BEAU BRIDGES SAYS TOM CRUISE \u2018GETS BETTER WITH AGE\u2019 AS \u2018TOP GUN’ STAR KEEPS DEFYING HOLLYWOOD ODDS<\/a><\/p>\n Tom Cruise confronts rumors about his intense reputation behind the scenes. (Mario Sorrenti \/ GQ)<\/p>\n “Trust me, the rumors are true. I’ll be here before you. What experience do you want?” he laughed.<\/p>\n The actor made clear that his intensity isn’t an act he puts on once the cameras start rolling.<\/p>\n “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,'” Cruise remarked.<\/p>\n “I got a very good sense of humor about it,” he added.<\/p>\n The Hollywood star makes a surprising admission about his movie-set behavior. (Mario Sorrenti \/ GQ)<\/p>\n For Cruise, the intensity comes from curiosity and a desire to master his craft.<\/p>\n “When I’m interested in something, I want to learn it. I want to understand it,” he said. “And you want to blast through the confusion and kind of build up that ability.”<\/p>\n MATT DAMON REFUSES TO PUT BODY IN ‘DANGEROUS’ SITUATIONS FOR HOLLYWOOD ROLES AFTER TURNING 50<\/a><\/p>\n That mindset has helped turn Cruise into one of Hollywood’s most famous action stars<\/a>, but he insisted filmmaking is about much more than spectacular stunts or box-office numbers.<\/p>\n “I say, ‘Understand the tools, then go create what you want to create,'” he said.<\/p>\n The “Top Gun” star also discussed the idea that movies are simply another form of entertainment competing with television and streaming.<\/p>\n Tom Cruise poses for the cover of GQ wearing a cowboy hat, T-shirt and jeans. (Mario Sorrenti \/ GQ)<\/p>\n “I have nothing against cable or TV or Netflix. I think it’s great. Create jobs and everything,” Cruise said. “But what I like about cinema is it is all of us coming together in a room and sharing an experience.”<\/p>\n When Cruise is not on a movie set, he said he’s preparing for the next project.<\/p>\n TOM CRUISE SAVED SAMANTHA HARRIS FROM GETTING CRUSHED BY A ‘500-POUND’ MOTORCYCLE<\/a><\/p>\n “You know what? I’m preparing for the next. I’m always studying something. I’m always learning something, always.”<\/p>\n Cruise stressed that the work behind a movie can begin years before production.<\/p>\n “Movies don’t just start when you’re shooting it and on a movie set. There’s sometimes years of preparation,” he said.<\/p>\n Tom Cruise sits on a red Ducati motorcycle outdoors. (Mario Sorrenti \/ GQ)<\/p>\n During his decades-long career, Cruise has ridden a motorcycle off a cliff, hung from aircraft in midair<\/a> and performed other death-defying feats for his movies.<\/p>\n Cruise was asked whether he fears death when performing his movie stunts.<\/p>\n “Look, I think you could look at my life and go: I like standing on the edge of a cliff physically and metaphorically,” he told GQ.<\/a><\/p>\n GET ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE<\/a><\/p>\n “Meaning, I look at life as an adventure, and I always have, my whole life. I want to understand people. I want to understand life and cultures. We’re looking at life. I wonder: Who are those people? How do they feel? Do they think the way I do? Do they laugh at the same thing? How do I connect with them? And I didn’t want to just be a tourist. I wanted to go make movies there because I also find you really get to know people when you create with them.”<\/p>\n Tom Cruise in “Top Gun,” in 1986. (Corbis via Getty Images)<\/p>\n He added, “Everyone has a different subjective reality of what they think about life, about people. And there is common ground in humanity, and I’m looking for that common ground.”<\/p>\n LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n Cruise is bringing that famously intense energy to his next role.<\/p>\n In Alejandro G. I\u00f1\u00e1rritu’s “Digger,” Cruise portrays oil magnate Digger Rockwell, whose actions put the world at risk of an $18 trillion catastrophe.<\/p>\n![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/gqus-fall-2026-cover_dig.jpeg\")
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