Tom Cruise is currently in Atlanta working on Mena. Here he is on set yesterday showing off a gap in his teeth, obviously for the character. He’s playing Barry Seal, a real life pilot in the 80s who became a drug smuggler. Seal was supposedly a really big dude. Like 300 lbs. So initially everyone was thinking Tom would gain some weight. Clearly he’s channeling the spirit of the man instead embodying him. This is definitely a gritty character though. Seal is not supposed to be a hero. When he’s not being a hero though, Tom’s turns at being a dick can sometimes be … campy? You know why? It’s because he’s never been good at subtlety.
Emily Blunt talked about him this week in Cannes when she was promoting Sicario. Her performance is getting great reviews. And remember, it was a role that the money people tried to change because they thought it’d be better as a man. Instead, Emily ended up standing up, standing out, among the men. When asked about often being the only woman on set, Emily noted that more work needed to be done to include women’s stories, but that she has worked with many inclusive actors, singling out Tom Cruise:
“I’ve actually worked with a lot of great male actors, like Tom Cruise for example. He is very empowering to females in a huge way. I thought [when I got to set], Oh it’s going to be a boys club. But he was someone who was very much about my character being a girl. It was refreshing.”
As I’ve mentioned before, he’s known for being popular on set. He’s always been kind to the crew, very accommodating to the entire film team, and is really good about being around, even when he’s not needed for the scene, just to hang out, to help, to engage. It’s never the WORK behaviour that’s the problem with Tom. It’s that the other sh-t, the Xenu sh-t, seems so inconsistent with what we know of him as a professional.
If you’ve seen Going Clear, you know of the abuse allegations against the Church. About how pregnant women who were perceived to be challenging the authority of the Church were allegedly mistreated. About how Church members were allegedly made to service his grand lifestyle without fair compensation. That guy isn’t the guy Emily Blunt is talking about.
