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Tom Cruise delighted a group of acting students when he unexpectedly appeared as commencement speaker at their school with words of wisdom and anecdotes from his early career.
The “Mission Impossible” star showed up undetected, in a sharp suit and tie, at Sunday’s ceremony at the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio in Santa Monica, Calif., and then delivered a stirring speech.
“It was one of the most inspiring speeches we’ve had,” said a source at the boutique school that’s hosted Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins, Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. “It was so much more than a lecture about what to do in an audition.”
Cruise advised the aspiring actors not to be divas. “He said that when you do finally get the chance of being in a movie, don’t spend the time in the trailer,” said a witness. “He said you need to experience everything on the movie, talk to everyone on the crew, the grips, everyone. Learn everything you can. You will never get that time back.” And, “He talked about trying to be as prepared as possible, and that you can only depend on yourself.”
Cruise recalled his first starring role — in 1981’s “Taps” with Sean Penn. An attendee told us, “He had gone to a barber shop and had his head shaved because he thought it’d be better for the role [as a cadet]. But the director [Harold Becker] went crazy. [Cruise] was so nervous that they’d fire him.”
“Even with all his fame he seemed authentic. Tom’s cousin William Mapother is a graduate of the school,” explained another source of how Cruise connected with the Studio, which also boasts supporters Keanu Reeves and Halle Berry.
Student Greice Santo, who auditioned for “Fast & Furious 7” yesterday and has a role in the upcoming film “Heat,” told us: “That he took time out of his incredibly busy schedule to speak to a graduation class of 60 students was overwhelming.” Ever an actress, she added, “FYI, I’m available for the next ‘Mission: Impossible.’ ”