Stars Who Can't Stand Tom Cruise

There's no argument that Tom Cruise is one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, a status that he's impressively held since the 1980s. Two of his cinematic offerings — 2023's "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" and 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick" — brought in a combined $2 billion at the box office. Of course, everyone knows that when Hollywood studios hire Cruise, they're getting the rare combination of actor and stuntman, due to his famed propensity for performing his own over-the-top and often life-threatening stunts. 

It's evident that Cruise has lots of fans who've stuck with him throughout the decades, from his 1983 breakout in "Risky Business" through to his latest blockbusters. On the flip side, it's also fair to say that Cruise has his detractors — for various reasons, particularly his long association with the controversy-generating Church of Scientology and its anti-psychiatry stance.

Not everyone has positive feelings about him, and there's a significant contingent who just happen to be celebrities. To find out more, read on for a rundown of stars who can't stand Tom Cruise.

When it comes to movie stardom, Brad Pitt is certainly no slouch. Pitt and Tom Cruise have worked together just once, and famously so, when they co-starred in the 1994 movie adaptation of Anne Rice's bestselling horror novel "Interview with the Vampire." Despite the star power displayed in Pitt playing Louis de Pointe du Lac opposite Cruise as charismatic vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, reviews for the film were decidedly mixed.

Meanwhile, Pitt hinted at friction between himself and Cruise while promoting the film. "You gotta understand, Tom and I are ... we walk in different directions," Pitt explained in an interview with now-defunct movie magazine Premiere (via fan site Simply Brad). "There was this underlying competition that got in the way of any real conversation," Pitt recalled. "It wasn't nasty by any means, not at all. But it was just there and it bugged me a bit." Pitt shared similar sentiments about Cruise when he spoke with Rolling Stone. "I like the guy, I honestly like the guy," Pitt said. "But at a point I started really resenting him."

According to an anonymous source, their dislike for each other has not dissipated over the decades. "There's a reason they haven't worked together in 30 years," that source told Closer. "They clashed so badly when they shot 'Interview with the Vampire,' neither of them has ever been able to move past it. They play it down publicly, but it's no secret they can't stand each other."

Like Tom Cruise, John Travolta has been a longtime member of the Church of Scientology, the controversial religion founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. While members of the secretive sect are instructed to share little about the inner workings of the church, those who've defected from Scientology have had a lot to say. 

For example, Brandon Tighe, who once served as the church's head of security, claimed that Travolta has deep resentments about Cruise's tight relationship with church leader David Miscavige and all the church-related perks Cruise receives that he doesn't. "Cruise is the only celeb with a direct line to Miscavige," Tighe revealed when interviewed by Australia's New Idea magazine. "Travolta didn't have that. Travolta doesn't get anything free, no one is giving him absurd gifts like an airplane hangar, custom-made bikes, or over-the-top favors," he continued.

What makes the alleged rivalry all the more bitter is the fact that Travolta, who'd been a major star long before Cruise's Hollywood ascent, had once been Miscavige's most-favored celebrity adherent before Cruise arrived on the scene. "It's no secret that Cruise and Travolta despised each other," Tighe added.

Tom Cruise made headlines back in 2005 when he dropped by NBC's "Today" show to promote his new movie, "War of the Worlds." During one part of the conversation, he discussed his views on psychiatry, which had been vilified by the Church of Scientology. "I've never agreed with psychiatry. Ever," Cruise told then-anchor Matt Lauer. He then proceeded to comment on Brooke Shields, who had publicly discussed her struggles with postpartum depression and how she'd benefited from being prescribed antidepressants. "There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance," Cruise declared. "The thing that I'm saying about Brooke is that there's misinformation. She doesn't understand the history of psychiatry."

Shields, however, pushed back by writing an op-ed for The New York Times that responded to his anti-psychiatry tirade. "I WAS hoping it wouldn't come to this, but after Tom Cruise's interview with Matt Lauer on the NBC show 'Today' last week, I feel compelled to speak not just for myself but also for the hundreds of thousands of women who have suffered from postpartum depression," Shields wrote. "While Mr. Cruise says that Mr. Lauer and I do not 'understand the history of psychiatry,' I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffered from postpartum depression."

She continued by slamming Cruise's stance as a "disservice" to all mothers. "If any good can come of Mr. Cruise's ridiculous rant, let's hope that it gives much-needed attention to a serious disease," she added.

Mickey Rourke has rarely been shy about expressing his opinions, and he once offered up a doozy about Tom Cruise. While appearing on "Piers Morgan Uncensored," the "9½ Weeks" star was asked what his thoughts were on Cruise's "Top Gun" sequel grossing more than a billion dollars at the box office, more than three decades after the first film came out. 

"That doesn't mean s*** to me," Rourke bluntly declared, before taking a shot at Cruise's lack of versatility as an actor. "The guy's been doing the same effing part for 35 years, you know. I got no respect for that."

As he continued, Rourke further shaded Cruise by insisting that he had no interest in the big money and immense power that appeared to motivate Cruise. He then proceeded to list actors whom he did respect, a roster that included the likes of Al Pacino, Ray Winstone, Christopher Walken, and Robert De Niro. "That's the kind of actor I want to be," Rourke declared. Host Piers Morgan then asked, point blank, if he believed that Cruise wasn't a good actor. "I think he's irrelevant in my world," Rourke dismissively responded.

Leah Remini was once one of the most famous celebrity Scientologists, until leaving the church in 2013. Ever since, the former "King of Queens" star has been on an anti-Scientology crusade, crystallized in her A&E TV series, "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath." 

Part of that crusade has been to publicly go after Tom Cruise, the most famous Scientologist of all. In a scorched-earth interview with "20/20" in 2015 (via ABC News), she explained how members of the church are taught to view any criticism of Cruise as an attack on the church itself. "Being critical of Tom Cruise is being critical of Scientology itself ... you are evil," she said. Beyond that, Remini also claimed that Cruise is fully aware of the alleged abuses taking place within the church, which makes him culpable. "Tom Cruise knows exactly what goes on in Scientology," she tweeted. "Don't let the movie star charm fool you."

Appearing on "Larry King Now," Remini revealed that Cruise is likewise not a fan of her. When the show's host, late TV personality Larry King, asked Remini what she thought Cruise would say to her in response to her criticism of the church, she responded, "He wouldn't say anything to me, because he thinks I'm the devil."

For more about her experiences with Scientology, read our feature detailing the tragic real-life story of Leah Remini. 

Prior to his death in 2002, Richard Harris had amassed a reputation as one of the finest actors of his generation — not to mention his notoriety as one of several actors who partied way too hard. Harris, who experienced a late-in-life career resurgence by portraying Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the first two "Harry Potter" films, was not particularly impressed with Tom Cruise.

Harris made that abundantly clear during a 2001 interview with Showbiz Ireland, as reported by ABC News. During that conversation, Harris shared a scathing opinion of spoiled Hollywood actors who hop from red carpet to red carpet in order to attract attention to themselves. "Anything for exposure," he said. "We can do without them." He went on by singling out Cruise, focusing on his short stature. "Tom Cruise is a midget, and he has eight bodyguards, all 6'10", which makes him even more diminutive," Harris observed. "It's an absolute joke. Actors are unimportant."

In another, filmed interview, he swatted away comparisons between himself and Cruise. Harris pointed out one key difference between the way he and Cruise approached stardom. According to Harris, he was known for showing up at his movie premieres clutching a bottle of vodka. "Tom Cruise got a bottle of Evian water," Harris said. "That's the difference."

The world was shocked when Lisa Marie Presley, only daughter of rock 'n' roll pioneer Elvis Presley, died in 2023 at the far-too-young age of 54. One big chapter in her life's journey was that Presley had been a member of the Church of Scientology for a number of years, beginning at the age of 9 (when her mother, Priscilla Presley, became involved with the church). She ultimately left the church in 2013, never to return. 

During her years as a Scientologist, Presley had the opportunity to meet Tom Cruise. It did not go well, according to the recollection of her friend Tony Ortega. Writing in his blog, The Underground Bunker, the ex-Scientologist shared an interview that he'd conducted with her. 

When Ortega brought up Cruise's name, Presley offered a response that can only be described as visceral. "I f***ing hate Tom," Presley told Ortega. "I met him 20 years ago. I said I never want to be in a room with him again." Interestingly, Presley revealed that she was on excellent terms with Cruise's alleged Scientology rival, John Travolta, even after she left the church. "John is my last Scientology friend," she said. "John is renting my house in Hawaii right now."

In interviews, Tom Cruise has been known to boast about all the stunts he's done, from scaling a skyscraper to flying in actual fighter jets in "Top Gun" and its sequel. In 2013, Cruise gave a deposition for a lawsuit, in which he was questioned about his lawyer stating that Cruise being away from daughter Suri while making movies was similar to the situation of a soldier who'd been sent to Afghanistan. "I didn't hear the Afghanistan, but that's what it feels like, and certainly on this last movie, it was brutal. It was brutal," Cruise said, as reported by TMZ.

While Cruise has indeed been known to train hard for his films, fellow actor Mark Wahlberg dismissed the notion that movie stars endure anything close to what actual soldiers experience. "For actors to sit there and talk about, 'Oh, I went to SEAL training' ... I don't give a f*** what you did," Wahlberg declared, without referencing Cruise by name, while appearing on a 2013 panel promoting his military-themed movie, "Lone Survivor." "For somebody to sit there and say, 'My job is as difficult as somebody in the military?' How f***ing dare you, while you sit in a makeup chair for two hours ... You get to go home at the end of the day. You get to go to your hotel room."

When Tom Cruise and first wife Nicole Kidman divorced, "Gladiator" star Russell Crowe was team Kidman all the way. That's not surprising when one considers that Crowe and Kidman have known each other for quite some time, first meeting at a party in Sydney, Australia. "We've known each other since 1992," Crowe told the Sydney Morning Herald. "We met — there will be a few names hitting the floor here — we were at a barbecue at Naomi Watts' house ... we have been friends ever since."

Crowe and Kidman had occasion to work together decades later, when they co-starred in the 2018 film "Boy Erased." Meanwhile, Crowe has also shared the screen with her ex — whom he met during that 1992 barbecue — when he and Cruise starred in "The Mummy." As a source told Australia's New Idea (as reported by the Daily Mail), Crowe had not been impressed with Cruise's behavior toward Kidman, both during and after their marriage, and was still holding a grudge when he arrived on the set of "The Mummy." "He is very protective of his friend and hasn't been able to stand Tom for years," the source declared. "Russell is a loyal guy and never forgave Tom for the way he treated Nicole."

Canadian pop star Justin Bieber has certainly experienced his share of controversies during his younger years, from egging his neighbor's mansion to relieving himself in a mop bucket while visiting a restaurant. While it didn't make quite as many headlines, Bieber's 2019 tweet aimed at Tom Cruise nevertheless raised eyebrows.

That was because the Biebs issued a challenge to Cruise, daring the actor to fight him, MMA-style, in the Octagon. "Tom if you don't take this fight your [sic] scared and you will never live it down," Bieber wrote. "Who is willing to put on the fight?"

While Bieber never quite explained his motives for attempting to provoke Cruise, or whether he had legitimate beef, he later claimed that he hadn't intended for his tweet to be taken seriously. When Bieber was subsequently questioned about it by TMZ, he admitted the whole thing was a goof. "It was just a random tweet," he said. Bieber also offered his own prediction for the outcome if there ever were an Octagon altercation with Cruise. "I think he'd probably whip my ass in a fight," Bieber admitted. As for Cruise, whether or not he's a Belieber is info he's kept to himself.

When hosting Elle magazine's Women in Hollywood gala back in 2009, Alec Baldwin took aim at Tom Cruise by joking about the "Mission: Impossible" star's gargantuan movie paychecks.

"I believe we can balance the scales if Tom Cruise would lower his quote by a mere $29 million," the "30 Rock" star joked, as reported by E! News. "I realize this may be a bit unfair since he's not here to defend himself and I really don't want to put this all on one man, but if I had to, that man would be Tom Cruise," he added. Baldwin then went on to compare his own relatively puny salary to what Cruise was raking in. "I assure you my salary would not make a difference," Baldwin quipped. "My annual salary is the budget for Altoids on one of Tom's movies."

Cruise may have borne the brunt of Baldwin's jokes, but there were apparently no hard feelings. In fact, Baldwin went on to work with Cruise, first in 2012's "Rock of Ages." Baldwin then appeared alongside Cruise in a couple of "Mission: Impossible" movies as CIA director Alan Hunley.