Tom Cruise debunks ‘weirdest’ rumor to ‘Mission: Impossible’ director

Not even Tom Cruise’s daredevil stunts can silence the rumors about the “Mission: Impossible” star.

From his sometimes abrasive perfectionism to his deep involvement with the Church of Scientology, Cruise, 61, prefers to keep public comments focused on his projects — leaving plenty of room for gossip about his personal life.

But in recent interviews conducted with cast and crew around the upcoming “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning — Part One,” director Christopher McQuarrie revealed that there’s one dogged rumor that Cruise himself is happy to debunk.

In a story in the Times, McQuarrie recalled asking Cruise for the “weirdest” story he’s heard about himself, and the star revealed there was a rumor going around over the years that cast and crew members “were not allowed to look me in the eye.” Not true, said Cruise — an assertion backed up by co-worker McQuarrie.

Additionally, while Cruise was seen getting frustrated on set in 2020, McQuarrie and co-star Simon Pegg (who plays Benji Dunn) were quick to defend Cruise as the fun-loving, thrill-seeking guy. Where we saw a celebrity yelling, they saw a man devoted to keeping cinema alive during the pandemic, when social-distancing requirements were essential to keeping film production going.

“People can argue that cinema is frivolous,” Pegg said. “But it’s not. Cinema brings people together at a time we’re pulling apart, and that just added to Tom’s determination to put people in a room together. The power of cinema is, for him, precious, and it’s vital we sustain it.”

When it comes to picking an audience for a film, McQuarrie explained Cruise wants to reach as many people as possible.

“There is an outsized importance placed on Oscars. Films that not many people are going to see. A wedge has been driven into the industry. Are you an artist or an entertainer?” he said. “Tom doesn’t see them as mutually exclusive.”

Last summer’s “Top Gun: Maverick” made nearly $1.5 billion at the box office. The buzz behind “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” one of many summer blockbusters about to hit theaters, is in full force just days before the movie is released.

Chip away at all the mythology, said Pegg, and underneath there’s a normal guy.

“On one side he’s Tom Cruise — this enigmatic film star everyone wants to know about. And on the other, he’s just a guy. I like being normal with him.”