tom cruise on david letterman show

Tom Cruise Came Across As A Completely Different Person During His First Ever Appearance With David Letterman

Tom Cruise always had fans talking after his interviews, however, he took a different approach in the late '80s with David Letterman.

At the age of 61, Tom Cruise continues to shine at the top of Hollywood thanks to his performances in Top Gun: Maverick and the latest Mission: Impossible installment. However, the road to the top took many twists and turns along the way. It seems as though Tom's interviews didn't do him any favors during the late '90s and into the early 2000s. We'll take a look back at candid moments that derailed his career, and how he felt about it.

In addition, we'll reveal the different extremes of Tom Cruise and his personality when appearing alongside David Letterman . During his first appearance, Tom Cruise seemed to be completely different. We'll reveal what went on during his first time alongside Dave, and how different Cruise was alongside the host in the later years.

RELATED - How Jeremy Renner Nearly Took Over For Tom Cruise In Mission Impossible

Tom Cruise Revealed He's Often Misunderstood By The Media

Throughout his career, it seems like interviews have done more harm than good for Tom Cruise. That was especially true during his interview alongside Oprah , during his memorable 'couch jumping' incident. Controversy continued to follow the actor alongside Matt Lauer on the Today show.

Nonetheless, despite the controversy, Cruise mentioned alongside Pop Sugar that he's largely misunderstood.

"Listen I, I feel like definitely things have been misunderstood, and there are things I could have done better. But then there's also that world where you go, 'Oh, it's been spun to such an extent that. That's a truth also."

Cruise continues, "Knowing when and where to communicate, I think that's important. A lot of times I was nervous giving interviews. Or I wasn't sometimes as comfortable about things. And I realized that it's okay. There's stuff you have to just let go. I just have to do the best I can."

RELATED - How Tom Cruise's First Mission: Impossible Co-Star Emmanuelle Béart Really Felt About Working Alongside The Actor

Of course, the interview troubles are a thing of the past, as Cruise continues to generate millions at the box office. Still, fans can't help but notice how different Cruise was back in the day, especially during his interview alongside Letterman way back in the summer of 1988.

Tom Cruise Appeared To Be Extremely Calm During His First Late Show Appearance With David Letterman In 1988

Unlike his other future interviews which saw high energy, this particular experience alongside David Letterman was quite the opposite. During his first time alongside David Letterman, Cruise was incredibly calm. He was hardly moving in his chair, while giving calm and cool answers to the questions given by the host. Cruise discussed various topics, including his experience in driving fast cars for roles. Never once did Tom seem to be over the top, instead, he kept things level throughout the chat.

Fans can see the moment for themselves in the throwback video below.

RELATED - Tom Cruise's Attempt At A Career Comeback Turned Into His Worst Film Of All Time

As expected, fans were chiming in with all sorts of comments, especially given how Tom evolved over time following this very interview.

One fan notes, "His personality has indeed morphed over the years. Fascinating what money in and of itself will do to a person notwithstanding fame. I am happy and sad for him all at once. Unbelievably gifted in the looks department."

Another fan noted Tom's hilarious reaction to Letterman ripping his co-star, Paul Newman.

"Favorite part is Tom Cruise getting caught off guard and his adorable reaction when Letterman asked, "does it bother you that you carried Paul Newman in the movie."

Years later, Cruise would reappear on the Late Show alongside David Letterman and this time around, things were very different.

Fans Compared Tom Cruise's Later Appearance On David Letterman's Late Show To Christian Bale's American Psycho Character

It was a much different vibe in the later years as Tom Cruise appeared alongside David Letterman for yet another interview. Cruise detailed the story of flying at a high altitude, while turning off the oxygen for the back passenger. Cruise laughed off the experience, while Letterman looked on telling Cruise, "isn't that attempted manslaughter?" That only created more laughter from Tom.

The interview was later compared to Patrick Bateman in American Psycho . It seems like Christian Bale took the interview as motivation for his role. Fans agreed after watching Tom's interview alongside Letterman.

"This is the interview that inspired Christian Bale in his role as Patrick Bateman in American psycho. A whole lot of smiling and laughing with nothing behind the eyes. A never ending façade," a fan notes.

Others just compared Tom Cruise to a regular person, who also has a sense of humor.

"It's a very internal joke, he's reliving the moment in a safe perspective....I laugh about things uncontrollably after the fear and worry is gone...it proves he's human with a great sense of humor."

Without a doubt, Tom always left fans talking during his interview in the '90s and into the early 2000s.

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Tom Cruise’s First Appearance on Late Night With David Letterman in 1988

October 18, 2021 By the80sruled Leave a Comment

On August 10, 1988, Tom Cruise made his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman . Cruise was on the show promoting his new movie Cocktail , but the majority of the conversation stemmed around Cruise’s car racing career. He talked about his racing career, his friendship with Paul Newman, and making drinks in Cocktail .

Enjoy this look back at the first time Tom Cruise appeared on Late Night with David Letterman .

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David Letterman Shades 'Mr. Big Shot' Tom Cruise On 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'

General Assignment Reporter, HuffPost

Talk show legend David Letterman rode “Mr. Big Shot” Tom Cruise for skipping Sunday’s Oscars , despite “ Top Gun: Maverick ” being a contender. (Watch the video below.)

“Now here’s something that may be a little sensitive,” Letterman told Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the awards ceremony, on Wednesday. “Where was Tom Cruise?”

Kimmel said he heard vague “production issues” involving “Mission: Impossible ― Dead Reckoning Part II” as the reason, but “we have no idea what happened.”

“But Tom Cruise should have been there celebrating his big jet pack maverick show,” Letterman insisted.

Kimmel suggested that Letterman was right in guessing that Cruise didn’t feel like he would win, so he didn’t show up.

“Between you and me, he should have been there, right?” Letterman repeated.

“He is the prince of Hollywood,” Kimmel replied.

Letterman complimented Kimmel on making the Oscars a success, even without “Mr. Big Shot” being there. “Nice going, Jimmy,” he said.

It was later revealed that Kimmel had to scrap a tribute to Cruise when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed he wouldn’t attend. But Kimmel still worked in a joke poking fun at a scene from the movie and Scientology.

“Tom Cruise with his shirt off in that beach football scene? L. Ron Hubba Hubba, you know what I’m saying?” Kimmel cracked.

“Maverick” star Cruise was up for a Best Picture Oscar as a producer on the blockbuster, and the film was nominated in five other categories. It won for Best Sound.

Cruise was later seen in London celebrating actor Michael Caine’s 90th birthday, which was on Tuesday.

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David Letterman Calls Out Tom Cruise for Skipping the Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel Agrees He ‘Should’ve Been There’: ‘Yeah, Of Course!’

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David Letterman visited “ Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and had a burning question for the host, who recently earned great reviews for his stint hosting the 2023 Oscars . “Here’s something that’s a little sensitive: Tom Cruise ,” Letterman said. “Where was Tom Cruise?”

“We don’t know where Tom Cruise was,” Kimmel answered Letterman. “We heard production issues.”

“What does that mean?” Letterman asked. “That’s nonsense.”

“Exactly. It’s very non-specific,” Kimmel said. “But we have no idea what happened.”

Letterman proceeded to say that Cruise “should’ve been” at the Oscars “celebrating his big jet pack Maverick show,” to which Kimmel responded, “Yeah. It seems like he should’ve been there, but he was not there. Maybe he feels like he wasn’t going to win so he didn’t want to come.”

“But between you and me, he should have been there right?” Letterman then asked Kimmel.

“Yeah of course,” Kimmel answered. “He’s the prince of Hollywood.”

“More to the power of your success,” Letterman added. “If Mr. Big Shot was not there, the show was still never more successful. Nice going, Jimmy.”

Because Cruise skipped the Oscars, Kimmel and his writing team decided to throw a soft Scientology joke into his Oscars monologue . The host joked, “Tom Cruise with his shirt off in that beach football scene? L. Ron Hubba Hubba, you know what I’m saying?”

Cruise was not the only big name to skip the Oscars. “Avatar: The Way of Water” director James Cameron was also a no-show, prompting Kimmel to say during his monologue, “You know, Tom and James Cameron didn’t show up tonight. The two guys who insisted we go to the theater didn’t come the theater.”

“No. We had about a three minute chunk of the monologue dedicated to Tom Cruise, honoring him and his role in reviving the movie industry,” she said. “We were so disappointed when we learned a few days before the Oscars that he wouldn’t be there. Jimmy loves him and really wanted to celebrate him.”

Watch Letterman’s full appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in the video below.

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Entertainment | dungeness crab season in bay area, central coast will come to an early end, entertainment, entertainment | ‘where was tom cruise’ david letterman asks jimmy kimmel, david letterman, a guest on jimmy kimmel’s late-night show, said ‘mr. big shot’ cruise should have been at the oscars sunday night.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show Wednesday, David Letterman had nothing but praise for the way Kimmel hosted the Academy Awards ceremony Sunday night, saying the show has “never been more successful.”

But Letterman asked a question that’s been on many people’s minds since the Oscars. “Here’s something that may be a little sensitive,” Letterman said to Kimmel.  “Where was Tom Cruise?”

Letterman also said Tom Cruise — “Mr. Big Shot” — “should have been there.”

David Letterman grilling Jimmy Kimmel on why Tom Cruise want at The Oscar’s pic.twitter.com/k7h4NUdl6f — Navy (@TomCruiseNavy) March 16, 2023

As Kimmel noted during his opening monologue at the Oscars, Cruise wasn’t going to make it to the show, even though he was nominated for a best-picture award, as a producer for “Top Gun: Maverick.” By shepherding “Top Gun” into a $1.48 billion worldwide theatrical blockbuster, Cruise has been credited with “saving Hollywood” at a tumultuous time for the film industry.

Kimmel paused after Letterman’s question, then said, “We don’t know where Tom Cruise was. We heard ‘production issues.'”

When Letterman called that excuse “nonsense,” Kimmel said, “”Exactly, it’s very non-specific, but we have no idea what happened.”

Following the ceremony, reports surfaced that Cruise was unable to attend because he was filming the latest “Mission: Impossible” movie overseas. But speculation also emerged over other reasons Cruise may have skipped the globally televised awards show, regarded as the biggest annual event in the entertainment industry.

One theory is that Cruise knew “Top Gun” wasn’t going to win best picture over “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” so he didn’t think he would be missed. Another theory is that he was disappointed he wasn’t nominated in the best actor category.

Other industry experts suggested that he didn’t want to deal with an awkward run-in with his ex-wife Nicole Kidman, who was asked to present the best director award. In a tweet, New York Times writer Kyle Buchanan wondered whether Cruise’s no-show was due to concern that he would be the target of jokes about his messy personal life, including his bitter divorce from Kidman, or about his devotion to the controversial Church of Scientology.

Likewise, Puck founder Matthew Belloni said that the famously type-A Cruise doesn’t like to place himself in public situations over which he has little control. Others, who lamented that the Oscars weren’t as jam-packed with celebrities as in the past, said Cruise may have been letting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences know that its show needed him more than he needed the show.

Whatever Cruise’s reasons for staying away, he was the target of some jokes from Kimmel. The humor started off gently enough with the show opening with a direct nod to “Top Gun.” Kimmel digitally inserted himself into the film’s climactic dogfight scene, riding behind Cruise’s Maverick character in the cockpit, with Cruise’s Maverick intensely urging him to “eject, eject, eject!”

“Why are you like this, Tom?” Kimmel asks, no doubt referring to Cruise’s reputation for being intense.

“The movie that saved the movies,” Kimmel said, repeating Steven Spielberg’s proclamation in February that Cruise “saved Hollywood’s ass.”

“Everyone loved ‘Top Gun,’” Kimmel continued. “Tom Cruise with his shirt off in that beach football scene. L. Ron Hubba-hubba.”

With this reference to L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, Kimmel was wading into territory that comedians and awards show hosts have shied away from in the past. People have long been worried about getting on the wrong side of Cruise or of the famously litigious church.

Whatever Cruise’s reasons for skipping she show, he resurfaced Tuesday, being photographed attending actor Michael Caine’s 90th birthday party in London.

Tom Cruise attends Michael Caine’s 90th birthday party. pic.twitter.com/EBLqndbH7u — DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) March 15, 2023

Letterman lamented to Kimmel that Cruise wasn’t at the Oscars Sunday night, celebrating “his big jet-pack Maverick show.” Letterman seemed to buy into the theory that Cruise skipped the Oscars because he knew “Top Gun” wasn’t going to win best picture.

“Between you and me, he should have been there, right?” Letterman said.

“Yeah, of course,” Kimmel replied, “He is the Prince of Hollywood.”

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David Letterman Calls Tom Cruise Oscar No-Show Excuse “Nonsense” On ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

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Where was Tom Cruise ?

That was David Letterman ‘s burning question for Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel when he made an appearance on last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

And the former Late Night host wasn’t buying the official excuse.

“We don’t know where Tom Cruise was,” Kimmel said in response to Letterman’s query. “We heard production issues.”

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Kimmel sided with Letterman on the Risky Business actor’s excuse. “It’s very non-specific,” he said. “But we have no idea what happened,” adding, “It seems like he should’ve been there, but he was not there. Maybe he feels like he wasn’t going to win so he didn’t want to come.”

When Kimmel called the Cruise “the prince of Hollywood,” Letterman shot back, “More to the power of your success. If Mr. Big Shot was not there the show was still never more successful. Nice going, Jimmy.”

Letterman also had some questions about the Oscar appearance of Cocaine Bear, specifically regarding who was inside the hilariously bad costume. Kimmel has claimed that Will Smith’s former music partner DJ Jazzy Jeff was inside the fur suit.

“I know for a fact that that’s a lie,” Letterman said. “I know it wasn’t Jazzy Jeff.”

“It was,” said an unconvincing Kimmel. “It was DJ Jazzy Jeff. Did you see him?”

“It could have been me,” Letterman responded. “Why wasn’t it me?”

Watch the interview above.

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Bill Hader becomes Tom Cruise on David Letterman: What is Deepfake and how does his face change?

Bill Hader is a man of many talents but it’s the Deepfake video where he morphs into Tom Cruise and Seth Rogen that has many fans picking their jaws up off the floor. We know that Hader is an amazing impressionist but how did he do that?

The YouTube video that has everyone talking was uploaded by Ctrl Shift Face and features a 2008 Bill Hader appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. In the original clip, Hader did impressions of both Tom Cruise and Seth Rogen that were impressive, to say the least. But when the actors’ faces replace Haders during this newly “remastered” version of the interview, this Deepfake becomes something else altogether.

Then, to further amaze and terrify those watching, Hader launches into a Seth Rogan impression in which he sounds exactly like the funny man. And as he did with Tom Cruise, Bill Hader was turned into Rogen, again using this Deepfake technology.

Watch the shocking video below.

What is Deepfake and how does it work?

While videos like this one of Bill Hader as Tom Cruise and Seth Rogen are fascinating, this technology is also a bit terrifying when one thinks of the possibilities. Oftentimes, it’s very hard, if not impossible, to distinguish if a video is real or if it is a Deepfake.

The term itself was coined in 2017, so this technology isn’t brand new, but lately, many more of these videos have been popping up, causing many to wonder how it all works.

Deepfake uses artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to superimpose the face of one person onto the face of another, as seen in the Bill Hader video. The more video content available of the person being “created” in the Deepfake, the more realistic it will look.

While this all sounds very complicated, technology actually makes creating Deepfake videos rather easy. There are plenty of tutorials online that can teach an internet user how to create their own Deepfake videos quickly.

While this technology has been around for a few years already, it’s growing popularity has many concerned about how it can be used in a malicious manner. In fact, there has recently been a bill proposed in the Senate to make malicious Deepfake videos illegal.

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David Letterman Asks Jimmy Kimmel Why “Mr. Big Shot” Tom Cruise Skipped Out on the 2023 Oscars

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• Top Gun: Maverick
• David Letterman

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Jimmy Kimmel may have let Tom Cruise off the hook for skipping the 2023 Oscars , but David Letterman isn’t having it. The former talk show host visited Jimmy Kimmel Live to chat about his upcoming Disney+ documentary Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming , but first, he had some questions about Kimmel’s recent experience hosting the Oscars – specifically why “Mr. Big Shot” Cruise wasn’t in attendance.

During the interview, the former television host recalled a “very close friend” telling him, “Dave, I want you to know something: in Hollywood, Oscar is king.” 

Letterman told Kimmel, “Truer words have never been spoken. So, you hosting the Academy Awards for a third time – and this was a sensational moment for the country, and the network, and yourself – you know what this makes you, don’t you?” He went on to dub Kimmel “the prince of Hollywood.”

This led to an interesting debrief session about the coveted event with Letterman stating that when he had hosted the show in 1995 it was “a bomb.” He also called Kimmel’s Cocaine Bear and Malala interaction as a standout moment.

Prefacing his forthcoming comment as “sensitive,” Letterman continued to ask Kimmel, “Where was Tom Cruise?” The talk show host answered, “We don’t know where Tom Cruise was. We heard production issues.”

Letterman further pressed the issue, stating, “What does that mean? That’s nonsense,” to which Kimmel agreed, adding, “Exactly. It’s very non-specific. But we have no idea what happened.” The guest, shot back, stating that Cruise “should’ve been” at the Oscars to celebrate “his big jet pack Maverick show.”

Kimmel responded, “Yeah. It seems like he should’ve been there, but he was not there. Maybe he feels like he wasn’t going to win so he didn’t want to come,” referring to a statement Letterman made at the top of their conversation.

Letterman shrugged off Kimmel’s excuse, telling him, “More to the power of your success, if Mr. Big Shot was not there and still the show has never been more successful. Nice going, Jimmy.”

Many have speculated over why Cruise was absent from the event with The Daily Mail reporting that it was because he wanted to avoid a run-in with his ex-wife, Nicole Kidman . Other sources claimed that the Top Gun actor’s absence was “not personal” and due to scheduling difficulties.

In an interview after the ceremony, Oscars producer Molly McNearney , also Kimmel’s wife, revealed that Kimmel had planned to dedicate a three-minute chunk of his opening monologue to Cruise’s work saving the movie industry with the release of his high-profile movie. She stated that Kimmel was “disappointed” when they “learned a few days before the Oscars that he wouldn’t be there.”

In lieu of the heartfelt dedication, Kimmel worked in a pointed jab at Cruise: “Everyone loved Top Gun. L. Ron Hubba Hubba, you know what I’m saying,” in reference to the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard.

Watch David Letterman’s full appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in the video above.

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He was the man behind David Letterman. Jerry Foley, longtime director of ‘The Late Show,’ dies at 68 | Life Stories

• Updated: Mar. 27, 2024, 10:55 a.m. |
• Published: Mar. 27, 2024, 7:00 a.m.

Jerry Foley with a plane he piloted Family archive

• Nora Tree Newhouse | For the Staten Island Advance

As a child, Jerry Foley had a fascination with mechanics. He made it his business to know how things worked. At one point, he overhauled his family home’s telephone system. His brother, Kevin, recalled: “The phone company man came to our house and looked at our box and he was amazed that my brother had rewired it.”

Foley’s mechanical skills came in handy later in life when he became technical director of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. In 1995, he was promoted to be the director of Late Show with David Letterman on CBS, a position he held for two decades.

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