Movies

Tom Cruise Could've Become a Priest Rather Than an Actor

Tom Cruise Could've Become a Priest Rather Than an Actor
Image credit: Legion-Media

Tom Cruise's life and career are full of surprising twists and turns – just as surprising as the twists and turns in his films.

Few people know that Tom Cruise might not have become one of the greatest actors of our generation: the future action star was once going to become a priest. The only thing that "saved" him from going down that particular road? His love of women.

If you can't, try as you might, imagine Tom Cruise being a priest, you're not the only one. However, it could've really happened: prior to taking Hollywood by storm, the actor spent a year studying at the St. Francis Seminary at Cincinnati University. Tom Cruise never hid the fact that there was a period in his life when he was really going to become a priest. In one of his interviews the actor said that it was a kind of soul-searching period for him:

"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. I didn't have a lot of friends. The closest people around me were my family. I think they felt a little nervous about me because I had a lot of energy and I couldn't stick to one thing," he told Interview Magazine back when he was just 24 years old, taking over Hollywood after starring in 'Risky Business'.

Prior to make it in Hollywood as an actor, Tom Cruise spent a lot of time searching for something to really excite him. Getting bored easily, he rarely stayed in the same spot – or kept the same job – for long (and we're talking about a couple of weeks, tops here, not a couple of years). As part of this soul-searching, once he even attended a seminary to become a priest.

However, it didn't take more than just one semester for Cruise to come to terms with the fact that he loved women too much to give that whole aspect of life up.

"I remember we used to sneak out of the school on weekends and go this girl's house in town, sit around, talk and play 'Spin the Bottle'. I just realized I loved women too much to give that up."

Now, almost forty years later, it's the love for cinema that keeps Cruise doing what he's been doing for so long. With 'Top Gun: Maverick' grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide and becoming the first billion-dollar movie in Cruise's career, the actor is nowhere near to retirement. Right now he's busy shooting the final installment of 'Mission: Impossible ', set to release in 2024, and after that the only way forwards is actually upwards: Untitled Tom Cruise/SpaceX Project is nearing its production.