# The Real American Psycho: Tom Cruise **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235 "2026-09-20T22:56:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/21 "2026-09-21T17:23:14Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I don’t think anyone has brought this up, but Christian Bale got inspiration for his character Patrick Bateman in American Psycho from watching a Tom Cruise interview. I did not know that. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/22 "2026-09-21T18:34:29Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > …for 75% of the film he was being an asshole. Maybe it wasn’t much of a stretch for him? That’s not Cruise’s reputation. I recall several years ago there was a recording made of him screaming and yelling on a movie set. Except Cruise was mad because Covid restrictions weren’t being followed, and he made a point of saying that this jeopardized the jobs of everybody working there. > [@](#): > > The actor later snapped when the crew members seemingly attempted to apologize, telling them, “I’m sorry, I am beyond your apologies.” > > “You can tell it to the people who are losing their f------ homes because our industry is shut down. It’s not going to put food on their table or pay for their college education,” he explained. "That’s what I sleep with every night – the future of this f------ industry!” > > “We are not shutting this f------ movie down! Is that understood?” the actor said. > **[Tom Cruise threatens to fire members of 'Mission: Impossible 7' crew over...](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/tom-cruise-threatens-fire-members-mission-impossible-crew/story?id=74757500)** > > Tom Cruise threatened to fire "Mission: Impossible 7" crew over on-set COVID-19 restrictions in leaked audio. He is also known to send cakes. > **[All about the ‘Tom Cruise cake’: Who gets it and how to order it](https://www.today.com/food/holidays/tom-cruise-cake-rcna184928)** > > The white chocolate coconut cake from Doan’s Bakery is the talk of Tinseltown every year around the holidays. Now, I have no doubt that he’s very intense and controlling . Matt Damon told a story of Cruise telling him about some crazy stunt he wanted to do (I believe it was riding on the outside of a plane when it took off) and when the stunt coordinator told him it was too dangerous, Cruise said “So the first thing I did was get a new stunt guy.” But he is known to be prepared and very hard working. As I just mentioned, he’s so committed he does his own stunts, despite some very high risk action movies. Hell, at one point he learned to hold his breath underwater for over 6 minutes. > **[Tom Cruise Held His Breath Underwater for Six Minutes While Filming 'Mission:...](https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/tom-cruise-held-his-breath-underwater-for-six-minutes-while-filming-mission-impossible-rogue-nation-749369)** > > Tom Cruise teases another impossible stunt he pulled off for Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation. And he’s not afraid to show some range. _Born on the 4th of July_ wasn’t exactly a pretty boy role. I can even forgive him the Scientology stuff. If you lived the charmed life of Tom Cruise, you might have some really weird views about your place in the universe, too. He’s probably not close with anybody who doesn’t work for him. I doubt he has really close friends. But that isn’t necessarily unusual among highly successful people. He is uber wealthy and surely quite eccentric, but I’ve not really seen anything malicious in his past. No drugs, no violence. I don’t even think any infidelity. The worst you can say about him is that he’s aloof. In my ever so humble opinion, Cruise is psycho the way the guy at work who always shows up on time and does a good job is psycho. _Surely_ he has bodies buried in his backyard, eh? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/23 "2026-09-21T18:57:49Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Christian Bale got inspiration for his character Patrick Bateman in American Psycho from watching a Tom Cruise interview. Interesting. Can you give us a cite? > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I also think his repressed homosexuality is a major factor in all of it too, And a cite for the homosexuality. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/24 "2026-09-21T19:10:12Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Interesting. Can you give us a cite? > **[Christian Bale Based “Psycho” on Tom Cruise: Director](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/natl-christian-bales-american-psycho-inspired-by-tom-cruise/1863733/)** > > Christian Bale’s inspiration for his role as a dead-behind-the-eyes sociopath in the film “American Psycho” was none other than Tom Cruise, the film’s director revealed… > **[Christian Bale](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/topics?topic=Christian+Bale "Christian Bale")**’s inspiration for his role as a dead-behind-the-eyes sociopath in the film “American Psycho” was none other than **[Tom Cruise](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/topics?topic=Tom+Cruise "Tom Cruise")**, the film’s director revealed. > > **[In an interview with _Black Book_](http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/mary-harron-reveals-inspiration-behind-patrick-bateman/11810)**, director **[Mary Harron](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/topics?topic=Mary+Harron "Mary Harron")** said she spent a lot of time on long-distance phone calls with the hunky actor when he was in L.A. and she was in New York trying to hash out how to best play the merciless murderer **[Patrick Bateman](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/topics?topic=Patrick+Bateman "Patrick Bateman")** in the 2000 horror flick. > > “It was definitely a process,” Harron told the magazine. “We talked a lot.” > > Then, one day it clicked for Bale. > > “We talked about how Martian-like Patrick Bateman was, how he was looking at the world like somebody from another planet, watching what people did and trying to work out the right way to behave,” Harron said. > > “And then one day he called me and he had been watching Tom Cruise on **[David Letterman](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/topics?topic=David+Letterman "David Letterman")**, and he just had this very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes, and he was really taken with this energy.” > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > And a cite for the homosexuality. Thanks. I don’t have hard evidence, its just been a rumor going on for decades. Heres a thread about it here from 2003. > [@Tom Cruise: Yay or Nay (or gay)?...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-yay-or-nay-or-gay/153603): > > What are your opinions on the guy (movie-wise)? I never really took notice of the guys roles until Jerry Maguire. After that, I’ve become a really big fan. I think I can relate something of myself to each of his characters, and for some reason they always strike me. My favourite was one of his latest roles, playing John Anderton in Minority Report. I think he brought this unbridled energy to the screen, very passionate about his work (as the chief of the pre-crime unit). What do you guys thi… ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/25 "2026-09-21T19:17:12Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Interesting. Can you give us a cite? I was quite surprised when I read that post as well. But instead of asking for a cite, I just googled it. Took all of 60 seconds to find multiple articles. I think it’s fair to ask for a cite. But if someone’s going to make an intentionally false claim, won’t they be likely to provide a misleading cite to support it? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/26 "2026-09-21T19:26:43Z")
There’s quite a few connections between Tom Cruise and American Psycho. In the book, Patrick Bateman lives in the same apartment building with Tom Cruise and has a run in with him in the elevator: > [@](#): > > I collect my mail — Polo catalog, American Express bill, June _Playboy_, invitation to an office party at a new club called Bedlam — then walk to the elevator, step in while inspecting the Ralph Lauren brochure and press the button for my floor and then the Close Door button, but someone gets in right before the doors shut and instinctively I turn to say hello. It’s the actor Tom Cruise, who lives in the penthouse, and as a courtesy, without asking him, I press the PH button and he nods thank you and keeps his eyes fixed on the numbers lighting up above the door in rapid succession. He is much shorter in person and he’s wearing the same pair of black Wayfarers I have on. He’s dressed in blue jeans, a white T-shirt, an Armani jacket. > > To break the noticeably uncomfortable silence, I clear my throat and say, “I thought you were very fine in _Bartender_. I thought it was quite a good movie, and _Top Gun_ too. I really thought that was good.” > > He looks away from the numbers and then straight at me. “It was called _Cocktail_,” he says softly. > > “Pardon?” I say, confused. > > He clears his throat and says, “_Cocktail_. Not _Bartender_. The film was called _Cocktail_.” > > A long pause follows; just the sound of cables moving the elevator up higher into the building competes with the silence, obvious and heavy between us. Additionally, the director [considered Tom Cruise for the role](https://letterboxd.com/journal/mary-harron-american-psycho-anniversary-interview/) and didn’t reach out because they didn’t believe they could get him: > “We love the Tom Cruise thing, but we would never have gotten Tom Cruise to be in such a heinous production as _American Psycho_!” Harron laughs. (In any case, Cruise was busy being “heinous” in another capacity—as an unhinged sex guru in 1999’s _[Magnolia](https://boxd.it/2aze)_). ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/27 "2026-09-21T19:39:42Z")
🎶 “The real American psycho is Tom Cruise…” 🎶 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6tTouzgHlZg/maxresdefault.jpg "The Real American Folk Song (Is a Rag)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tTouzgHlZg) ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/28 "2026-09-21T19:52:49Z")
Well of course. He’s Tom Cruise Crazy. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9J9KRZ0PnAs/hqdefault.jpg "Tom Cruise Crazy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J9KRZ0PnAs) ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/29 "2026-09-21T21:19:53Z")
Is there any action actor at his level of fame who isn’t eccentric and intense? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/30 "2026-09-21T23:04:47Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Now, I have no doubt that he’s very intense and controlling . Matt Damon told a story of Cruise telling him about some crazy stunt he wanted to do (I believe it was riding on the outside of a plane when it took off) and when the stunt coordinator told him it was too dangerous, Cruise said “So the first thing I did was get a new stunt guy.” When I first saw him in that infamous Oprah episode standing on the couch or whatever, my immediate thought was, “That man is having a manic episode.” I’m not qualified to diagnose him, of course, but I have always suspected he is bipolar. When I hear stuff like this, it just reinforces my belief. He seems to have chosen a career that lets him exercise risky and grandiose behavior. We also know that, if he is bipolar, he’s not medicated for it at all. In fact didn’t he slam psychiatric meds in that same Oprah interview? Like dude… If anyone needs some mood stabilizers… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/31 "2026-09-21T23:24:17Z")
There’s no way an unmedicated bipolar actor would have Cruise’s reputation for being reliable and easy to work with. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/32 "2026-09-21T23:45:24Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > but I have always suspected he is bipolar. That implies he also suffers from bouts of depression. I’ve never seen an indication of something like that (as I said, no substance use. personal drama, suicidal behavior, stints in rehab, or the like) He’s no doubt a thrill seeker, and maybe an adrenaline junkie. And grandiose is a good description (although he pulls it off, which is unique) > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > didn’t he slam psychiatric meds in that same Oprah interview? There was a notorious interview with Matt Lauer where he criticized Brooke Shields for using psych meds due to postpartum depression (good lord why do I know so much about this man?). It’s a Scientology thing. And that is a nutty cult. I’m not a fan. I wouldn’t want to be the guy’s friend. I wouldn’t want my family to get involved with him on a personal level - not that this is going to happen. But if I knew somebody was going to work with him, or if I had the opportunity to do the same, I’d be enthusiastic. He strikes me as a high achieving perfectionist, but one who would support those around him who had the same motivations. Consider how he treated actor Jake Johnson on a film where it was important to be in shape. > [@](#): > > Tom said, ‘You’ll be training with me and my trainers. If you want I’ll put you on a food plan with my chef. The food is great’. > > “He [also] said I could use his gym whenever I wanted. One day I got to work to work out and one of the [assistant directors] goes, ‘You can’t go in right now because Tom is working out.’ I thought, ‘That sucks, I got here an hour early to get this in, but he’s Tom Cruise’.” > > Later in the day when the two actors were filming a scene together, Cruise asked Johnson why he hadn’t done a workout that morning. > > “I told him I was told not to bother him and he got really pissed,” Johnson said. > > “He said, ‘Let me make something crystal clear: I don’t care what anybody on the crew says to you, they don’t know what I’m saying to you. And I’m saying to you that you are always welcome. I don’t care what I’m doing in there. You’re not other. You’re my castmate. Come in’.” > **[Why Tom Cruise lost it on The Mummy set](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/tom-cruise-cracked-it-when-a-co-star-was-banned-from-entering-the-gym/BFJO7EH5CEDPBF7GWE6COIWVNI/)** > > He's considered one of the nicest stars in Hollywood, but Cruise lost his temper on set. He only seems to lose his temper when _others_ are being slighted. I’m sure he has no problem getting his own way, but he’s not oblivious to those around him. In my experience, assholes just aren’t that considerate. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/33 "2026-09-21T23:50:00Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > But if I knew somebody was going to work with him, or if I had the opportunity to do the same, I’d be enthusiastic. He strikes me as a high achieving perfectionist, but one who would support those around him who had the same motivations. If you don’t mind his reputation for pushing Scientology on set. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/34 "2026-09-22T01:14:59Z")
A buddy of mine worked for him in the 90’s and said he was odd but within normal bounds–mainly requiring his own spaces apart from family and staff. Not so weird. I will say that suggesting the role of Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder and then playing it to the hilt suggests a little self reflection and humility. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/35 "2026-09-22T01:26:13Z")
Sure, he’s definitely a thrill-seeker… but even with all of the crazy stunts he’s done, he hasn’t yet killed himself or inflicted a career-ending injury. You don’t go that long on stunts without destroying yourself unless you’re a very careful thrill-seeker. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/36 "2026-09-22T01:57:54Z")
Anyone ever seen Legend? A 1985 dark fantasy with Tom Cruise, Sara Mia, and Tim Curry completely unrecognizable as the evil Darkness. He played one hell of a bad guy. If you like weird, surreal movies this is for you. Tom is weird, but I like his acting. As long as he’s not abusing kids, or his significant others, or the people that work for/under him I’m ok with him. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/37 "2026-09-22T05:41:34Z")
A senior Hollywood executive once told me something I’ll never forget: “Actors are always acting. Even when you think they aren’t.” So maybe Tom Cruise is nice, professional guy, or maybe he’s a psychopath playing the role of “Tom Cruise: nice, professional guy”, 24/7. We have no way of knowing, and until something really egregious happens, who cares? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/38 "2026-09-22T07:21:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > His teeth aren’t awful. He had them all replaced with veneers or something, though. Yep, he had orthodontic work done ages ago, and then more work around 2002 where he had visible retainers on during his Minority Report publicity tours. I’ve known several scientologists. Each one of them was a smug asshole. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/39 "2026-09-22T11:28:44Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I’ve known several scientologists. Each one of them was a smug asshole. That’s just your suppressive personality talking. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2026, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235/40 "2026-09-22T11:47:35Z")
It shouldn’t need saying, but I will anyway. Believing him to be some sort of sociopath doesn’t call into question his work ethic, commitment to his craft, treatment of people on set, or his acting abilities. For my money, his role as Vincent in Collateral, was arguably my favorite to date. But given what we all know about Scientology, his very active role in it, his very close friendship with Miscavige, and let’s face it… his bizarre behavior in various interviews over the years… and the evolutionary instinct most of us possess for recognizing “creepy” behavior, is probably sufficient reason for say, not wanting to spend a night alone in the same house with Tom Cruise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-american-psycho-tom-cruise/1033235.md?page=3)