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On his mother...
RD: Tell us about your mom. I've read that you've said she was a person who always saw the glass half-full.
Cruise: Yes. She's quite a woman. Loving, with a generous laugh, a generous smile. She's someone who sees the value in life and helping people, and it's what I reach for.
On realizing he wanted to become an actor...
RD: When did you first realize you wanted to be an actor? Was it when you performed in the high school play?
Cruise: No. My mother got me into a little bit of creative drama years before that. Then when I did the play, I went: This is what I want to do. It kind of reminded me of what it was that I wanted to do.
On roles and an Oscar...
RD: Some people have said you played a different type of a character early in your career than you are playing now.
Cruise: Every character's different.
RD: Do you have a favorite among the roles you've played?
Cruise: That's like asking if you have a favorite child.
RD: You've been nominated for an Oscar three times but not yet won one. How important is that to you?
Cruise: First of all, I didn't grow up watching the Oscars, so it's never been a goal of mine. I wanted to make movies. I wanted to act. I wanted to produce movies. People have tried to get me to do a role by saying: This is your Oscar. That means nothing to me. I have to figure out do I want to play this character? Am I interested in it, because I've got to live with it? I've got to do it. I'm the one that has to create it. It just doesn't happen. So those external things have never really meant much to me. It always comes back to, am I interested in a piece of material, not is it going to feed someone else.
RD: I've interviewed a lot of actresses who talk about how the roles get fewer and fewer as they age. Do you worry about that?
Cruise: No.
RD: You're lucky.
Cruise: I know.
On Spielberg...
RD: Steven Spielberg is a close friend of yours, right? What is it that you like about him?
Cruise: He's just a very, very unique person, an incredibly kind man, social personality. I think he's the greatest storyteller and filmmaker that we've had. And it's just fun. We have a lot in common. We like cars, we love our kids, I like going shooting with him and we love movies. And we like talking about motorcycles. We just hit it off.
I've always felt a real connection with Steven. I remember being a little kid when Jaws came out and convincing everyone at a picnic to go see Spielberg's movie. Growing up, Steven made a movie, we'd all want to go see that picture. Then I met him back in '83. We had dinner at the Ivy and instantly I loved him as a friend. You know, when you have a friend and you just get together and you laugh. And you always feel better when you leave.
On War of the Worlds...
RD: Why did you want to do War of the Worlds?
Cruise: I like stories like that. I like big stories and adventure. Even now, going to the movies, I like seeing those kinds of pictures. But one of the things that Steven and I talked about was making this the smallest, biggest film. It's very personal.
RD: What do you mean?
Cruise: It's [about] one family and its very personal journey. Steven and I always talk about our kids. We were talking about family, being fathers. And how much we love our children. I don't want to give too much of the movie away, but it's about to what extent you would go to protect your child. Those are the discussions that Steven and David Koepp, the screenwriter, and I had.
RD: When did you and Steven decide to do this?
Cruise: We were in the midst of working on the ad campaign for Minority Report, and he was shooting Catch Me If You Can. We said, Okay, what movie are we gonna make together next? We named off three movies and I said, War of the Worlds. Let's go make War of the Worlds. Steven and I called Paramount, and off we went.
On his children...
RD: What goals do you have for your children?
Cruise: Nic[ole Kidman] and I really respect what they think. What do they want? We open the doors to the world to them and give them tools. I've told them anything is possible. You can tell someone that, but unless you know it for yourself and have the tools, it doesn't mean anything.
I try to give them the confidence to learn and know what they know and the respect that what is true for you is true for you. I try to instill in them a sense of integrity, compassion and also an understanding of why competence is important in life. I started them when they were young, just swimming and then riding, then hiking, then climbing. And constantly what I know what I've done is work on competence. It's getting to learn a skill, finding out what is it that they're interested [in].
On reading...
RD: Having overcome your reading difficulties, what kinds of things do you like to read these days?
Cruise: I read every single day. First of all in Scientology, there's a lot of study. But when you're an actor, you're constantly reading because you have to be very good at finding the things you need very quickly, things that are relevant, pertinent stuff. Sometimes there are accents you need to know about, textbook skills, computer skills. The thing that I've just reread recently is Mission: Impossible.
On leisure time...
RD: What do you do when you're not working?
Cruise: Oh, it's high activity in our family. I live with my little sister; she has three kids. I love kids. We'll have parties, hide and seek parties where people -- adults and kids -- come over all dressed up. We go and hide all over the property.
On slowing down...
RD: Do you ever think about slowing down career-wise?
Cruise: I love my work. I love working. Work, kids, everything, it's all part of life. Sometimes I'm stretched a little thin. But I wouldn't trade it. I wouldn't trade it at all.
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