A lack of Cruise control

By SAMANTHA ETTUS
Scripps Howard News Service
02-JUN-05

Tom Cruise burst into the spotlight when he danced in his underwear in "Risky Business," and rapidly evolved into a superstar with leading turns in movies such as "Top Gun," "Rain Man," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Jerry Maguire" and "Mission Impossible."

For the past 22 years, Cruise has remained consistently in the spotlight, and his 6 week old relationship with actress Katie Holmes, 16 years his junior, recently thrust him back on center stage.

But strangely, Cruise has seized upon this latest burst of exposure to become increasingly vocal about his heretofore tempered evangelism and his closely guarded love life. This suddenly erratic behavior threatens to devastate his personal brand.

While most Hollywood romances are characterized by secrecy, it's a shock when a Tinseltown veteran like Cruise practically shouts from the rooftops to declare his love.

His visibility with Holmes peaked last week when he appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and his giddy behavior had the host bewildered. At one point, the impetuous Cruise even ran back to the green room to drag his beloved onto the set.

Also last week, "Access Hollywood" aired a four-hour multi-part interview with Cruise in which the suddenly unrestrained star discussed previously-taboo subjects, including his relationship with Holmes, his kids, his divorce from Nicole Kidman, scientology, and his beliefs about psychiatry and prescription drugs.

Those appearances, as well as his very public displays of affection toward Holmes, have audiences around the world wondering if Cruise has lost his mind. While we at Celebrity Assets aren't ready to go that far, his recent behavior in discussing his religious beliefs has us concerned that he is walking a dangerous path toward brand self-destruction.

As Cruise's career has evolved, so too has his involvement in Scientology. A 20 year devotee, Cruise has become increasingly vocal about his religion, and his oratory reached a zenith in his interview on "Access Hollywood."

Cruise vehemently criticized psychiatry, exclaiming, "Here is the thing _ you have to understand, with psychiatry, there is no science behind it. And to pretend that there is a science behind it is criminal."

Worse, he pointed a finger at Brooke Shields, who recently went public with her struggle with post partum depression, calling Shields "irresponsible" for suggesting that women take prescription drugs to manage their depression. While many top tier celebrities are heavily involved in religion, it is rare to find one so vocal about the religion he ascribes to and at the same time so critical of others.

A few years ago it would have been hard to imagine that Hollywood's golden boy could do anything to mar his winning box office record and reputation. Cruise's two divorces (he and actress Mimi Rogers in married 1986 and divorced in 1990) didn't tarnish his image, and he emerged unscathed from rumors about his sexuality.

Yet in just two months, Cruise is beginning to garner a reputation as off-kilter, judgmental and impulsive.

Perhaps tellingly, he fired his longtime publicist, Pat Kingsley, just two months ago and hired his sister, Lee Anne DeVette, to replace her. It seems that Kingsley had been able to tame Cruise and point his brand in a winning direction, something his sister has been unable to do. It isn't too late for Cruise to save his brand, but we can only hope he realizes the need for some prompt and decisive damage control.

Remember: the most dependable road to the top is to treat your personal brand as your greatest asset.

(Samantha Ettus is the author of "The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do" (Random House). Contact her at Samantha(at)celebrityassets.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com)