Tom Cruise celebrated Sir Michael Caine’s 90th birthday in London days after skipping the 95th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
Cruise was a surprise absentee from the 2023 Oscars even though Top Gun: Maverick was nominated for Best Picture.
The A-lister, who co-starred with Caine in 2002’s Austin Power comedy Goldmember, was pictured at the River Café event in the unlikely company of Denise Welch and David Walliams.
Welch shared a video on her Instagram on Wednesday (15 March) of her telling a dirty joke about Caine to the party’s guests.
The camera pans around to show Caine drinking a glass of red wine while Cruise is in hysterics.
“Such an honour to be asked by Shakira to say a few words at Sir Michael Caines’ 90th birthday!!! He loves a dirty joke and so does @tomcruise it appears!!!! Great night and amazing company,” the Loose Women star captioned her post.
On her Instagram Story, Welch also shared a selfie with Cruise.
Walliams, too, posted photos from the event. “Happy 90th Birthday to the legendary Sir Michael Caine,” the Little Britain star wrote alongside a carousel of photos featuring Caine, Cruise and himself.
Other guests included Christopher McQuarrie. the writer and director behind Cruise’s Mission: Impossible series, and legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
According to Entertainment Tonight, Cruise was unable to attend the Oscars as he was busy shooting Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part II in the UK.
Executive producer Molly McNearney later revealed that her husband Jimmy Kimmel would not have made the Scientology joke about Cruise during the show if the actor was in attendance.
“We had about a three-minute chunk of the monologue dedicated to Tom Cruise, honouring him and his role in reviving the movie industry,” she said, adding: “We were so disappointed when we learn a few days before the Oscars that he wouldn’t be there. Jimmy loves him and really wanted to celebrate him.”
Top Gun: Maverick won just one Oscar, for Best Sound.
