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Tom Cruise OBSESSED over his looks and was bullied by his father, says ex-manager

Tom Cruise's first manager Eileen Berlin spoke about his obsession with his looks and his demanding nature in an interview with Dailymail.com
UPDATED FEB 19, 2022
Tom Cruise (Emmanuel Wong/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
Tom Cruise (Emmanuel Wong/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

In an exclusive interview to Dailymail.com, Tom Cruise's first manager Eileen Berlin has spilled a lot of beans about him. Eileen Berlin worked with the A-list actor when he was just 18 and a newbie, who wanted to make big in the entertainment industry. The retired show business executive has disclosed Cruise’s obsession with his looks, his demanding nature, and also how his infamous December 2020 expletive-ridden rant on the set of 'Mission: Impossible 7' was not something shocking to her.

The 82-year-old said, “Tommy had many faces – you see it in the photos. There's contempt, arrogance, frustration, charm, sadness. I saw him in all those moods. What I have never seen is a real display of happiness in Tommy. He was always very, very ambitious, very, very determined to be a star. And that made him a perfectionist. That's what drove him when I managed him and I'm sure that's what drives him now,” while showcasing a number of black-and-white pictures taken during his first publicity shoot.

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Berlin also did not express her surprise over the rumors that Cruise went under the knife and had facial filler injections. She said, “Tommy has built an aura around himself. I think he will do whatever it takes to preserve his youthful image as long as possible and will fight anything that stands in his way.”

Tom Cruise attends the 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' Press Conference and Photo Call on July 18, 2018, in Tokyo (Koki Nagahama/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

About Crusie’s anger, Berlin claimed he got it from his father's bullying. She also stated that she witnessed his raging avatar on his 19th birthday. She said, “Tommy had a terrible temper. He harbored a lot of anger at his natural father. He was moody and would get angry in a snap of your fingers. It was like something was smoldering and it would boil up and explode. I put it down to his insecurity.”

“I presented him with an album with all his publicity articles from teen magazines for his 19th birthday. He screamed, ‘I don't want to be in the teen mags.’ He had told me he considered himself an adult, not a teen idol. He threw the album hard at me and it hit me on the cheek,” she added.

Tom Cruise attends the 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' Seoul Premiere at Lotte World Mall on July 16, 2018, in Seoul, South Korea (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

Explaining more about the ‘Jack Reacher’ star, who will be 60 in July, Berlin said that he got his major break in 1981 with the movie ‘Taps’. “He told me he locked himself into a closet and thought about someone raping his sister before he filmed a scene where he blasted a machine gun,” she said, who also spoke about another incident when he became angry. She recalled that time when Cruise was meeting her and her husband for lunch at a restaurant and a waitress recognized her. “The waitress asked him ‘Aren't you one of the actors?’ Tom said to us, ‘Please tell her not to ask me any questions. I'm still in character'.”

Tom Cruise arrives in support of the 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' World Press Tour at Haneda Airport on July 17, 2018, in Tokyo, Japan (Ken Ishii/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

Berlin also talked about Crusie’s demanding nature, which was in him since he negotiated his contract for his first blockbuster, 1983’s ‘Risky Business'. “I still remember how Tommy had me type them up,” she said. The list included his payment “$75,000 pay or play along with first-star billing if they use a photo or drawing of anyone in the film then they must do the same for Tommy and larger, first-class round trip, and first-class hotel and given the 'most favorable dressing room'. He was very self-centered. Everything revolved around ‘me’,” Berlin explained.

The A-list actor and Berlin worked together for many years before their professional relationship ended with ‘Top Gun’ as the former one decided to move to Los Angeles. The former manager also said that his three marriages did shock her but eventual divorces did not. She added, “I was just shocked that he had three marriages and that they lasted as long as they did. I wish he had other things in his life. But I don't think he loves people. He loves what he does. I feel sad for him. I worry that he is lonely. As long as he can work and make his kind of films, he'll be okay. What will happen if ever he can't do that, I don't know.”

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