Tom Cruise is a massive movie star but his celebrity is such that it even dwarfs that of most other movie stars. People are always going to be interested in what Cruise is doing, who he might be dating, and what is happening to him personally or professionally. From a certain point of view, the whole thing could be seen as quite funny, and that’s apparently how Simon Pegg takes it.
Mission: Impossible Co-star Simon Pegg recently spoke with Deadline about his relationship with Tom Cruise, and while the actor might seem to be on another level of movie stardom, the two apparently have the sort of relationship that allows Pegg to poke fun at the actor/producer over what it means to be Tom Cruise. Pegg said…
We joke about it. I mean, I always make fun of him for it, you know, about the things that he can access… he kind of appreciates the ridiculousness of it sometimes.
It has to be pretty wild to be a movie star that is so famous that other movie stars can make fun of you for your level of access. Simon Pegg certainly gets a certain amount of access that the rest of us don’t have due to his own celebrity, he met the Queen of England once, but what Cruise has is just that much more impressive.
When you have that kind of fame Tom Cruise has, it might be honestly a bit difficult to relate to your co-stars that don’t have that, but from what Pegg says it sounds like Cruise is pretty easy to get to know and be friends with. There is a man underneath all the layers of fame who isn’t necessarily entirely the same as the celebrity that the rest of us see.
For as famous as he is, Tom Cruise keeps a lot of his personal life private. He's been married several times, and to some very famous people, but he doesn't talk about that much. Tom Cruise's religion is something that gets discussed a lot from the outside, though it's the one thing Pegg admits he doesn't poke fun of Cruise over. But the fact that it is such a topic of conversation shows just how famous Tom Cruise is. Most celebrities' religions just don't get talked about in the same way.
And it sounds like Tom Cruise does understand just how outside the norm and insane his particular level of fame is. Having said that, Pegg does say that Cruise absolutely loves being famous. He continued…
My relationship with him is just very simple and amiable. It’s always been a very easy relationship. I think you realize, when you meet the person rather than the thicket of mythology that’s built up around them, it’s a different experience. I mean, he loves [the fame] and he really relishes it, it’s all he knows. It energizes him and spurs him on.
Recently, Cruise was seen in public with pop star Shakira and the internet sort of blew up. While it doesn’t appear there was anything going on between them now, it shows just how famous Tom Cruise is that it became such a news item. It sounds like exactly the sort of thing that Simon Pegg will probably joke about with his friend.
