Tom Cruise Interview

Entertainment Weekly/June 10, 2005

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I don't suppose you want to take this opportunity to announce your engagement to Katie Holmes.

TOM CRUISE That's something Kate and I have to talk about. I have to talk to her about that alone. But I have to tell you, this kind of happiness hits you like nothing else.

You said on Oprah that you've never felt like this before.

Yeah.

Have you heard from any ex-wives lately?

No, listen, I don't mean to make less of those relationships at all. I wish them happiness. I wish them this kind of happiness.

You know, usually when movie stars get romantically involved, they try to keep it quiet. You guys seem to be inviting the whole world to celebrate your relationship.

I think it's important in life to celebrate these things. You know, I'm just happy. I can't contain myself. And I'm not going to try. I refuse.

What's it like reading all these stories about people not believing the relationship is real, that it's some sort of publicity stunt?

It's amusing at first. It's funny. But then you sit back and realize how sad it is that there are people who can't even imagine feeling like this. But my friends are happy for me. The people who know me are happy. My mom is happy. My family is happy.

You've been taking a lot of flak for your appearance on Oprah, for all the jumping around you did on the show. Does the criticism bother you?

No, I don't care. I can't live my life based on what other people think about me. Who cares what other people say? There are some people who just don't like to see other people happy. They try to actively stop it. They find that sort of happiness ugly. They're in the minority, but they squawk pretty loud. They're like the bullies you grow up with in school. But you know what? If they don't like it, f--- them. If people don't like it, f--- off.

Your comments about antidepressants on Access Hollywood — do you think going after Brooke Shields for her book about postpartum depression might have made the argument a little too personal?

It's not a matter of making it personal. I care about Brooke. I want to see her do well. I think she's really talented. But she's misinformed. And, you know, from that Access Hollywood interview, I've gotten over 154,000 responses from people thanking me. You should see some of the letters I get. People go for help but their lives don't get better because of these drugs. They get worse. They feel numb and they're told that's a good thing. It's becoming like Huxley's Brave New World. It's like what the English did to China with opium [in the 19th century]. How is this different? It's how you degrade a society — by drugging the piss out of it.

You are aware that your views about psychiatry come across as pretty radical to a lot of people.

In the 1980s, you were supposed to say no to drugs. But when I say no to drugs, I'm a radical? 'He's against drugs — he's a radical! He's against electroshock treatments — he's a radical!' [Laughing] It's absurd!

Yeah, but Scientology textbooks sometimes refer to psychiatry as a ''Nazi science''...

Well, look at the history. Jung was an editor for the Nazi papers during World War II. [According to Aryeh Maidenbaum, the director of the New York Center for Jungian Studies, this is not true.] Look at the experimentation the Nazis did with electric shock and drugging. Look at the drug methadone. That was originally called Adolophine. It was named after Adolf Hitler... [According to the Dictionary of Drugs and Medications, among other sources, this is an urban legend.]

Well, Freud wasn't a Nazi, but the point I'm getting at here is that expressing these views isn't necessarily a public relations bonanza for you.

What choice do I have? People are being electric-shocked. Kids are being drugged. People are dying.

There's a perception that you've become more passionate about this issue recently, about Scientology in general...

I've always been passionate about it. I've always talked about it when people asked about it. The only change that's occurred since the early 1990s has been the increase in the amount of drugs being used. That's what's changed.

Has anybody in Hollywood come to you — your agents or studio people — and asked you to stop talking about any of this?

I've had a lot of encouragement and a lot of thanks, that's what I've had.

What about that Scientology massage tent on the War of the Worlds set? Was that just massages or was it proselytizing?

I also had a cappuccino tent on that set. And I made sure the crews were fed well, too. And if someone wanted an assist from a [Scientology] volunteer, it was there for them. People are curious about it — they're always asking me about it, they want to know what Scientology is.

What about Katie? Is she curious about Scientology?

Yeah, absolutely. She digs it.

There was a story in one of the gossip columns that you had asked her not to do Factory Girl because of the drug use in the movie.

I don't even know what Factory Girl is.

It's a film about Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol.

I don't know anything about that. Listen, the thing you've got to know about Katie is that she's an incredibly bright and self-determined woman. She makes her own decisions.

Let me try this again — will any of those decisions involve a ring?

[Whispering, with a grin] It's gonna happen, man. It'll happen.