Tom Cruise and sport: an intriguing Hollywood romance

Telegraph

2 days ago

At this point it might be easier to list the major sporting events Tom Cruise has not been to. No sign of him yet at Augusta's Masters, despite the video of his excellent swing that emerged four years ago. That turned out to be the work of a deep-fake prankster, prolonging the cold war between golf and the actor, although perhaps there will be space for a high-octane putting scene when Mission Impossible is inevitably prolonged?
Otherwise Cruise has been spotted at everything from the Manchester derby to the Champions League final, the Tour de France to the Goodwood festival of speed. It is as if he is attempting a sporting bucket list, how you might, too, if you were the most famous movie star of your age with a permanent, worldwide access-all-areas pass. Good old Tom, he's just like us. Here is perhaps the main clue to why Cruise continues to be spotted so frequently at sporting events.
He has been seen several times at Wimbledon as the Championships conclude, further burnishing the personal brand: adjacent to athletic brilliance but still Just A Normal And Actually Super-Relatable Guy. This is part of a tight PR strategy which has revived Cruise's reputation in the past decade. Every toothy grin from the padded seats moves him further away from that bumpy period when he went a bit heavy on the Scientology and the jumping on Oprah Winfrey's sofa.
Once an actor of great range, he has almost exclusively played action heroes since 2011 and his public persona has been managed with such discipline, it is now hard to say exactly where Ethan Hunt ends and Cruise begins. Perhaps there are some uncontacted tribes in remote parts of the Amazon who do not yet know that Cruise performs all his own stunts. On some level even they must understand it as an elemental truth, such is the doggedness with which the message has been transmitted.
Clearly there is a healthy publicity angle for Cruise every time the cameras pick him out during some of the most-watched TV broadcasts around the world. The eyes of the world's media drifts to the Royal Box during matches on Centre Court more than ever before. Seeing Cruise there, as we also did at the European Championship final next to David Beckham or the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, achieves a carpet-bombing effect. At some point the collective will weakens and millions reach the point where they will pay to watch him parachute off a motorbike out of a burning plane.
Britain holds a particular pull for Cruise. He has lived in the country for long periods and filmed much of his recent output in the UK. Events like Wimbledon are especially appealing. 'Americans, particularly Hollywood folk, who buy into British culture love the great sporting events,' says PR expert Mark Borkowski. 'Everybody's a star in Hollywood, here he stands out.
'There's an enjoyment of the British summer season and the glamour of the Royal Box. Other places offer that, like the Long Room at Lord's, but who understands cricket in America?'
Cruise's working life is all about being watched, with the supplementary gig of a faultless, polite, personable promotional machine. You might think that any further public appearances after the endless chat-show sofas would be the last thing he would choose to do in his free time. Borowski argues there are three simple reasons why Cruise keeps coming back to sport.
1. He 'undoubtedly' enjoys watching tennis, crucial in a time where perceived inauthenticity is disastrous for a public figure. He seems on shakier ground with football, but his friendship with kindred marketing genius David Beckham seems genuine.
2. 'He likes the adulation, he loves the glamour. There's something old-matinee glamour about him, he's the last matinee idol in many ways.'
3. 'Celebrities are human, you know. They want to be there, they want to be part of an occasion with fantastic seats. They want the same visceral experience that sport gives to the punters. Tickets are hard to track down, so why wouldn't you want them?'
He has enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the All England Club. 'It's great visibility for Wimbledon, the idea that if you go you might bump into Tom Cruise, because it adds to the idea that Wimbledon is this exclusive thing. That helps for sponsorships and selling hospitality packages.'