Did Tom Cruise Call Ex-Wife Nicole Kidman a 'Great Actress'?

Los Angeles, May 11 (NationPress) Hollywood icon Tom Cruise has showered accolades on his former spouse Nicole Kidman, referring to her as a "great actress".

The 'Top Gun' star reminisced about how he recommended Nicole, his wife from 1990 to 2001, for the role of Alice Harford in Stanley Kubrick's 1999 film 'Eyes Wide Shut' due to his belief in her exceptional talent, according to reports from 'Female First UK'.

In an interview with the British Film Institute’s (BFI) Sight and Sound magazine, Cruise shared his experiences on the film’s production, stating, "I flew out to his (Kubrick's) house and landed in his backyard. I read the script the day before and we spent the day talking about it. I knew all of his films. Then it was basically he and I getting to know each other. And when we were doing that, I suggested Nicole play the role (of Alice). Because obviously she's a great actress".

According to 'Female First UK', the filming of 'Eyes Wide Shut' stretched over 400 days, and Cruise recalled informing Kubrick, who passed away at 70 before the film's release, that he was ready to do anything necessary to bring the project to fruition.

The 62-year-old actor remarked, "I knew it was going to be a long shoot. He was like, 'No, no, no. We'll finish in three or four months’. And I said, 'Stanley, look, I'm here for you. Whatever it's going to take we’re going to do this'".

He added, "I thought the film was very interesting, and I wanted to have that experience. When I go to make a movie, I do a lot of detailed investigation and spend considerable time with the people before I commit so that I understand their needs and how we can collaborate to create something extraordinary".

Cruise also expressed how "exhilarating" it was to work with Val Kilmer, who sadly passed away at 65 last month, in the 'Top Gun' films.

He recalled, "I felt so grateful that he decided to make the film. We did a lot to get him in the movie. Originally, he just didn’t want to make the film, 'I don’t want to be a supporting character, I want to star in films'. I was calling his agent, and Tony Scott was hunting him down and meeting in an elevator with Val, and he was like, 'Please, Val, please'". Cruise emphasized Kilmer's talent by stating, "You just see what a great actor, charismatic guy he was. And in that scene, what I love about what he did and how he played it, he just knew that tone to hit".

He concluded, "He had to play it so you wanted these guys to be friends in the end. Those scenes remain vivid in my memory, acting alongside him, where he captured such energy. It’s exhilarating. I love when a scene evolves into something unexpected. If you check 'Top Gun', I think he’s in the film for about ten minutes. That’s the mark of an impactful artist".