Tom Cruise, The Side You Don’t Know

By Steve Wolf

For many, “Tom Cruise” invokes ideas concerning his faith or marriages. People care because he’s famous. But why is he famous? What makes him great at his ? There’s a side of Tom you don’t know if you haven’t worked with him.

I worked with Tom on a movie called “The Firm.” He led a cast that included Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook and Holly Hunter, and I was special effects coordinator. We spoke often and I got to watch him work, and what I saw was life-changing.

Tom gives his work total focus. He holds nothing back, and is brutally honest with himself. He makes no room for “good enough.” If he thinks he can do it better, he does it again. He doesn’t let himself get by with less than his best work. And he doesn’t stop just because someone else thinks his effort was good enough.

Many times I saw director Sidney Pollock say, “Great job Tom, great job everybody, moving on…” And Tom said “No. Not yet. I have one more in me. I can do better.” During a scene where he chased after his wife down a dark road at night, he ran so hard so many times that many of us on the crew nearly cried in fatigue for him. It was painful seeing someone push themselves so hard. But he knew what he was doing. He was doing his best. He was pushing deep past the comfort zone where most of us quit.

He’s disciplined and prepared. He arrives early, knows his lines and is physically and emotionally ready to work as soon as camera is set. And while he expects the same of others, he never said a word if anyone failed for lack of effort. As a gentleman, he understood that when a person of character fails at something, nothing you can say will punish them more than their own thoughts.

Tom was also incredibly generous with the crew; with everyone from the director to the doughnut boy. When we were tired, he hired a massage therapist to walk around and rub peoples shoulders. Even though he had his own chef to prepare healthy meals for himself, he showed just as much concern for the quality of the crew’s food, insisting that the best caterer be hired to feed the crew.

He treated people the way they need to be treated: with dignity, respect, compassion and patience. He valued everyone’s contributions, knowing that there is no movie in which to star without the efforts of crew working camera, lighting, electrical, wardrobe, make-up and so on. We all felt valued.

When Tom talks with you, you have his full attention, and you feel it. He’s not texting or distracted. He is listening to you. He is looking at you. He is thinking about what you’re saying. He is remembering what’s important to you. So when he needed our support, he had our patience, respect and compassion. Not because he was the star, but because he earned and deserved that respect.

You can’t watch Tom work without being inspired by his commitment. Nor can you avoid it rubbing off on you. His example led us to work longer, harder and smarter, with more respect for the work we were doing and more kindness for the people with whom we worked.

He also kept a sense of balance. He followed moments of intense work with humor. Hard days ended with hard play. He kept a football on set, and tossed it with us during down time. It kept him real, in touch and interactive. When he left set he’d ride his motorcycle to clear his head and recharge.

I was improved by the experience of working with Tom. He had a “special effect” on how I go about my work and my life. I adopted many traits from the example he set. When I finish a project or a show I no longer think “that was great, where to next?” but rather reflect, “How could I have made that better? What did I learn from this that will help me do a better job next time?” It’s not beating yourself up, but seeking to continually improve.

Even if you walk a path no one has walked, you can still benefit from studying the habits of people who successfully walk the walk in any path.

When I achieve something, I am grateful for the influences that got me there.

Tom never worried about how much time, effort, diet, exercise, study or focus it would take to do his best work. He just jumped in and did it. When you do the work, the results follow. His work reminded me of the words of the coach who advised that “the desire to win is irrelevant compared to the desire to prepare to win.”

Whose values and examples would you study in your path towards excellence in your life? What would happen if you committed to doing whatever it takes to be your “nothing-held-back” very best, in all aspects of your life?

I’m eager to find out.