Quotes

The thing about filmmaking is I give it everything, that's why I work so hard. I always tell young actors to take charge. It's not that hard. Sign your own checks, be responsible.

[to Jay Leno regarding his topless Vanity Fair cover shoot] I don't drink but I had a beer that night and they only did one setup like that. I'm a cheap date. What can I say?

[on Eyes Wide Shut (1999)] We knew from the beginning the level of commitment needed. We felt honored to work with Stanley Kubrick. We were going to do what it took to do this picture, whatever time, because I felt - and Nic [Nicole Kidman] did, too - that this was going to be a really special time for us. We knew it would be difficult. But I would have absolutely kicked myself if I hadn't done this.

I have cooked turkeys in my day but when Mom's around I let her do it.

I was 18 when I saw Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954). After about 30 seconds, I realized that this was not just a cultural thing, it was universal. Years later, I read Bushido. It talked about many things that I strive for in my own life: loyalty, compassion, responsibility, the idea of looking back on your life and taking responsibility for everything you've ever done. I'm fascinated by the samurai and the samurai code - it's one of the main reasons I wanted to make The Last Samurai (2003).

Awards are wonderful. I've been nominated many times and I've won many awards. But my journey is not towards that. If it happens it will be a blast. If it doesn't, it's still been a blast.

I believe in life. I know that life comes in at your heart and it doesn't matter if you're an actor, a filmmaker or a gentleman on the street, it comes at you. What Scientology gives me is the tools to deal with that, to better enjoy my life and to be able to contribute more.

[on his role as the hit man in Collateral (2004)] I've never played a character like this before. Vincent interested me because he is such an anti-social personality, bringing destruction and chaos with him wherever he goes. He's a force of nature.

I remember getting through high school and thinking, "Boy, I'm glad I got that behind me!". Then, when I was 19, I got Risky Business (1983), and I realized, "Ah, so this is life - it's a little bigger than I thought!".

As a young actor, people were trying to define who I was before I really knew that for myself. But I still remember thinking, "This is what I love doing, and I hope I'm going to be able to do it forever.".

I've had a very interesting life. There are ways of handling the complexities. I'm willing to take on responsibilities as a father, as a producer, as an actor - and I enjoy that. I've always been changing and evolving and growing. There's no pinnacle of power where you can sit back and rest.

Because I grew up in so many different places, I was used to rumors [about me]. You know, I didn't have the right shoes, I didn't have the right clothes. I even had the wrong accent.

Nic [Nicole Kidman] and I don't talk publicly about custody but, definitely, both of us share the kids back and forth. They're amazing kids.

I would live with all of my sisters if I could. We've always been very close, my sisters and me.

The important thing with a child is that you love them, you protect them and you help them to grow and find out who they are. And as a parent, it's my responsibility to help them to become independent and get all the knowledge and a broad view of the world and life. I know that Nic [Nicole Kidman] absolutely agrees with that. And that's what's important: being there.

I'd like to be with a woman who goes [he switches into a woman's voice], "I've reviewed your schedule, and I'm going to set up this motorcycle trip for you, because you've been working really hard. And I'm going to go with you. We're going to go riding together. And I've already been working on it for a couple days so it can be special.".

I don't really keep counsel with others. I'm the kind of person who will think about something, and if I know it's right I'm not going to ask anybody. I don't go, "Boy, what do you think about this?" I've made every decision for myself - in my career, in my life.

SAT (exam) scores have gone right down the toilet. The parents are blaming the teachers, the teachers are blaming the parents and the psychs are putting everyone on drugs.

[on the relationship with Katie Holmes, about other people thinking it's a publicity stunt] It's amusing at first. It's funny. But then you sit back and realize how sad it is that there are people who can't even imagine feeling like this. But my friends are happy for me. The people who know me are happy. My mom is happy. My family is happy.

I've never agreed with psychiatry, ever. Before I was a Scientologist, I never agreed with psychiatry. Here's the problem. You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do.

I'm passionate about learning. I'm passionate about life.

[on the invasion of Iraq] Personally, I don't have all the information President [George W. Bush] has. But I believe [Saddam Hussein] has committed many crimes against humanity and his own people.

Every single time I start to do a picture, without fail, I feel as if I don't know what I'm doing.

(on his father) He was a bully and a coward. He was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life - how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang! For me, it was like, "There's something wrong with this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him." There's that anxiety.

[on Born on the Fourth of July (1989)] When I made that film people said, "This is going to ruin your career. Why are you doing this after you did Top Gun. Why not just do Top Gun 2?". I wanted to challenge myself.

(1992 quote) I'm very careful in choosing things. I'm not one of those people that's in, that's out. Once I make a decision, nothing will stop it. It's not something that takes me months to make a decision either, but I evaluate it very carefully, specifically, at the time, taking into account a lot of things.

(1992 quote) I really enjoy talking to other actors and directors. Sometimes, if I see their movies, I'll call them up or write them a note saying, "I enjoyed it," or asking, "How did you do that? How did you make that work?". I just saw Billy Crystal's movie Mr. Saturday Night a couple of weeks ago - he did a phenomenal job directing this-and afterwards, I talked to him for a couple of hours. It's true, I can be very shy around famous people. I remember, Sean Penn and Emilio Estevez and I used to drive by Brando's house and Nicholson's house. We'd see a light go on inside and go, "There he is - let's go knock on the door," then go, "Nah, nah, they'll never let us in.".

(1992 quote on fame) In the beginning, when people were looking at me, it could be unnerving. People just start looking at you, staring at you. I used to get nervous. Sometimes, I still get a little nervous when, all of a sudden, so much attention is directed at me just like - [snaps his fingers].

(1992, on career choices) My choices are sometimes dictated by many considerations. I'm interested in making different kinds of movies. My path is very simple: I want to challenge myself, find something that lifts me up and makes me want to get out there and work out. Sometimes, you might look at something I've done and go, "Degree of difficulty: not so great." But, every time, man, it's a new ring with a hell of a lot of work to be accomplished in it.

(1992, on A Few Good Men (1992) and working with Rob Reiner) I finished Far and Away (1992) and started immediately on it. So, the first time I met Rob Reiner - I'd been told, "You know, Tom, he's a pretty aggressive guy." He's a big guy. Big hands. Very bright, articulate. When he talks his points, he gets very loud because he gets very excited. He's just so fucking smart. He's very intense, but he's also like a teddy bear you want to hug. We read the script together - I'd already planned on doing it, but we were working on things like structure - and he would read it imagining the nine different characters. And he started imitating Jack Nicholson. That's how he found out that Jack Nicholson should play the role. The character I play, Kaffee, is a very tough, complex role to play. You're either going to hit or miss with this guy. All of the scenes, all the rhythms, come from character and even though Rob worked so hard on it himself, he trusts the actors to breathe life into their roles. You'll look over at him on the set and he's saying the lines along with the actors. You become really bonded with this guy because there's nothing more he wants for you than to be great. And you feel that.

[on his character Jack Reacher in Jack Reacher (2012)] Reacher is such a great character. He doesn't have a cell phone, he doesn't have email. He's off the grid. He pays for things in cash. People look at things through the prism of the colours of their life, but Jack Reacher does things the way we want to sometimes. In that sense, he's sort of a Dirty Harry, a James Bond, a Josey Wales.

I'm not the Stanislavsky kind of actor. I just want to communicate with the people in the scene.

[on Rock of Ages (2012)] Adam Shankman, the director, asked me if I could carry a tune. I said, "We'll see, won't we? This is either going to work or it's going to be dreadful.".

What do I want? I want a world without war. I want a world without insanity. I want to see people do well. And I don't even think that it's as much of what I want for myself. It's more what I want for the people around me.

(2012) I have a standard of what winning is. How do you define winning and losing? If I get beaten in a basketball game, I don't care. How a movie does is based on so many things, including release dates and marketing. I understand the box office game. I was there in the beginning when they started fixating on the number one film and the competition in that. I really came up with promoting films around the world, and studios fought me, but I mainly did it because I wanted myself and my kids to see the world. But here's the game I'm playing. I want to make great films that entertain an audience and hold up. I can control only the effort I put into it and the experience we all have making it. After that, it is what it is.

(2012) Whether it's making a film or raising my children, personally I'm striving to do the right things and to learn. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of person, and when I become interested in something, I give it my all. In life, I always wanted adventures and to learn different fields of endeavor. The great thing about being an actor is I've gotten to see what a fighter pilot's life is like and a race car driver's. I've gotten to fly airplanes, race cars, learn about motorcycles. In Rock of Ages (2012), I studied music, learned how to sing and see it from a singer's vantage point. I carry those interests and lessons through my own life. I guess I am always striving to be competent.

(2012, on his favorite 'toy') Each one has its different level of freedom. A fast motorcycle is wonderful, but I'd have to say it would be the P-51 Warbird. I have a 1944 Tuskegee Airmen P-51 that was part of their training squadron. When I traveled around as a kid, I had a picture of a Spitfire and a picture of a P-51. P means "pursuit", and you can fly hard through the canyons. It's a beautiful airplane, unlike anything else.

(2012, on learning to fly) I always wanted to fly, and that was one of the reasons I did Top Gun (1986). I just never had the time to learn. Then I met Sydney Pollack. I was 19 or 20. He was editing Tootsie (1982), and I'd just finished Risky Business (1983). I got a meeting with Sydney that was supposed to be 20 minutes and ended up being over two hours. Outside of my admiration for him as a filmmaker, we talked about a big mutual interest that we had in aviation because I knew he flew. Sydney became a lifelong friend, and when we finished The Firm (1993) together in 1993 or 1994, he gave me flying lessons as a gift. He said, "I know how much you love flying. Take the time, right now, and do it, because otherwise you'll never get to it." I had two kids by then, and I worked all the time. In a few months, I had my instrument rating and, a little while after that, I had my commercial rating. I trained mostly in aerobatics, because I wanted to fly the P-51. I was doing rolls, loops, all kinds of aerobatic maneuvers. My first airplane was called a Pitts, and then I flew a Marchetti. That's a third-world air force trainer they use in the Navy's TOPGUN schools for air-to-air combat. This was all in preparation to fly the Warbird, the P-51. I searched all over the world for my P-51 and found it in 2000. It's called "Kiss Me Kate", which covers two things I love most, my wife and movies.

[on Tony Scott] He was a creative visionary whose mark on film is immeasurable.

[on preparing for Rock of Ages (2012)] I spent months studying the history of rock 'n' roll for my role as Stacee Jaxx and Queen and Freddie Mercury were a big part of that.

[on this intense passion for his work] I love what I do. I take great pride in what I do. And I can't do something halfway, three-quarters, nine-tenths. If I'm going to do something, I go all the way.

[on what he likes about London, England] I love the fish and chips, the crews are fantastic, it's such a beautiful city, and the people are so easy and cool. I like a good curry, I like it hot, and you have great Indian food here also. I like it very spicy. If I'm not sweating I don't feel like I have had good Indian food.

[on Ireland and his part Irish ancestry] I'm very proud to be Irish. There's a pride in America of being Irish. I can't wait to come back and I want to visit the land of my ancestors and the castle that they had.

[on Edge of Tomorrow (2014)] The alien invasion is simmering in the background. It's kind of Back to the Future (1985). I love movies that ask, "If you did have to live your life over again, what would happen?".

In 1988, Tom himself was quoted saying: "I have always been pretty much the same weight, 147 pounds - at 5 feet 9 inches.".

[People magazine - July 5, 2010] My first celebrity crush was Ingrid Bergman in Notorious (1946).

[on Eyes Wide Shut (1999)] I didn't like playing Dr Bill. I didn't like him. It was unpleasant. But I would have absolutely kicked myself if I hadn't done this.

[on Edge of Tomorrow (2014)] It was a lot of fun. A once in a lifetime experience.

Action is action, but if it doesn't have story and character it's not involving.

[on Edge of Tomorrow (2014)] I hope you enjoyed it. I can't wait for you to see the film. I think you're gonna love it. So thank you very much for coming on this adventure with us.