Tom Cruise, 59, is known for being nice to his co-workers. Take his protective nature with Fallout co-star Henry Cavill, for example. He also spent $700,000 on his production crew to continue Mission: Impossible 7 amid the Covid crisis. His generosity has been giving George Clooney, 60, — who once gave 14 friends $1 million each in cash — a run for his money. But sometimes, the Top Gun star's thoughtfulness could get out of hand. He was once recorded yelling expletives at his crew due to breaches of social distancing policies.
He threatened to fire some of them during the outburst, saying they should be grateful the production was "creating thousands of jobs." Then somewhere between that passion for helping his staff and showing appreciation for his fellow actors, he's maintained an odd annual tradition with former co-star, 27-year-old Dakota Fanning. At 10, she starred with Cruise in the 2005 blockbuster, War of the Worlds. They've been "lifelong friends" since.
Dakota Fanning Is Tom Cruise's Real-Life Goose
Fanning and Cruise had this father-daughter bond on the set of War of the Worlds. In an interview with Oprah, the Risky Business actor said: "I feel like I just want to protect her." The young actress, on the other hand, felt like Cruise's cool little sidekick. She surprised the actor with a video message during the show and said: "I just want to let you know that your goose is behaving like a true lady. You'll be real proud of her."
It might have been a play at the famous Top Gun duo, Maverick and Goose. Nothing strange there, really. Perhaps it's just rare that despite the age gap, Cruise has always treated his younger co-star with the same respect he gives actors his age. "She's ten, eleven... she's incredibly bright," the Edge of Tomorrow star told Oprah. "You know what, I told her, 'You're a great actress, and so I'm here if you need anything.'"
Consistent Yearly Gifts From Tom Cruise
In 2016, Fanning revealed that Cruise had been sending her a gift every year since they started working in 2005. "I haven't seen him [Cruise] in a while," the Uptown Girls actress told Andy Cohen in Watch What Happens Live. "But he has sent me a birthday gift every year since I was 11 years old, and I'm 22." When asked about the last present the actor gave her, Fanning said she usually got shoes.
She thought the gifts would stop coming when she'd turned 18 or 21 but her 23-year-old sister Elle said it was still an ongoing thing. The Sleeping Beauty star also worked with Cruise in the 2011 film, Super 8. During an Access interview in 2020, she spilled some details about the actor's yearly gifts.
Aside from the personal gifts she and her sister receive, they "get a coconut cake from him for Christmas every year."
It may be weird to some but Mario Lopez, 47, said it's a typical nice gesture from the actor. "He's one of the nicest guys in Hollywood," the host said. "When I tore my Achilles, he sent me this machine... it was an ice thing machine that kinda iced my ankle. It was just the nicest thing." The Fanning sisters agree. They don't see anything wrong with the presents. They even treasure everything he's given them.
That includes career and life lessons from the Oblivion actor. "You've made me a better actress," Dakota once told him. "I'll never forget my memories with you and I love you." We're sure she and her sister feel honored to have experienced acting opposite the action star, even more as a part of his annual gift list.