Tom Cruise Quotes

As a young actor, people were trying to define who I was before I really knew that for myself. But I still remember thinking, "This is what I love doing, and I hope I'm going to be able to do it forever."

I had to train myself to focus my attention. I became very visual and learned how to create mental images in order to comprehend what I read.

Even in my dreams, I’m an idiot who knows he’s about to wake up to reality.

I'm a good listener. I think it's the one characteristic that's most important. I've always been that way. Not that I take all the advice, but you've got to listen to it and have the courage to make your own decision. Then I just go for it.

Perception and reality are two different things.

Today, people can say anything they want. Suddenly it gets in the rumor mill and then it evolves and then somehow it becomes fact and you say, What is this? You know, why don't you ask me?

There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance.

I don't care who you are, life has challenges.

Awards are wonderful. I've been nominated many times and I've won many awards. But my journey is not towards that. If it happens it will be a blast. If it doesn't, it's still been a blast.

If I don’t talk about my religion, if I say I’m not discussing it or different humanitarian things I’m working on, they’re like, “He’s avoiding it.” If I do talk about it, it becomes, “Oh, he’s proselytizing.”

I feel good about the fact that I finally found something I love. I never lived in one place for very long - that's the way my whole life has been. I was always packing and moving around, staying in Canada, Kentucky, Jersey, St. Louis - it all helped because I was always learning new accents, experiencing different environments.

I've had such extremes in my life. From being this kind of wild kid, to one year studying to be a Franciscan priest at the seminary....I was very frustrated.

I'm usually nervous to meet people that I admire because what if they're not cool or something?

As an actor - like an artist - you have to ask, "Why do I choose a certain moment to play something a certain way?" It's organic to who we are.

I've gotten very good at scheduling my life, scheduling the scene and preparing myself for knowing, saving the energy, consuming the energy, knowing when to go for it and having the available reserves to be able to do that. You have to think about that, because it's endurance.

I don't care what someone believes. I don't care what nationality they are. But if someone wants to get off drugs, I can help them. If someone wants to learn how to read, I can help them. If someone doesn't want to be a criminal anymore, I can give them tools that can better their life.

I always look for a challenge and something that's different.

They smell good. They look pretty. I love women. I do.

It's well known I'm a Scientologist, and that has helped me to find that inner peace in my life and it's something that has given me great stability and tools that I use.

I've always thought of the audience. I just want to entertain the audience. That's what it's about: what's good for the movie, what's best for the movie, what's best for the audience.

I don't hide from cameras or anything. It doesn't bother me. I don't seek our press for the women I'm dating, but if it finds me, it finds me.

Stanley Kubrick was brilliant at getting under the audience's skin. He was very interested in the idea of, 'How can I tell this with just a camera?'

I love kids. I was a kid myself, once.

When I first started out all the attention could be a bit unnerving, especially when people stared. Now I find the best thing is to just relax. Being recognized is just something you have to get used to.

I'm not greedy. I just want my half.

When I was about 7 years old, I had been labeled dyslexic. I'd try to concentrate on what I was reading, then I'd get to the end of the page and have very little memory of anything I'd read. I would go blank, feel anxious, nervous, bored, frustrated, dumb. I would get angry. My legs would actually hurt when I was studying. My head ached. All through school and well into my career, I felt like I had a secret. When I'd go to a new school, I wouldn't want the other kids to know about my learning disability, but then I'd be sent off to remedial reading.

My childhood was extremely lonely. I was dyslexic and lots of kids make fun of me. That experience made me tough inside, because you learn to quietly accept ridicule.

If someone wants to know about Scientology, they should just go and read about it themselves. That's the best way to do it.

I didn't become an actor to have power, but it just happens that I have it and so I have a lot of opportunities.

Every time I make a "Mission" movie or other films, people kind of look at me and go, "Well, now what? What's next?" I think there's always going to be another mountain. I think there's something always in store.

My name is Joel Goodson. I deal in human fulfillment. I grossed over eight thousand dollars in one night.

If someone doesn’t want to be a criminal anymore, I can give them tools that can better their life. You have no idea how many people want to know what Scientology is.

Who hasn't danced in their underwear?

Stanley Kubrick was very selective when he went into a close-up. Every director has his taste in a performance, but Stanley would explore a scene to find what was most interesting for him.

I enjoy working with writers and their scripts. It's very exciting to me. Eventually I would like to produce, direct and act onstage, but it's not a heavy pressure. When I do it, I want to do it well. I'm just educating myself with writers and scripts, because I didn't read a lot of books when I was growing up.

But I think also you look at Scientology it is the fastest growing religion. It's helped so many people.

Psychiatry is a pseudoscience.... You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do...Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, you don't even -you're glib. You don't even know what Ritalin is.

I've been... chased by paparazzi, and they run lights, and they chase you and harass you the whole time. It happens all over the world, and it has certainly gotten worse. You don't know what it's like being chased by them.

You can put the camera in places where you may not necessarily be able to put it there if I don't do the stunt. If it's character and it's storytelling, then we do it. We design the things around me. I don't do it just to do a stunt. It's storytelling for me and how I can best bring the audience into the action, bring the audience into the story. And that's how we always look at at.

I believe in life. I know that life comes in at your heart and it doesn't matter if you're an actor, a filmmaker or a gentleman on the street, it comes at you. What Scientology gives me is the tools to deal with that, to better enjoy my life and to be able to contribute more.

Someday. That's a dangerous word. It's really just a code for 'never'.

With each one, I love working on the story and the characters. The stunts, each time, we keep pushing ourselves harder and harder. And they are stunts, so there's always a danger in doing them, but fortunately, I have not had a problem. I have not missed a day of work, ever, in my career. I'm always there early. And I train very hard, and we prepare very carefully for each one.

I disagree with people who think you learn more from getting beat up than you do from winning.

Being a Scientologist, when you drive past an accident... you know you have to do something about it because you know you're the only one that can really help.

I've always had the same values. Family for me has always been important. When I shoot, everybody comes.

When I work, I work very hard. So I look to work with people who have that level of dedication. And I depend on that from everyone. From the director to my crews that I work with.

Yes, of course. Are you really so arrogant as to believe we are alone in this universe? Millions of stars, and we're supposed to be the only living creatures? No, there are many things out there, we just don't know.

For me as a man, philosophically, when you talk about honor and integrity, that’s the way I want to live my life. It moved me.