He’s the church’s most high-profile Scientologist and now in a new interview, actor Tom Cruise has revealed he’s “incredibly proud” to be part of the controversial religion.
Tom was quizzed about his thoughts on Louis Theroux’s new flick, My Scientology Movie, as he walked the red carpet at the UK premiere of Jack Reacher 2: Never Go Back in London this week.
Louis’ film delves deep into the religion and even casts the role of Tom Cruise and the church’s leader David Miscavige to act out key scenes within the film and explore the pair’s fascinating relationship.
Despite the negative connotations Louis’ film draws, Tom spoke highly of Scientology, explaining to ITV: “It’s something that has helped me incredibly in my life. I’ve been a Scientologist for over 30 years.”
“It’s something, you know, without it, I wouldn’t be where I am. So it’s a beautiful religion. I’m incredibly proud,” he added.
While Tom remains the poster boy for Scientology, in recent years many celebrities have deflected from the church including Leah Remini, Paul Haggis and Jason Lee.
WATCH: Tom Cruise talks about Scientology. Post continues after the video…
Tom, pictured with ex-wife Katie Holmes and his daughter Suri, joined the church over 30 years ago.
In September, Jason Lee spoke to Texas’ culture blog The Dentonite and confirmed his exit from the church to put an end to rumours that he and his wife were planning to open a Scientology centre in the local town.
“If Ceren and I had an idea for a business, it certainly wouldn’t happen at the cost of someone else’s,” he said.
“And being that we don’t practice Scientology, and that we aren’t particularly interested in opening religious centres in general, we have no plans to open a Scientology centre.”
Last year, Leah Remini released an explosive tell-all book called Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, which exposed her run-ins with the church before she left the religion.
“Being critical of Tom Cruise is being critical of Scientology itself,” Leah said.
Leah has written a tell-all book on Scientology.
