Tom Cruise, 64, says he saw himself as the ‘CEO’ of his life early on

Tom Cruise, 64, said it was his childhood dream to make movies, and he worked hard to make that dream a reality.

Speaking to GQ in an interview published Tuesday, Cruise said he would map out the skills he needed to make films, breaking each one into actionable tasks. “What I did was write goals,” Cruise said. “Still, it’s like you’re looking at something, you write a goal, and then you write underneath, what are those things you need to learn to be able to accomplish those goals?” The “Mission: Impossible” star said he would learn new skills and apply them in his own work.

He would also study how other movies use camera placement, lenses, lighting, and set architecture.

Cruise said he was passionate about filmmaking even as a teenager, but stopped sharing his ambitions because some of the adults around him dismissed him as “a little kid.” “But I never let go of it, and I understood very early on, this is for me,” Cruise said. “I’m a CEO of my life, I know the dreams that I want,” Cruise said. “I want to see what those people are like in those different countries.

And movies for me were an in.” Cruise said he is a “hard worker” and felt he “could outwork anyone.” Even now, when he’s not on a movie set, he’s preparing for the next project.

He added that his career moves, including filming in locations like Prague and China and working with Ridley Scott in England, were “not happenstance.” “I would see those doors that open.

I’m going, ‘here’s an opportunity,'” Cruise said.

He said his work ethic extends to collaborators, and he is upfront about the high standards he expects. “The rumors are true,” he added.

Getting older also hasn’t changed his ambitions or his appetite for taking on new challenges. “Life, I’m coming right at it,” he said. “You know what I mean?

It’s coming at me, and I’m coming right at it.” After more than four decades in entertainment, Cruise remains one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stars.

In 2023, he told Business Insider that he was “always pushing” to make each film as entertaining as possible. “I know I can do things better,” he said.

His commitment to learning the craft has been a throughline of his career.

In a May 2025 interview at the British Film Institute, Cruise said he would “force” studios to send him to different countries so he could learn how films were made there.