Tom Cruise’s Scientology fervor almost ruined his career. The ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise saved it.
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2006 was the lowest point in Cruise’s career.
The public bristled at him talking about Scientology and his relationship with Katie Holmes.
Here, we chronicle Cruise’s downfall and his rise back to stardom thanks to “Mission: Impossible.”
In August 2006, it seemed like Tom Cruise’s career was over.
In an unprecedented announcement from the head of a major conglomerate, Viacom’s then-chairman Sumner Redstone publicly ripped into the star — who for years was one of the most profitable actors and producers at Viacom’s movie studio, Paramount Pictures.
“We don’t think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot,” Redstone told The Wall Street Journal that year. “His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount.”
It was likely the toughest and strangest time of Cruise’s career. The then-43-year-old actor had a lifetime box-office gross of over $1.5 billion, but his flawless transition from young heartthrob to respected dramatic actor to massive action star seemed to self-destruct as quickly as one of the messages his character, Ethan Hunt, received in the “Mission: Impossible” movies.
The studio he’d called home for 14 years was parting ways with him following a string of bizarre outbursts.
In 2025, that all seems hard to imagine.
Cruise is not only the face of one of the biggest action franchises ever, but his 2022 hit, “Top Gun: Maverick,” might have saved Hollywood following the pandemic.
On May 23, he’s back with another “M:I,” Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” which is being touted as Cruise’s final time playing Ethan Hunt.
It’s yet another must-see title from one of the last real movie stars the industry has left.
But there was a time the veteran actor’s career was at a low point.
Cruise’s strange downfall and subsequent rebirth as one of the most bankable movie stars all began with a seemingly innocent act of love.
When Cruise agreed to appear on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in May 2005 to promote his film, “War of the Worlds,” it was a big deal. Cruise rarely did interviews, especially on daytime TV.
As Cruise walked onto Winfrey’s stage, the crowd went wild. Winfrey playfully tousled Cruise’s hair, and the actor was clearly in a great mood.
During the interview, Winfrey mentioned Cruise’s latest love interest, Katie Holmes, who was off-stage where no one, especially the cameras, could see her. The excitement of talking about his new girlfriend led him to leap up on Winfrey’s couch with joy. He did it a second time for good measure.
After the couch-jumping, Winfrey even got Cruise to chase down Holmes and get her to come onstage.
It seemed harmless at the time, but thanks to a very young internet video-posting site called YouTube, the image of Cruise on top of Winfrey’s couch became a pop-culture phenomenon. To some critics, Cruise’s behavior felt off.
A month later, Cruise agreed to go on the “Today” show to continue promoting “War of the Worlds” and also talk about his religion, Scientology. When now-disgraced interviewer Matt Lauer spoke about Scientology, and specifically about Cruise not agreeing with psychiatry, the tone changed. Cruise offered his opinion on Brooke Shields’ use of antidepressants for postpartum depression.
Here’s an excerpt of Cruise and Lauer’s uncomfortable exchange:
Content retrieved from: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/tom-cruises-scientology-fervor-almost-171502293.html.
