Tom Cruise , 64, appears in a new GQ cover shoot published Tuesday and opens up about his famously intense approach to filmmaking. The famously private Mission Impossible star says movies are not simply his profession, but the central force shaping his life and identity. Cruise discusses the discipline behind his performances, including his reputation for handling many of his own action stunts. His filmography includes Top Gun, Eyes Wide Shut, and Jack Reacher, while his next project is Digger, directed by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu . Why Is Tom Cruise So Intense? Cruise told GQ that his demanding reputation is accurate, saying he works hard, expects a lot from collaborators, and prefers to be direct about the commitment required. He also explained that curiosity drives his process, because he wants to understand every part of a project before pushing through uncertainty and mastering the work. Digger casts Cruise as an ultra wealthy oil tycoon trying to reverse a global environmental disaster he accidentally caused. The actor kept his personal life mostly off limits, despite past relationships with Katie Holmes , Nicole Kidman , and Hayley Atwell . Reports in July said Cruise's daughter Suri Noelle , 20, stopped using the surname Cruise and adopted her mother's middle name. Voter registration records reportedly listed her as Suri Noelle in Pennsylvania in October 2024, where she attends Carnegie Mellon University, while Page Six reported that the formal name change may have happened in New York.