One Hollywood actress described kissing Tom Cruise as 'icky' and she had her reasons: "I'd go home..."
Tom Cruise has been a powerhouse in Hollywood since the 1980s, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Known for his relentless work ethic, he has won over countless fans. However, not everyone is impressed—one of his co-stars wasn’t thrilled with him. Despite earning praise for performing his own stunts in the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise, this co-star believes there’s still something Cruise could improve on.
Thandiwe Newton, who starred alongside Tom Cruise as Nyah Nordoff-Hall in 'Mission: Impossible 2', once opened up about the challenges of working with him, even describing their on-screen kiss as "icky." According to OK!, Newton found their love scene far from enjoyable. As reported by Best Life, she said, "Kissing Tom Cruise was slightly icky and sort of wet." She also recalled, "I'd really go home at the end of the day actually moaning about how hot it was and how many times we had to do it."
In a 2000 interview with The Guardian, Newton also explained why her on-screen kiss with Cruise was unromantic. "Well, to take away the mystery and magic of what you see in the movie: you're lying there, you've got 30 people around you, prodding all bits of you to make sure that certain things aren't being seen and others look good," she said. She added, "Even when you're kissing, you can't kiss too hard because then your face sort of spreads across the other person and it looks terrible. It's so clinical; you're thinking more about whether or not you're squashing him than kissing him. It just takes all the intimacy out, which is a good thing."
While Newton had her issues with kissing Tom Cruise, another Mission: Impossible actress had a different take. Paula Patton reflected on her experience kissing Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, as reported by People. Patton described the kiss as "not the best, but it was great," adding that it caught her by surprise. She also complimented his breath, saying, "It wasn't minty. It was just perfect."
Even Cruise's other co-star Annabelle Wallis told People good things about him. Wallis revealed that Cruise saved her life while filming one of The Mummy's most intense scenes. The sequence involved a plane crash that sent their characters into zero gravity. "It was just a crazy couple of days," Wallis said. She explained that the original plan was to use CGI, but Cruise insisted on realism. "There was an airplane crash sequence in the script and they were like, 'You know, we're going to build a set and do this and do that using CGI.' Cruise said, "No, we're going to do it for real.'"
They ended up filming aboard one of only four planes in the world capable of producing zero gravity, making the experience incredibly authentic. Wallis described the zero gravity stunt as an unsettling experience, noting that even Cruise and the stunt team had never done anything like it before. "You can’t prepare for it and it's quite unnerving because Tom had never done anything like that before; the stunt team had never done it,” she said. She added, “It was amazing to go into an action sequence with the biggest action star in the world and for him to do it for the first time with me."
