We knew this day would come. We knew, somehow, the planets would align and the biggest movie star in the world, maybe the universe, would sit down with Hardwick and Company to talk about, well…not much actually. Truth be told, I wanted a lot more than what I got from the Tom Cruise episode of Nerdist.
I know Cruise is an actor who’s been burned countless times by “the media” and typically handles interviews delicately, but I really wanted to know more about his personal life.
Despite his eternal A-list status, I’ve heard he’s one of the most pleasant and relatable guys you’ll come across in an industry not necessarily known for it genuineness, and that certainly comes off in this interview. He’s funny and down-to-earth; the guy even manages to be inspirational without coming off as a douche. And let the record show, I will still be seeing Edge of Tomorrow, the movie he’s promoting, in the theater.
But there’s just no meat here. He talks about his love of film, and the discussion goes no deeper. I’m certain this is entirely by design, and his publicist probably forwarded the Nerdist folks a line-item list of things that were not to be discussed. And I’m sure I would agree with a lot of the items that were on that list. I completely respect the guy not wanting to talk about his kids or his divorces. And I understand why he wouldn’t want to rehash any Scientology traps the media have set for him in the past. But nothing about his personal life?
Like doesn’t Cruise have dyslexia? Never came up. How about his upbringing. Barely touched on it. I wasn’t looking for WTF-style catharsis here. And don’t get me wrong, Cruise did have some cool stories about the films he’s been in, but even some banter about what he had for breakfast would’ve made this episode more engaging.
The verdict. Not bad; I clearly just want something I cannot have.
