katie or Nicole will ever tell the truth behind their relationship with Tom. I wonder if they are afraid of being killed. There is some reason they won’t be open about it, and it has got to be a terrifying reason.

  33. lanette says:

    damn he is soo easy on the eyes….

  34. gg says:

    I think he’s a sucky actor with 1 character, which is himself, and I agree he seems like a bipolar control freak with a sugar problem.

  35. Deb says:

    Tom is a great person, and entitled to his own religion, and there’s way too many negative comments resulting from ignorance and bigotry here.

  36. Susan says:

    Why can’t everyone leave Tom and Katie alone? Suri doesn’t look asian – why cant anyone believe she is their love child?

    Did anyone watch Oprah on Monday? Could Tom have been any nicer to the lady who was “his biggest fan”? He was sincerely happy to speak with her, and was the first time we met her several years ago – before he was having image problems.

    I doubt they read this stuff but Tom and Kate – if you are reading this – this too shall pass. Enjoy your baby, your family, your life. Ignore the crap and concentrate on the good. And Connor and Isabella – go see your mom!

  37. Kat says:

    Well, you can have him. He makes me sick. He is a short Mr Know It All. He is always right, and everyone else is wrong. I lost all respect for him, after the way he dumped Nicole, after 10yrs of marriage. I suspect he will do the same to Katie, and there will be all out war, for the custody of Suri. I will never pay good money to see any of his movies ever.

  38. poopie says:

    down the road i see tinytom as the male version of SUNSET BLVD- I will NEVER watch anything he is in ever. i have never liked him; possibly the only movie i DID watch was Rainman, but that was only because i wanted to see the REAL actor, Dustin Hoffman – tinytom, give it up- people are sick of you, your fugly stepford wife and HER spawn –

  39. Patrice says:

    This message goes out to (dillusional) Susan; The reason that no one believes that Suri is their “love child” is because Katie Holmes came out of NO WHERE, and if you bother to look at old photos, this is clearly a girl who was NEVER PREGNANT in the first place.One day she would look like she was six months along, and then the next, she was barely “pregnant” at all. I know that many would say that this is a crazy idea, but who better to pull it off? Tom Cruise might be filthy rich, but he’s also FILTHY CRAZY. Katie Holmes was just after money and fame, and unfortunately there is a baby (no matter whose she is) that is now caught in the middle. I just hope that if nothing else, SHE finds out the truth about where she came from some day.

  40. helen says:

    Tom is adorable lovely gorgeous, a fragile emotional man, duped by monsters, media and co$

    I would love to cuddle him.

    We love you Tom, you’re a sensational actor.

    Big kisses.

  41. Ron says:

    Nicole, I know, and I am sure fembot Kate-E both signed prenuptual agreements with a non disclosure clause which forbid them discussing their relationship. Many celebs have them like J-Lo etc. That’s why her first husbands “book” about their 18 month marriage was quashed.

    The thing that bugs me is that whatever woman he is with ALWAYS takes a back seat to him. It’s so creepy. It’s not like it’s a relationship, it’s like he owns them.

  42. Nan says:

    No doubt he is bipolar. He had a full blown manic episode in front of the world. Anyone else would have been taken to the ER for evaluation. Another one to keep an eye on is Madonna. Delusional, narcissitic traits while on a manic high=DANGER

  43. Blake says:

    He did seem to be acting out pre-rehearsed lines during the interview. Katie Holmes has a very disturbing, vacant look in her eyes nowadays. I too believe Tom has an untreated mental illness. He would of course take that statement as proof of the diabolical plot of Psychiatry out to hurt everyone. He does appear to be very narcissistic. Manic as well. Bi-polar is usually a fairly easy disease to treat, but he is clearly too entrenched in his “religion” to see that. It’s a very sad situation for all involved. 🙁

  44. brit says:

    i don’t care, i love tom cruise, always will.