The movie star also admits that he doesn’t “fear” death.

Tom Cruise tells costars ‘the rumors are true’ about him being intense on film sets: ‘I expect a lot’

The movie star also admits that he doesn’t “fear” death.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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September 15, 2026 12:17 p.m. ET

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Tom Cruise at a ‘Digger’ event on July 9, 2026. Credit:

David Jon/Getty

- Tom Cruise says the “rumors” of him being “intense” on set are true.

- He added that he tells his collaborators this ahead of time.

- Cruise also confessed that he doesn’t fear death.

Tom Cruise feels the need to let his costars know how intense he is.

Ahead of his upcoming big swing *Digger*, the elusive movie star sat down for a rare in-depth interview, and he admitted that his on-set passion comes with a “level of responsibility” that he warns his collaborators about.

“I work hard, and people that work with me, they know,” Cruise told *GQ*. “I expect a lot and I’m up-front about it. I’m like, ‘Trust me, the rumors are true.’ I’ll be here before you. What experience do you want?’ And I’m very open. It’s not like we don’t have a plan. We have scripts, we have plans, we’re going through it. But I also feel that level of responsibility for—I guess, for everyone.”

He continued, “Even when I was a kid, they were like, ‘Oh, come on, Tom. You’re so intense.’ I’m like, “I don’t know what to say. I *am* intense.” [*Laughs*.] I got a very good sense of humor about it, but it was like: When I’m interested in something, I want to learn it. I want to understand it. And you want to blast through the confusion and kind of build up that ability.”

Tom Cruise in ‘Digger’.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Among the famous examples of Cruise’s intensity are a six-hour instructional video about screen acting for young actors (which he calls “very basic”) and a leaked audio clip from the set of *Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning*. In the latter, the *M:I* star and producer ripped into crew members for breaking COVID-19 safety protocols.

“I see you do it again, you’re f---ing gone,” Cruise declared in 2020. “We are the gold standard! They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us. Because they believe in us and what we’re doing. I’m on the phone with every f---ing studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies. We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf---ers! I don’t ever want to see it again. Ever!”

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Opening Oct. 2, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s mysterious black comedy *Digger* marks Cruise’s first non-sequel in almost a decade, and he looks almost unrecognizable as colorful oil tycoon Digger Rockwell. It’s one of the few instances in recent memory that he hasn’t been doing death-defying stunts onscreen — just don’t ask him if he fears death.

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“Do I fear death? No. I don’t,” the 64-year-old said to *GQ* after being asked a second time. ”It’s not like I’m not afraid. I don’t mind the feeling. I understand life has certainties and uncertainties ... It’s just who I am. That’s my theory.”

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