When Tom Cruise sat down with us for his May 1986 cover story, he was a quirky 24-year-old preparing to enter full-fledged Hollywood superstardom in a movie called. His interviewer, the shaggy auteur Cameron Crowe, was still three years away from his first directing role and had only one screenwriting credit to his name .
I spoke with Tom Cruise at the Columbus Dynasty Restaurant on New York’s Upper West Side. A model of manners, Cruise rarely missed an opportunity for a “sir” or “ma’am.” When our talk was over, he thanked the waitress, hoisted his backpack onto his shoulders and disappeared into a crowded subway, looking a lot like Joel Goodsen a long way from home.
I remember being flown out to Los Angeles to read for a series. I didn’t know anything—I didn’t know how tough it was. I went in to read and this director was sitting there in his office—he thought he was the coolest thing happening. I read, and I knew it was terrible. And he said, “So, how long are you going to be in California?” And I’m thinking, “He’s probably going to want me to come back and read again with someone else.” I said, “Well, just a couple of days.” He said, “Good.
CRUISE: I don’t hide from cameras or anything. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t seek out press for the women I’m dating, but if it finds me, it finds me.