Looking dapper in a black suit, Tom Cruise appeared happy to be spending his 61st birthday, walking the red carpet in Sydney for his long-awaited action hit, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
“What a gorgeous, gorgeous city this is,” Tom told Richard Wilkins at the premiere. “I’ve spent so much time here so it’s great to be back.”
But behind the red carpet pleasantries, an insider says Tom was feeling anxious about returning to Sydney, where he spent so much time with his ex-wife Nicole Kidman.
Cruise touched down in Sydney for a whirlwind Mission Impossible press tour.
(Image: Getty)“Tom didn’t want any dramas, nor any reminders of his time as ‘Mr Kidman’,” the source explains.
“Visiting Australia with Nic and their kids was the first time in his life he felt part of something bigger than his career. It will always be an emotional return for him.”
And it seems Tom may have taken extra measures to avoid any awkward exchanges at his premiere – eliminating any chance of bumping into Nicole’s niece Lucia Hawley, who is the local red carpet host for Live From E!.
Hawley attended the Barbie x VOGUE after party in Sydney.
(Image: Getty)CULLING THE GUEST LIST
“Tom was very strict about who was on that red carpet – he didn’t want any surprises,” the source says.
In her role, Lucia, 25, covers all the big showbiz events in Oz, and days before, she had reported from the Barbie photocall at Bondi Beach.
She was notably absent from Tom’s premiere, and our insider says that may have been down to the leading man.
“Tom’s team weren’t taking any chances, and if Lucia’s name had been down as attending, Tom would have vetoed it. Lucia must have known it was inappropriate for her to be there,” says the source. “Nicole wouldn’t have approved of that, either.”
Indeed, the insider says Tom always has the “constant worry” that he could run into one of Nicole’s friends or family members while he’s in Oz.
“He knows he’s burned a lot of bridges,” says the source. “And he understands how treasured Nicole is in her home country.”
Tom and Nicole divorced in 2001 after 11 years of marriage.
(Image: Getty)