Based on nothing but the fact his two highest-grossing movies were released this side of 2018 and he’s been a fixture of the industry A-list since the summer of 1986, it would be fair to say Tom Cruise remains as popular with audiences and bankable with studios as ever.
Having pivoted away from even contemplating discussing his private life in a public setting since the Oprah debacle over a decade and a half ago, his persona has far outstripped the person as the number one selling point of any film bearing his name.
Audiences have been conditioned to expect a certain level of dedication, commitment, and death-defying antics from the long-tenured superstar, but he isn’t quite as universally beloved as four decades of continued and almost uninterrupted success would suggest.
In fact, there are several actors – not all of whom have even worked with him directly – who don’t hold him on a particularly high pedestal, reiterating that not even the brightest stars in the business shine so brightly that everybody becomes blinded by the glare.
Six actors who hate Tom Cruise:
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt has always given off the impression that he’s a character actor cursed with a ridiculously handsome face, which meant that he was put off by Cruise’s megastar demeanour when they collaborated on 1994’s Interview with the Vampire, where tensions arose between the pair.
As well as admitting that “he bugged me” during production, Pitt went so far as to state, “there was a point during filming when I really started resenting him.” They had two different approaches to acting and stardom at large, with Cruise operating a machine around him that his co-star couldn’t comprehend.
“I wouldn’t want to live like that, but still,” the Academy Award winner conceded, outlining how the “underlying competition” between them “got in the way of any real conversation.” They were colleagues, but they certainly weren’t friends, and rumours have abounded ever since that there’s still a rift.
John Travolta
As the two most high-profile Scientologists in Hollywood, it’s not difficult to imagine a rivalry between Cruise and John Travolta. The organisation keeps its doors firmly closed to the public, though, but that hasn’t prevented dirty laundry from being aired by a third party.
In an interview with New Idea, Brendan Tighe – the former head of security at Scientology headquarters in Clearwater, Florida – alleged that Travolta has always been jealous of not only Cruise’s standing as the posterchild of the group but his relationship with head honcho David Miscavige.
“Cruise is the only celeb with a direct line to Miscavige,” he said. “Travolta didn’t have that. Travolta doesn’t get anything free, no one is giving him absurd gifts like an airplane hangar, custom-made bikes, or over-the-top favours.” He even shared how “it’s no secret that Cruise and Travolta despised each other,” but the secretive nature of Scientology has kept the true nature of their feud under wraps.
Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields and Cruise used to be close, with the former being the top-billed name in the cast of the latter’s feature film debut in 1981’s Endless Love, but the Blue Lagoon star opening up on postpartum depression in her memoirs caused the Mission: Impossible figurehead to let rip.
On television, Cruise mansplained psychiatry to accuse her of spreading “irresponsible information” before espousing the benefits of Scientology. “Before I was a Scientologist, I never agreed with psychiatry, and then when I started studying the history of psychiatry, I started realising more and more why I didn’t agree with psychiatry,” was his rationale for unloading on his former co-star.
In response, Shields penned an op-ed in which she urged him “to get back to fighting aliens.” Funnily enough, she also gathered by taking a “wild guess” that “Mr. Cruise has never suffered from postpartum depression,” and was thus grossly unqualified to comment on her experiences.
Mickey Rourke
Shortly after Top Gun: Maverick came close to clearing $1.5 billion at the box office and led to many high-profile industry figures praising Cruise for almost single-handedly reviving the stagnating theatrical industry, Mickey Rourke, of all people, branded him as irrelevant.
The star of such recent success stories as Warhunt, Hunt Club, and Not Another Church Movie couldn’t have cared less, though, telling Piers Morgan, “that doesn’t mean shit to me” because Cruise has “been doing the same part for 35 effing years,” something that didn’t earn him Rourke’s respect.
According to Rourke, Cruise has become so comfortable that he hasn’t stretched his acting muscles in decades, and when asked flat-out if he believed the three-time Academy Award-nominated and three-time Golden Globe-winning actor was even good at his job, Rourke’s response was, “I think he’s irrelevant.”
Richard Harris
Famed hellraiser Richard Harris didn’t care for how leading men were evolving as his own career began to wind down, which placed Cruise in the firing line multiple times after the distinguished actor made him a regular source of his ire.
When asked for his thoughts on the A-lister, Harris admitted his dental work was phenomenal but questioned whether there was anything between the ears by asking, “He’s got very nice teeth, but has he ever read a book?” Naturally, Cruise’s relatively short stature also came under fire.
Describing his hatred of elitism in the industry, Harris flatly opined that “Tom Cruise is a midget and he has eight bodyguards all six-feet-ten, which makes him even more diminutive,” branding the heightened – no pun intended – security as “an absolute joke.”
Not even libations were safe from the wrath of Harris, either, who reflected on the differences between himself and the action icon. “Look at a photograph of me from the old days. I’m going to one of my film premieres with a bottle of vodka in my hand,” he mused. “Tom Cruise has a bottle of Evian water. That’s the difference – a bottle of Evian water.” Remember, folks, it’s always important to stay hydrated.
Leah Remini
Obviously, Leah Remini‘s misgivings with Cruise aren’t driven by their shared profession as actors, the star of TV sitcom King of Queens star has nonetheless repeatedly aired her grievances with Scientology’s most famous practitioner ever since she left the group in 2013.
When Top Gun: Maverick was flying high at the box office, Remini warned those supporting the high-octane sequel. “Tom Cruise knows exactly what goes on in Scientology,” she posted on social media. “Don’t let the movie star charm fool you.” Moreover, he was named several times in a lawsuit she filed against the organisation.
Remini labelled him as “essentially second in command” in court documents, alleging it’s “a high crime in Scientology” to criticise Cruise in any way, shape, or form. She even branded him as “evil” on one occasion, and while it’s got nothing to do with their respective statuses in Hollywood, his position within Scientology has made him the face of a battle Remini has been fighting publicly for years.
Alec BaldwinJohn TravoltaMickey RourkeTom Cruise
