Why Thandiwe Newton Was 'So Scared' While Working With Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise, despite his immense popularity in Hollywood, has been embroiled in his fair share of big controversies over the years. His affiliation with the Church of Scientology (a religious movement often described as a cult), and brutal claims from his ex-manager about his temper outbursts have greatly contributed to a mixed reputation for the star.

Notably, Cruise's former co-star in "Mission: Impossible 2," "Westworld" star Thandiwe Newton, didn't have an easy time working with him. The pair headlined the second installment of the action franchise in 2000, and two decades later, Newton opened up about the experience in a conversation with Vulture. "I was so scared of Tom. He was a very dominant individual," Newton shared. The movie took about nine months to film, and Newton felt uncomfortable for a good chunk of that time. "The whole thing, in the end, was like 100 movies in one," she told The Telegraph in 2010.

Aside from his dominant personality, Cruise's perfectionism also had a significant impact on Newton's "Mission: Impossible 2" performance, as she told Vulture. "He takes on a lot. And I think he has this sense that only he can do everything as best as it can be done," she explained, describing a particular scene with Cruise as "a nightmare."

As Thandiwe Newton joined the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, she likely didn't anticipate the extent of Tom Cruise's demanding nature on set. Speaking to Vulture, Newton recounted a scene where Cruise became frustrated with her delivery and took an unusual approach to address it. "We filmed the entire scene with me being him — because, believe me, I knew the lines by then — and him playing me," Newton explained, adding, "I can't think of anything less revealing. It just pushed me further into a place of terror and insecurity. It was a real shame."

In another unconventional move on the "Mission: Impossible 2" set, director John Woo pretended not to speak English during filming, resulting in a lack of clear direction for both Cruise and Newton. Woo, in an interview with Novastream, mentioned, "I think I still have a problem with language and expressing myself," and added that he makes movies to better communicate with people around him, albeit sometimes leaving actors who have to make those same movies bewildered, to say the least.

After Cruise and Newton finished filming for the day, Cruise remained unsatisfied with Newton's performance. He later informed the "Crash" star that they would need to reshoot the scene in question, which gave her enough time to refine her delivery to meet Cruise's expectations. Notably, this incident wasn't the only occasion where Newton felt uncomfortable because of Cruise during filming.

Apart from having to deal with Tom Cruise's peculiar personality, Thandiwe Newton found herself in another unpleasant situation while filming a love scene with the Hollywood star, which was staged in a bed. Reflecting on the experience with The Telegraph, Newton recounted, "As soon as he got into bed, I thought he was really aroused. It was terrifying." However, it was just a misunderstanding, as Cruise was actually wearing a modesty cup for coverage. "It was massive. It was almost more distracting than if he'd actually had an erection. Which I certainly didn't expect him to have," Newton clarified.

Notably, Nicole Kidman, Cruise's wife at the time, played a pivotal role in securing Newton's part in "Mission: Impossible 2," making it unlikely that Cruise made Newton feel uncomfortable on purpose. Kidman and Newton previously worked together on the 1991 movie "Flirting," which was Newton's acting debut. Cruise, influenced by Kidman's recommendation, specifically requested that Newton audition for the action series. "We actually designed the character around [Newton]," Cruise told Time in 2000.

Interestingly, Newton had been a fan of Cruise's before meeting him through Kidman, as she revealed during her talk with The Telegraph. "I had posters of 'Top Gun' on my wall," the actor admitted. Despite her less-than-ideal work experience with Cruise, confirming the rumor that Cruise himself wants people to stop believing about him, there seems to be no bad blood between the former co-stars.