Screenwriter Frederic Raphael claimed legendary actor Tom Cruise is an “egocentric control freak,” according to Friday reports.
Raphael, who worked with Cruise in the movie “Eyes Wide Shut,” made these comments in his book, “Last Post,” according to news.com.au. The screenwriter also reportedly discussed Cruise’s participation in Scientology and his divorce from Nicole Kidman. (RELATED: Photos Show Tom Cruise’s Epic ‘Mission Impossible 7’ Stunts)
Raphael also reportedly claimed his soured relationship with famed director Stanley Kubrick lead to negative entries about him on Wikipedia. Raphael reportedly took issue with Kubrick’s directing methods. The screenwriter says Cruise was aware of the alleged Wikipedia page, per the outlet.
EXCLUSIVE: Tom Cruise branded ‘egocentric control freak’ by Eyes Wide Shut screenwriter https://t.co/mC5GiYkz23 pic.twitter.com/Cn5Ql3eYvI
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) July 27, 2023
Raphael reportedly claimed Cruise took part in an interview with film critic Roger Ebert, in which the actor stood behind Kubrick and criticized the screenwriter’s claims.
“Opportunistic. Self-serving. Inaccurate. I don’t know that man at all and I’ve never met him. It’s been interesting seeing how people have behaved afterwards,” Cruise reportedly said.
The screenwriter had some words of his own for Cruise in his book.
“I have never been called a liar by anyone as I have been by the Harlan clan and by Tom Cruise, an egocentric control freak to whom I have never spoken,” the screenwriter said.
“The Harlans and Master Cruise have managed to insert some derogatory stuff in my Wikipedia entry,” Raphael wrote, according to Daily Mail.
Raphael reportedly claimed Cruise offered him a writing job after Eyes Wide Shut. The screenwriter believes this was an attempt to have greater influence over his career, news.com.au noted.
“The better to have me on a leash, no doubt,” Raphael wrote, per news.com.au. “In his turn, he too seems to need the control he finds in Scientology.”
Raphael pondered Cruise’s decision to put his then-wife Nicole Kidman in the film, the outlet reported.
“Was there something just a touch naïve in your idea that casting a married couple as a married couple would enable you to put ‘the truth’ on the screen?” he reportedly asked.
“One thing you can be pretty sure of: whatever any conjugal duo may disclose in public about their relationship, they rarely let any crucial cat out of the bag. Did you honestly suppose Cruise and Kidman were bound in genuine passion, rather than embraced in a careerist merger?” The screenwriter alleged, per news.com.au.
