Vintage footage of Tom Cruise icily facing off against an inquisitive interviewer has gone viral with fans of the Top Gun star branding him ‘terrifying’ for his stern responses to some relatively innocent questions.
The 59-year-old action star was quizzed by Australia’s Peter Overton on the TV show 60 Minutes back in 2005 when the topic of his failed marriage to Nicole Kidman was broached.
Tom was married to 54-year-old Nicole from 1990 until 2001 and together they adopted a son named Connor, 27, and a daughter named Isabella, 29, before they split.
Tom’s marriage to Nicole was his second after being wed to Mimi Rogers from 1987 until 1990 and he later married Katie Holmes in 2006 who he divorced in 2012 and shares a daughter named Suri, 16.
But reflecting on his marriage to Nicole was seemingly a topic he didn’t want to spend much time discussing – with footage going viral this month showing Tom snapping back at Peter, 56, when he began his line of questioning.
Peter asked: “Was Nicole the love of your life?”
Tom immediately looked awkward and replied: “What do you, what do you mean, Peter?”
Peter pointed out: “You were married for 10 years.”
Squirming in his seat, Tom hit back: “Listen. We raised children… I, er…. You know, I mean…. How do you answer? How do you answer that question?
“She someone that I, uh, I, er… you know, I plan on getting married again.”
Sounding surprised, Peter asked: “You do?”
Tom replied: “Oh, absolutely. Yeah.”
Peter asked – as the conversation became awkwardly stilted: “And having kids?”
Tom replied: “Absolutely.”
Trying his luck, Peter then asked: “But Nicole was a major part of your life and a love of your life at the time?”
Tom then replied: “I love Nic, very much. There’s no question.”
Peter then asked: “Would you like Nicole to remarry?”
Tom replied: “Yes. I want Nicole to be happy. That’s what I want.”
Trying to discover more about their relationship post-divorce, Peter then asked: “And do you have a relationship where you talk? To a parenting relationship? To talk professionally about each others’ business?”
At this point, Tom snapped and replied: “You know, why don’t we… listen. Here’s the thing, Peter. You’re stepping over a line now. You’re stepping over a line and you know you are.”
Peter replied: “I suppose they’re questions that people want to know?”
But Tom stood by his guns and barked: “Peter! Peter. You want to know. Take responsibility for what you want to know. Don’t say ‘what other people’. This is a conversation I am having with you right now.”
Peter said: “Right.”
Tom insisted: “Okay. So. I’m just telling you right now, okay? Just… put your manners back in.”
Peter then asked: “Do you think I was out of line?”
Tom confirmed: “Yes. Absolutely.”
Peter then offered: “Well, I apologise for that sincerely” – with Tom emotionlessly adding: “Good. Good.”
The exchange has sparked debate among Tom’s fans with many thinking he appeared frighteningly argumentative in the conversation.
One fan wrote on Twitter : “No one like him. Terrifying guy.”
Another referenced the fact that Christian Bale claimed he channelled Tom to portray psychopathic serial killer Patrick Bateman in the 2000 film American Psycho, tweeting: “No wonder Patrick Bateman is based on him. He’s literally terrifying without screaming even once.”
And another wrote: “I cannot imagine having this man talk to me this way. I would start crying. He's so scary.”
While Tom has since seen his subsequent marriage collapse, Nicole found her true love in the form of 54-year-old American country music singer Keith Urban and together they share two children; Sunday, 13, and Faith, 11.
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