Highlights
- Tom Cruise’s dedication to his films and his refusal to compromise on quality has solidified his reputation as one of the last real movie stars. However, this level of commitment leaves little time for sleep.
- Despite getting only a few hours of sleep, Cruise’s performance in his films remains exceptional, and his lack of sleep seems to fuel his professional achievements. His attention to detail and willingness to put in an enormous amount of time and effort make it difficult for studio executives to say no to his demands.
- Cruise never gives less than 100 percent to his film projects, using each acting gig as an opportunity to learn and grow. He enjoys the pressure and challenge that comes with his work, and he works tirelessly even when not shooting, as his career feels like a dream job to him.
Tom Cruise has been called many things over the span of his career, including a gentleman, but the one that has been heard on repeat more recently is that he is one of the last real movie stars. This is because of the amount of effort he puts into his films to ensure that they are perfect before they roll out to theaters for fans to enjoy. The title comes with not only major influence in the industry but drawbacks as well, some of which can affect health.
For Cruise, the amount of time and energy he puts into his work has a direct impact on the amount of sleep he gets. Be it needing to have control over every aspect of the films he works on from the producing, acting, and stunt performing Cruise does not have enough hours in the day to get the recommended number of hours of sleep daily.
Oddly enough, though Cruise claims he never actually sleeps, the few hours of sleep the Top Gun: Maverick star gets does not appear to affect his performance in front of or behind the camera. Instead, the lack of sleep seems to fuel Cruise’s professional life and has helped him become one of the most powerful A-list stars in Hollywood today.
Tom Cruise Is Known For Giving His All To His Films
Regardless of what people think of Cruise’s personal life and his affiliations with the Church of Scientology, what cannot be argued is that Cruise never gives less than 100 percent to his film projects. Because of this, it makes it hard for studio executives to say no to The Mummy star, even if they do not always agree with Cruise.
“Tom looks at [the money] he delivers to the studio,” an executive at Paramount explained. “Why wouldn’t you go do whatever you want? Who’s going to tell you not to?”
The executive continued saying, “It’s not always in the best interest of the budget, but he is incredibly detailed and willing to put in an enormous amount of time and effort on every aspect.”
“The guy does give every ounce of his being to this endeavor,” another executive said of Cruise’s perfectionism in his films.
Cruise has put his all into his films since he began in the industry. This is because he has used each acting gig as an opportunity to learn and grow. While this comes with “pressure,” it is a pressure that Cruise welcomes.
“I work seven days a week, and I’m producing and everything that we are dealing with during this time period,” Cruise explained. “I have to say I enjoy the pressure, I do enjoy the challenge, but I realize – I woke up, and I enjoy this.”
Working this much is likely why Cruise is rarely witnessed by co-stars ever sleeping, instead preferring to work for as many hours during the day as possible.
Many Of Tom Cruise’s Co-Stars Have Never Seen Him Sleep
A true testament to the fact that Cruise will use as many hours in a day to be productive as possible versus using them to sleep is the fact that his co-stars have rarely, if at all seen him sleep. That fact was most recently brought to light by Cruise’s co-stars on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
While on the red carpet for the premiere, Cruise was told that one of his co-stars revealed that they had only seen Cruise sleep twice in 17 years. Once was on a flight to Japan and the other was in a zero-gravity bed.
“I try not to [sleep],” Cruise admitted about the statement. “You know what, I think I go unconscious. That’s what happens. My days start early and they go early.”
This insight into Cruise’s sleep patterns seems to corroborate what the Jerry Maguire star said while he was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show two decades ago where he stated he only gets “four to six hours of sleep at night.”
The fact shocked DeGeneres, who thought Cruise would get more sleep given all the stunts he performs.
In fact, when Cruise is learning new stunts, which he said his childhood prepared him for, he sleeps even less. This is because Cruise wants to be proficient with the stunts he does, which takes time to do. But he does not begrudge one moment of sleep lost to learn the skills that are now more muscle memory than anything else.
“I have trained my whole life, constantly, whether it’s drama or action,” Cruise explained of his stunt training. “I don’t sleep much and I love what I do so I’m working many long hours.”
Cruise went on to say, “I’ve been doing it for so long, and I never take anything for granted.”
“When we come up with things, there’s so many on every film I can’t include them all,” Cruise said. “I want something that’s cinematic, that’s character and story – for me, story is king. We have to find ways of putting the audience inside that character.”
Cruise concluded, “You want those shots but it has to be the right tone – something exhilarating and spine tingling.”
While the stunts take time to learn which is attributed to his around-the-clock work, Cruise works on so many aspects of his films that there really is no downtime when on or off set when production is underway.
Why Tom Cruise Works Around The Clock On His Films
Cruise is a self-described workaholic. But because he sees his career as a dream job, it does not ever feel like work. As such, he is willing and happy to put in no matter what day it is, even if that means having no time off at all.
“This is a day off for me because I am not shooting!” Cruise explained. “I’m just chillin’ now. I don’t have days off. Look, I’m fortunate, I’m lucky. I’ve spent my life on movie sets and traveling the world, which is what I always wanted to do. So this is not work — I’m living the dream.”
Even those who are hard workers in the industry find it hard to believe that Cruise works as hard as he does.
“I lived with Tom when we made ‘American Made,’” director Doug Liman stated. “When you work with Tom, it’s a seven-days-a-week job. No matter how hard a worker you are, and I consider myself that, it’s nothing compared to Tom.”
There are very few if any actor-producers who work as hard as Cruise does. All of this is a testament to the fact that as far as real movie stars go, Cruise may be a dying breed.
Source: NewsFinale
