TOM CRUISE COVERS GQ MIDDLE EAST OCTOBER ISSUE: HOLLYWOOD’S MOST ELUSIVE STAR SPEAKS
Tom Cruise Covers GQ Middle East October Issue: Hollywood's Most Elusive Star Speaks
In his first GQ cover in two decades, Cruise opens up about his legendary method, fears, closely guarded childhood dreams and death-defying career.
Dubai, UAE — GQ Middle East has revealed its October issue cover featuring Tom Cruise, in an exclusive and rare interview ahead of Cruise’s Digger press tour.
Cruise has appeared on eight GQ US covers — the most of any cover star. But it’s been two decades since his last GQ cover, and over a decade since his last in-depth US magazine interview.
Now, he sits down with GQ’s Zach Baron to talk about taking risks, inflection points throughout his four-decade career, childhood aspirations and why he’s talking now.
This is GQ’s largest cover ever, spanning more than 20 global markets. In his editor’s letter, Global Editorial Director Adam Baidawi describes booking a once-in-a-generation talent, the audacious concept GQ proposed for the shoot — which Cruise was thrilled by — and being on set to see it come to life.
On His Reputation for Intensity
“Look, I work hard, and people that work with me, they know. I expect a lot and I’m up-front about it. It’s like: ‘The rumors are true. And do you want this?’”
“Even when I was a kid, they were like, ‘Oh, come on, Tom. You’re so intense.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know what to say. I am intense.’”
“When I’m interested in something, I want to learn it. I want to understand it. And you want to blast through the confusion and kind of build up that ability.”
On Fear, Death and Living on the Edge
“I think you could look at my life and go: I like standing on the edge of a cliff physically and metaphorically. Meaning, I look at life as an adventure, and I always have, my whole life.”
“Do I fear death? No. I don’t. It’s not like I’m not afraid. I don’t mind the feeling.”
“I’m not afraid to feel afraid. I don’t know how else to say it. I’m not afraid to go, ‘Okay, I know this is a leap and let’s take the jump. Let’s go.’”
Photographs: Mario Sorrenti / GQ
On Why, After Over a Decade, He's Speaking Now
“I just haven’t had the time, with the amount of things that I set in motion and decided I was going to do.”
“We were in a dead sprint at a very long pace up against a lot of things — we wanted to keep everyone going and going through it and operating at a very, very high level. And just this is the time to be able to talk about it.”
On the Deliberate Risks of His Career
“Things that I’ve never talked about — the things that I’ve done and why and what I’m exploring — have been very deliberate. I’m exploring my skill, learning new skills, constantly pushing myself.”
“What you don’t know is how many of the films people didn’t want to make.”
“I’ve always felt like if I get to do it and it does well, I can take all the chips that I had and put it back in and kind of be like, ‘Let’s put it back in all on the line and in a way that is as creative as possible.’”
On His Secret Childhood Dreams
“I had my secret plan that I had because I knew very early on: Don’t tell people you have dreams… Those dreams, I’d write them on a board and I had them on my wall. And it wasn’t: I want to be famous. I definitely wanted to make movies, but I wanted to travel the world and I wanted to know people and know life.”
“I didn’t go to film school. I didn’t go to acting school, and all of a sudden I’m 18 years old and it’s happening.”
On the Personal Rule He Grew Up With
“I had a secret thing I had for myself, which was always: Leave something better. We lived in rented houses. So it was always like: Make sure that the room is nicer. The classroom, whatever it is.”
“I want to improve things. I want to improve myself. But not at the detriment of others. So I was always looking, I guess, for what is the greatest amount of creation and the least amount of destruction?”
“If you see Tom’s eyes, those eyes can get you through hell. I mean, they are landscapes over landscapes over landscapes.”
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu on working with Cruise
On the Biggest Misconception About Him
“I really have no idea. I’m not sitting here thinking about that stuff. I never think about that. I’m more looking out. For me, I’m more in present and future.”
“I’m not stuck in the past. There’s that joy of creating something, in the accomplishment, and then there’s always a new dream. There’s always the bigger dream.”
Read the Full Feature
“Tom Cruise: Hollywood’s Most Elusive Star Speaks” by Zach Baron appears in GQ Middle East’s October issue and online at gqmiddleeast.com.
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