Tom Cruise: My success is thanks to Scientology
Tom Cruise rarely comments on his very secretive religion.
So when he gave an interview today to ITV News declaring he credits Scientology for his glittering career, well, our ears pricked up to say the least.
The 54-year-old actor has been the undisputed golden boy of Hollywood for over three decades thanks to starring roles in a string of hit films including Risky Business, Top Gun, Mission Impossible, Jack Reacher and a few dozen more that we would love to mention but, you get the picture.
Defending “beautiful” Scientology as he addressed Louis Theroux’s latest documentary ‘My Scientology Movie’ – which compares the religion to that of a cult – on British television today, he said he wouldn’t be where he is now without the controversial organisation.
He said: “It’s something that has helped me incredibly in my life; I’ve been a Scientologist for over 30 years. It’s something, you know, without it, I wouldn’t be where I am. So it’s a beautiful religion. I’m incredibly proud.”
The Far and Away star – whose 11 year marriage to Nicole Kidman lasted longer than his other two put together (Mimi Rogers from 1987-1990 and Katie Holmes from 2006-2012) – added that Scientology practices developed by American founder L. Ron Hubbard have helped him overcome his dyslexia.
He previously said of his literacy struggles at school: “I asked myself if I was normal or an idiot. I would try to concentrate but I felt anxiety, frustration, boredom. When I graduated from high school in 1980 I was functionally illiterate.”
It was Mimi who introduced Tom to the church of Scientology and he’s now one of the highest-ranking Scientologists and has been hailed by leaders of the faith as the “chosen one,” who will spread the word of the religion.
The bizarre sci-fi cult’s founder Hubbard claimed that billions of extra-terrestrial beings were sent to Earth by Xenu – the dictator of the ‘Galactic Confederacy’, comprised of 26 stars and 76 planets including Earth – who gathered them around volcanoes and then destroyed the aliens with hydrogen bombs. The aliens’ souls attached themselves to chosen humans, known as thetans, who the souls will live many lives through.