|
 |
For years Tom Cruise occupied a rather strange zone of celebrity: He was undoubtedly one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, yet almost no one knew anything about his personal life. But in 2005 that all changed, as Cruise became a walking, talking headline grabber, thanks to his perplexing couch gymnastics on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," his verbal sparring with "Today" host Matt Lauer, a blockbuster motion picture and his whirlwind courtship of actress Katie Holmes.
But as '05 draws to a close, many of Cruise's fans are left wondering, "What happened to that quiet, good-looking guy?"
Cruise started out the year shooting "The War of the Worlds," his second big-budget collaboration with director Steven Spielberg. Details of the film — much like Cruise's personal life — were kept tightly under wraps ... until April, when Cruise began the publicity push for "Worlds" and also started making effervescently giddy public appearances with Holmes. One month later he would make his infamous appearance on "Oprah," where — in between bouts of leaping on Winfrey's couch, punching the floor and thrusting his fists triumphantly skyward — he would profess his love for the former "Dawson's Creek" star.
In June the couple announced their engagement, after Cruise popped the question to Holmes atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Less than a week after the announcement, Cruise made another head-scratching appearance on TV, this time getting involved in a heated argument with Lauer over the validity of psychiatry. Cruise repeatedly called Lauer "glib" and insisted that "there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance."
"War of the Worlds" opened later that month, grossing $77 million in its opening weekend (eventually earning more than $230 million overall). In October, Cruise and Holmes — or TomKat, as they were unofficially dubbed — announced they were expecting a child. Cruise rounded out the year by beginning work on "Mission: Impossible III" with "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams. One can only hope Abrams dare not act glib on set.
|
 |
|
Photo: Getty Images |
|
|
|
|
