One of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, Tom Cruise’s career is filled to the brim with blockbuster movies and award-winning projects. But the one thing that stands out more besides his talented performances and iconic stunts, is the torrent of controversies concerning his affiliation with the Church of Scientology.
The Top Gun: Maverick star has been an adamant follower of Scientology ever since he first joined the religion back in the ’90s. However, though Cruise is renowned for prioritizing his spiritual beliefs over essentially everything else, there came a time when his career almost made him part ways from his beloved faith.
Eyes Wide Shut – the Film That Distanced Tom Cruise From Scientology
Albeit briefly, filming Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut detached Tom Cruise from the world of Scientology.
Kubrick was notoriously famous for placing taxing demands on his actors for the meticulous and painstakingly precise execution of his vision. And that’s exactly what unfolded while shooting the erotic mystery starring Cruise and his now-ex wife, Nicole Kidman.
While filming the Dream Story adaptation in 1997, the pair was sequestered from the rest of the world for an entire year in a clandestine and closed set in London. Toppled with incessant reshoots, Cruise’s contact with the head of Scientology, David Miscavige ended up reducing drastically, and that was particularly alarming for the latter.
In his memoir, A Billion Years, former Scientology senior executive, Mike Rinder, revealed how this estrangement from Cruise had Miscavige worried sick. An unresponsive Cruise not only fretted the 63-year-old but also chagrined him because he believed that the actor’s then-wife, too, was responsible for causing this rift between them. With apprehension getting the best of him, Miscavige sent Rinder to London to meet up with the Mission: Impossible star’s sister, who too happens to be a devoted Scientologist.
Though Cruise’s sister reassured Rinder about the former’s loyalties to the Church of Scientology, Miscavige wasn’t willing to believe it. “Not one to give up, Miscavige tasked Marty Rathbun [former Scientology exec] with getting Cruise back in the fold. Rathbun began auditing Cruise under the direct supervision of Miscavige,” Rinder wrote in his memoir. And that’s how Cruise came back into the groove with renewed vigor. Unfortunately enough, that in turn held major repercussions for his marriage with Kidman.
How Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman’s Relationship Got Sour
It’s no secret that Cruise’s decisions put a dent in the relationship he shared with his ex-wife. But there have been various sources and reports that claim that the Church of Scientology was the actual culprit behind their divorce. In fact, Rinder, who’d been privy to all the ins and outs of the organization, has mentioned how Rathbun spied on the Aquaman actress and even “tapped her phones.”
It is also believed that Cruise and Kidman’s adopted children, Isabella and Connor, were turned against their mother no thanks to the toils of Scientology members. But things became unbearable to the point of no return, and after a decade of their marriage, the couple got divorced in 2001, the primary reason reportedly being Kidman’s refusal about converting into a Scientologist.
As of right now, the Big Little Lies star is in a happy marriage with Australian-American singer Keith Urban for the last 17 years. Meanwhile, Cruise has recently sparked dating rumors with popular musician, Shakira.
Source: A Billion Years (via Daily Beast)
