TOM CRUISE speaks from-the-heart about his "Mission POSSIBLE" Career

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., July 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- While Tom Cruise blows up the box office this weekend in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, critic/reporter David Sheehan's original web series "Sheehan & The Stars" spotlights an upclose over-the-years look at Cruise candidly describing critical crossroads on his way to becoming one of the biggest and most likable movie stars of all time.

It's a never-seen-before Tom Cruise, very genuinely telling his own story in his own words.

"Before I start anything, I do get nervous about it," Cruise tells Sheehan, "you know, when you start something you're looking at the mountain and you just take one step at a time and it gets easier and easier and easier."

The actor also talks about what life was like before his success: "I was lonely and isolated," Cruise says, "any person can understand what it's like, at one time in your life, to feel lonely or isolated. That's just one of the things that I really had to look at in playing this part (Lystat in Interview with the Vampire)."

Sheehan asks: "Did you use the isolation that you feel from being a movie star to identify with that?"

Cruise answers: "I don't feel isolated now. Actually, before I became a movie star, and growing up, there were times in my life when I felt isolated. So you look back at that, and think about times when you need to be appreciated."

Watch TOM CRUISE on "SHEEHAN & THE STARS"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWBNqDwwa2Q&list=PLDs2JzAuYkPVKuw2CRSvJF5FmRpctmrx3

Cruise has achieved 'action hero' status with the tremendous worldwide success of one Mission Impossible after another (the current 'Rogue Nation' being his 5th), and, as he explains to Sheehan, it has fulfilled a lifelong dream.

"I've always wanted to make movies," Cruise smiles, "I never thought it would be possible for me to be an actor when I was a kid, but it was something I wanted to do. And I enjoy seeing these kinds of movies. I remember I was in line 15 times for Star Wars and Raiders and all these pictures, so this was a dream fulfilled for me."

And, Cruise offers a quick outline of what his guiding principles have been, as reflected in the Samurai code of his Last Samurai movie adventure.

"Courage, Compassion, Loyalty, Integrity," Cruise explains emphatically, "those things mean a lot to me. Standing up for what I believe in, and what I know to be true. And also when I read things about helping people, if there isn't someone there to help, go out and look for them. And also -- taking responsibility for your actions: what you do, what you say, how you live your life, those things are important to me!"

The episode includes a spirited look back through the Tom Cruise career, from his adventurous early roles in Interview with the Vampire and Far and Away to his box office brilliance in Top Gun and the Mission Impossible series. Sheehan also examines Cruise's artistic push for deeper work in Rain Man and Born on the Fourth of July. The critic praises the actor for those performances and declares both to be Academy Award "should-haves."

The Tom Cruise "Sheehan & The Stars" episode can be seen on Facebook http://facebook.com/hollywoodcloseupsinc and Twitter @davidsheehanTV and YouTube and most social media platforms.

Past & Future of "SHEEHAN & THE STARS"

Previous episodes of "Sheehan & The Stars" have featured interview-interplays with ...
ROBIN WILLIAMS, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfj5ww6b0es&list=PLDs2JzAuYkPVKuw2CRSvJF5FmRpctmrx3
NICOLE KIDMAN, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX2admWHUhA&index=3&list=PLDs2JzAuYkPVKuw2CRSvJF5FmRpctmrx3
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey7PgSyBSuY&feature=youtu.be&list=PLDs2JzAuYkPVKuw2CRSvJF5FmRpctmrx3
AL PACINO, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKoMluWUhr8&feature=youtu.be&list=PLDs2JzAuYkPVKuw2CRSvJF5FmRpctmrx3

For a preview of coming episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3fo3CErJkU

Still to come are Woody Allen, Meryl Streep, Marlon Brando, George Clooney, Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood, Johnny Depp, Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty, Sylvester Stallone, Paul Newman, Donna Summer, Jeff Bridges, Jane Fonda, Henry Fonda, Liza Minnelli, Russell Crowe, Richard Burton, Burt Reynolds, Bette Midler, and many many more!

You can follow the series on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (@DavidSheehanTV), YouTube, and DavidSheehan.tv.

For more about David Sheehan, go to www.davidsheehan.tv.

Feel free to post the video Interview-Interplay and any supporting materials you see fit. For additional images, materials, & press inquiries please respond to [email protected].

All net proceeds go to our 3 favorite charities: Children of the Night, Habitat for Humanity, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

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Video - http://youtu.be/RWBNqDwwa2Q
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150731/252600

SOURCE David Sheehan