While at the British Film Institute for a press event promoting the last installment of the “M:I” series, “Mission: Impossible–The Final Reckoning,” the 62-year-old actor reminisced about the early stages of his acting career following “Risky Business.” It was during that time that he crossed paths with actor Dustin Hoffman for the first time.
Cruise recollected how, accompanied by one of his three sisters, Cass Cruise, they came across Hoffman having a meal. Fresh from his debut film, the “Top Gun” protagonist hesitated to approach the acclaimed actor—even though he knew he needed a departure from the coming-of-age genre of his then-current project, “Legend,” which was in production:
“She straight up said, ‘If you don’t go do it, I’m going to walk over there and introduce you,'” he recounted about his sister. “I protested, ‘He won’t even recognize me. This will be utterly embarrassing. No way am I doing it.’
“Finally, she pestered me so much I said fine and walked over there,” Cruise continued. “He had his hat on and was obviously ordering takeout, and I said ‘Mr Hoffman, I’m sorry,’ And he looked at me and said ‘Cruise!’ And I went f—.”
Hoffman invited Cruise and his sister to see the play, and after the show, the two actors chatted backstage about working together.
“So we were there, and as I was leaving, he said, ‘I want to make a movie with you.’ I was like, ‘That’d be nice,'” Cruise explained that “[he] was very Southern: Yes, sir, no, sir, yes, ma’am, no ma’am. . . And basically a year later, [Hoffman] sent [him] ‘Rain Man.'”
The “Top Gun” star also appeared at the Cannes Film Festival to promote the new action flick, where he hinted that his movie career might look different after the “M:I” franchise.
“It went beyond our expectations,” Cruise said to the director of the final “Mission: Impossible” movie, Christopher McQuarrie, at an event following the movie premiere. “It’s been a real privilege and a pleasure. I look forward to making a bunch of other kinds of movies with you. I can’t wait.”
“We just want to thank you all,” Cruise said, to applause from the crowd. “Thank you so much for everything, for allowing us to entertain you. It’s very special.”
Cruise genuinely looked like he was having a great time at the annual film festival, greeting fans, signing autographs, and taking pictures, reminding Hollywood how to be a true movie star.
The actor also refused to make his appearance about anything other than promoting his new movie. During a press event, he refused to give the media anything when they wanted him to talk politics, when someone asked about President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs for movies shot outside of the U.S.
Cruise knows we don’t want to hear his thoughts on politics. It’s refreshing and smart, as RedState’s Brandon Morse noted:
What’s great about this is that Cruise may very well be incredibly against Trump’s tariffs and have a lot of opinions about them… but we, the audience, will never know, because most of us don’t care. We’re not going to Cruise for political opinion, we’re going to him because he entertains us, and provides an escape with his films.
You can watch the full video of the BFI event here.
