Phrases

01. In this life, it’s not what you hope for, it’s not what you deserve – it’s what you take!

02. Someday. That’s a dangerous word. It’s really just a code for ‘never’.

03. When you have to cope with a lot of problems, you’re either going to sink or you’re going to swim.

04. I love what I do. I take great pride in what I do. And I can’t do something halfway, three-quarters, nine-tenths. If I’m going to do something, I go all the way.

05. I feel the need… the need for speed.

06. Nothing ends nicely, that’s why it ends.

07. When you become successful in any type of life, there are people who are not contributing to the motion.

08. No dream is ever just a dream.

09. I don’t pretend to be the character. I am the character.

10. There is Life in every breath.

11. The important thing is to be relaxed in your work. Same in life. Don’t make everything too intense. Then you can let everything go and not “act”.

12. Perception and reality are two different things.

13. I don’t care if you print something nasty about me. If it’s true, fine. I don’t care. But just make sure it’s the truth.

14. I don’t care who you are, life has challenges.

15. Sex is great, if you are in a relationship. Otherwise, I find sex actually not so interesting. Without a relationship it is confusing.

16. I want a world without war, a world without insanity. I want to see people do well. I don’t even think it’s as much as what I want for myself. It’s more what I want for the people around me. That’s what I want.

17. I’m someone who doesn’t believe in making my problems other people’s problems.

18. I’m passionate about learning. I’m passionate about life.

19. My childhood was extremely lonely. I was dyslexic and lots of kids make fun of me. That experience made me tough inside, because you learn to quietly accept ridicule.

20. Individuals have to decide what is true and real for them.

21. I always look for a challenge and something that’s different.

22. I just eat life… I engage in life.

23. When I was about 7 years old, I had been labeled dyslexic. I’d try to concentrate on what I was reading, then I’d get to the end of the page and have very little memory of anything I’d read. I would go blank, feel anxious, nervous, bored, frustrated, dumb. I would get angry. My legs would actually hurt when I was studying. My head ached. All through school and well into my career, I felt like I had a secret. When I’d go to a new school, I wouldn’t want the other kids to know about my learning disability, but then I’d be sent off to remedial reading.

24. I disagree with people who think you learn more from getting beat up than you do from winning.

25. I’ve never done work for money, ever. If your choices are based on grosses and the film doesn’t do well, what does that mean? It leaves you with nothing.

26. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person, and when I become interested in something, I give it my all.

27. As a kid, when I got to the edge of a cliff I wanted to jump off. I didn’t want to kill myself. I wanted to fly.

28. I feel lonely at times, but I don’t want to get into a relationship with someone if it is not right. I’m not the type of person who just does things to do them.

29. I’m a good listener. I think it’s the one characteristic that’s most important. I’ve always been that way. Not that I take all the advice, but you’ve got to listen to it and have the courage to make your own decision. Then I just go for it.

30. 31. I demand a lot of myself. I want to learn. I can’t sit back. I like a challenge, so I create a lot of challenges for myself.

31. I’ll never forget the moment I became a dad. It’s hard to describe-that level of responsibility, the desire to give such joy, the clarity: Nothing is more important than this.

32. It seems to me that if there were any logic to our language, trust would be a four letter word.

33. I feel good about the decisions that I made and I’m happy. You know, I’m really happy.

34. Even in my dreams, I’m an idiot who knows he’s about to wake up to reality.

35. For me as a man, philosophically, when you talk about honor and integrity, that’s the way I want to live my life. It moved me.

36. I didn’t become an actor to have power, but it just happens that I have it and so I have a lot of opportunities.

37. There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance.

38. The thing about film-making is I give it everything, that’s why I work so hard. I always tell young actors to take charge. It’s not that hard. Sign your own cheques, be responsible.

39. I love kids. I was a kid myself, once.

40. Here’s how I’ve lived my life: I’ve never been late to a set. I make films I believe in. I feel privileged to be able to do what I love.

41. I’ve gotten very good at scheduling my life, scheduling the scene and preparing myself for knowing, saving the energy, consuming the energy, knowing when to go for it and having the available reserves to be able to do that. You have to think about that, because it’s endurance.

42. It’s well known I’m a Scientologist, and that has helped me to find that inner peace in my life and it’s something that has given me great stability and tools that I use.

43. Do I make mistakes? Yeah.

44. I look at the Samurai because they were the artists of their time. What I think struck me when I read Bushido is compassion. ‘If there’s no one there to help, go out and find someone to help.’ That hit me, because I try to lead my life like that.

45. Stanley Kubrick was brilliant at getting under the audience’s skin. He was very interested in the idea of, ‘How can I tell this with just a camera?’

46. Emotions kick up. You try not to kick things up, but you go through things you can’t help.

47. They smell good. They look pretty. I love women. I do.

48. I love adventure movies, I just love action adventure films. It’s pure cinema and you go in and you’re lost to it. To me, it’s that challenge – I want to give an audience that ride, that entertainment.

49. I’m not greedy. I just want my half.

50. But my friends are happy for me. The people who know me are happy. My mom is happy. My family is happy.

51. I have respect for what other people believe. What I believe in my own life is that it’s a search for how I can do things better, whether it’s being a better man or a better father or finding ways for myself to improve.

52. I’ve learned to relax more. Everybody feels pressure in what they do, maybe mine is just a little different because there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish what I want to.

53. The exciting part of acting, I don’t know how else to explain it, are those moments when you surprise yourself.

54. I had to train myself to focus my attention. I became very visual and learned how to create mental images in order to comprehend what I read.

55. I don’t hide from cameras or anything. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t seek our press for the women I’m dating, but if it finds me, it finds me.

56. Seriously, I would go in a second. I’d be the first actor in space and I’d love to do it.

57. As a young actor, people were trying to define who I was before I really knew that for myself. But I still remember thinking, “This is what I love doing, and I hope I’m going to be able to do it forever.”

58. I believe in life. I know that life comes in at your heart and it doesn’t matter if you’re an actor, a filmmaker or a gentleman on the street, it comes at you. What Scientology gives me is the tools to deal with that, to better enjoy my life and to be able to contribute more.

59. Yes, of course. Are you really so arrogant as to believe we are alone in this universe? Millions of stars, and we’re supposed to be the only living

60. I just want to help people. I’m a helper. For instance, I myself have helped hundreds of people get off drugs. In Scientology, we have the only successful drug rehabilitation program in the world. It’s called Narconon.

61. I remember looking at my dad and wanting to understand him. I didn’t want to just write the guy off. He was lost. I can’t speak specifically in terms of why and how he got to where he was – that was his journey. All I can tell you is, he was overwhelmed by life… My mother basically did all the work, and then they got separated and I didn’t see him for a long time. He didn’t try to help the family financially or spiritually, and I lived with the effects of the chaos.

62. When I work, I work very hard. So I look to work with people who have that level of dedication. And I depend on that from everyone. From the director to my crews that I work with.

63. Today, people can say anything they want. Suddenly it gets in the rumor mill and then it evolves and then somehow it becomes fact and you say, What is this? You know, why don’t you ask me?

64. I’m always around my mother and sisters. I always wanted to be a father, a husband.

65. Saddam has committed many crimes against humanity and against his own people.

66. You know what? I’m sure drug dealers on the street, in some way, they are making money. That’s what I equate it to. Here is the thing: you have to understand, with psychiatry, there is no science behind it. And to pretend that there is a science behind it is criminal

67. If you have kids, it is the most important thing to create good times.

68. I don’t care what someone believes. I don’t care what nationality they are. But if someone wants to get off drugs, I can help them. If someone wants to learn how to read, I can help them. If someone doesn’t want to be a criminal anymore, I can give them tools that can better their life.

69. I’ve always had the same values. Family for me has always been important. When I shoot, everybody comes.

70. Everybody dies, Sally. The thing is to die well.

71. Awards are wonderful. I’ve been nominated many times and I’ve won many awards. But my journey is not towards that. If it happens it will be a blast. If it doesn’t, it’s still been a blast.

72. Being a Scientologist, when you drive past an accident… you know you have to do something about it because you know you’re the only one that can really help.

73. I like to work with people that I like hanging out with, that I admire, that are really smart and talented, and we can problem solve together.

74. Who hasn’t danced in their underwear?

75. I’m usually nervous to meet people that I admire because what if they’re not cool or something?

76. When I’m promoting a film, I’m not going to get caught up in anything else, and that includes all my personal things.

77. I’ve had a very interesting life. There are ways of handling the complexities. I’m willing to take on the responsibilities as a father, as a producer, as an actor; and I enjoy that. I’ve always been changing and evolving and growing. There’s no pinnacle of power where you can sit back and relax.

78. Have you ever gotten the feeling that you aren’t completely embarassed yet, but you glimpse tomorrow’s embarrassment?

79. People go for help, but their lives don’t get better because of those [psychiatric] drugs. They get worse. They feel numb and they’re told that’s a good thing. It’s how you degrade a society – by drugging the piss out of it.

80. Psychiatry is a pseudoscience…. You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do…Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, you don’t even -you’re glib. You don’t even know what Ritalin is.

81. I used to go to Maple Leafs games all the time when Nic shot To Die For here in Toronto. This is a great city. I love it here.

82. Of course [I believe in aliens]. Are you so arrogant as to believe we are alone in this universe?

83. I’ve never made a film that I didn’t believe in, you know? However the picture turns out, I’ve always given everything to it. That’s kind of how I approach life. I can’t help it. There’s no part-way with me on anything in any area of my life.

84. Every time I make a “Mission” movie or other films, people kind of look at me and go, “Well, now what? What’s next?” I think there’s always going to be another mountain. I think there’s something always in store.

85. When I first started out all the attention could be a bit unnerving, especially when people stared. Now I find the best thing is to just relax. Being recognized is just something you have to get used to.

86. You can put the camera in places where you may not necessarily be able to put it there if I don’t do the stunt. If it’s character and it’s storytelling, then we do it. We design the things around me. I don’t do it just to do a stunt. It’s storytelling for me and how I can best bring the audience into the action, bring the audience into the story. And that’s how we always look at at.

87. I feel good about the fact that I finally found something I love. I never lived in one place for very long – that’s the way my whole life has been. I was always packing and moving around, staying in Canada, Kentucky, Jersey, St. Louis – it all helped because I was always learning new accents, experiencing different environments.

88. As an actor – like an artist – you have to ask, “Why do I choose a certain moment to play something a certain way?” It’s organic to who we are.

89. With each one, I love working on the story and the characters. The stunts, each time, we keep pushing ourselves harder and harder. And they are stunts, so there’s always a danger in doing them, but fortunately, I have not had a problem. I have not missed a day of work, ever, in my career. I’m always there early. And I train very hard, and we prepare very carefully for each one.

90. What I find sometimes that is tricky is if actors are using too much of their own life in a picture, in a scene, they get locked into a particular way to play the scene, and it lacks an immediacy.

91. I’ve had such extremes in my life. From being this kind of wild kid, to one year studying to be a Franciscan priest at the seminary….I was very frustrated.

92. I structure the scripts and work on them on films and work on scenes with writers and but I haven’t written a script myself, I really respect what they do and I’m fortunate I get to work with people that I really enjoy working with and we all kind of spitball and work together on these things, but I haven’t written a script yet.
Tom Cruise

93. We knew from the beginning the level of commitment needed. We felt honored to work with Stanley Kubrick. We were going to do what it took to do this picture, whatever time, because I felt – and Nic [Nicole Kidman] did, too – that this was going to be a really special time for us. We knew it would be difficult. But I would have absolutely kicked myself if I hadn`t done this.

94. When you talk about emotional, chemical imbalances in people, there is no science behind that.

95. If I don’t talk about my religion, if I say I’m not discussing it or different humanitarian things I’m working on, they’re like, “He’s avoiding it.” If I do talk about it, it becomes, “Oh, he’s proselytizing.”

96. Talk is over-rated as a means of settling disputes

97. We live in a world in which we are able to communicate very quickly in many different ways, and yet we find communicating more difficult than ever. When in fact we need communication more urgently than ever, because the enemies that threaten us are universal: drugs, illiteracy and crime. We have to fight against them together.

98. On film Vanilla Sky: You’re going to get the full experience of what love is.

99. Making a movie is like a chess game. It’s about constantly changing patterns, adapting to new things. It’s not just black and white, as you know.

100. I’ve always thought of the audience. I just want to entertain the audience. That’s what it’s about: what’s good for the movie, what’s best for the movie, what’s best for the audience.