Tom Cruise rarely agrees to a magazine cover shoot, but his latest appearance for GQ has the internet talking — and not everyone is impressed by the photo.
Last week, the Top Gun icon returned to the cover of GQ for the first time in 20 years. For the black-and-white cover, the actor posed in an open black button-down shirt that exposed his chest and abs. He paired the shirt with denim jeans and a black belt, placing one hand on his head while gripping the belt with the other.
Cruise stared directly into the camera with a serious expression, but the pose quickly became a target for online critics, who questioned whether the image should have made the final cover. See the cover here!
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Tom Cruise Trolled Over GQ Cover
“We did not need this,” one person wrote on Instagram.
“Did anyone look at the photos before they went to print?” another asked.
“Tom, do your shirt up, bro,” someone else commented.
“Trying way too hard, let it go,” another person wrote.
“This is actually cringe,” a critic added.
“I thought this was a joke. Who thought this pose was okay?” another asked.
“What exactly was the direction for this supposed to be?” someone else questioned.
Despite the criticism surrounding the cover, the Digger star opened up to GQ about his career and what it means to be described as the “last movie star” in Hollywood.
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Tom Cruise Gets Candid In New GQ Interview
When asked whether he agrees with the label, the 64-year-old pushed back on the idea that he is the only actor who represents that kind of movie stardom.
“Look, first of all, I have to say there’s really talented actors. Do you know what I’m saying?” he said, before praising Brad Pitt and other actors he has worked alongside.
“[Brad] Pitt is a great actor, great star, great charisma. And there’s many, many, many,” Cruise continued. “I’m on the set with great craftsmen as a young kid. And it’s not just 1981, when they’re there. It’s where their knowledge comes from—it’s generational.”
He explained that filmmaking is a continuous learning process, with actors and other creatives passing knowledge from one generation to the next.
“So as you’re making movies, you’re learning from other people and then you’re making it your own,” he said.
Cruise also reflected on the risks he has taken throughout his career. Known for performing many of his own stunts, he has jumped from cliffs and buildings and even performed helicopter stunts for his movies. He was asked whether he is ever afraid, either on camera or in his personal life, Cruise said that fear itself does not stop him from taking on a challenge.
“There’s stuff where you want to feel that. You want to feel that uncertainty,” he said. “But I’m not afraid to feel afraid.”
“I don’t know how else to say it. I’m not afraid to go, ‘Okay, I know this is a leap and let’s take the jump. Let’s go,’” he continued.
Cruise added that he tries to recognize what he does and doesn’t know rather than pretending to have all the answers.
“Are you afraid of death? Are you afraid to be afraid?” he asked.
