Tom Cruise promoted his upcoming musical film, Rock of Ages, in the latest issue of Playboy, but also discusses his personal life. (If you’re curious as to what Cruise sounds like singing, check out the track, “Sugar,” on iTunes.
On plastic surgery: “I haven’t gotten any, and I never would.”
On his PR nightmare: Asked what he learned from his controversial interview with Matt Lauer, in which he ripped psychiatry and prescription drugs for post-partum depression and his Oprah couch fiasco, Cruise replied, “When I go back and look at it, I find myself thinking, I don’t feel that way. I get how it came across, but I don’t feel that way, and I never have. Telling people how to live their lives? I saw how that came across and how pieces were edited.”
On Katie Holmes: “She is an extraordinary person, and if you spent five minutes with her, you’d see it. She’s funny and charming, and when she walks into the room, I just feel better. I’m a romantic. I like doing things like creating romantic dinners, and she enjoys that. I don’t know what to say—I’m just happy, and I have been since the moment I met her. What we have is very special.”
On Scientology: “I have respect for what other people believe. What I believe in my own life is that it’s a search for how I can do things better, whether it’s being a better man or a better father or finding ways for myself to improve.” He adds, “If I don’t talk about my religion, if I say I’m not discussing it or different humanitarian things I’m working on, they’re like, ‘He’s avoiding it.’ If I do talk about it, it becomes, ‘Oh, he’s proselytizing.’”
On rumors about him: “Does refuting things help? Not really. There comes a point when you just have to go, ‘You know what? Here’s how I’ve lived my life: I’ve never been late to a set. I make films I believe in. I feel privileged to be able to do what I love.’ You just have to keep going and remember that. The other stuff? I hear it, I read it, I get it. But life is not a matter of trying to prove anything to anybody.”
On when the rumors cross the line: “If I have to, I will sue. You start with a letter saying, ‘Okay, you know it’s not true. Apologize.’ But with certain ones you have to go, “Okay, you crossed a line, and now you have the attention of my lawyers. [laughs] When it involves your kids, you have to go, ‘Here’s the line, and anytime you cross it…”
