The Shame Nun from Game of Thrones defends Tom Cruise from haters

I'll start by apologizing for the title: actor Hannah Waddingham, who once memorably harranged a naked Cersei Lannister through the streets of King's Landing while yelling "Shame!" over and over, has long since become known for more than just her role on Game of Thrones. She won an Emmy for playing Rebecca Welton on the celebrated sitcom Ted Lasso, and will next year alongside Tom Cruise in the sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (which will presumably be called Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, but they haven't made it official).

The new Mission: Impossible movie will surely be filled with the same kinds of chases, stunts and explosions that the franchise has become known for. Appearing on the ITV series James Martin’s Saturday Morning, Waddingham recalled spending “five intense days” filming the movie with Cruise on the USS George HW Bush fighter carrier.

While she was at it, Waddingham took a moment to defend Tom Cruise from his haters. “I have to say, I have a real problem with anybody that goes at him now,” she said. “He is, without doubt, one of the loveliest and encouraging, positive and inspiring human beings I have ever met. Isn’t he gorgeous? I have no time for anyone saying anything about him.”

Tom Cruise is one of the more interesting public figures working today. He's made a long string of great movies going back decades, and has recently been credited with "saving Hollywood" by luring people back to theaters with movies like Top Gun: Maverick at a time when people were gun-shy about going to cinemas in the wake of the pandemic and more apt to watch movies at home on streaming services anyway. His contributions to the film industry cannot be gainsaid.

At the same time, fans of a certain age may remember a much weirder time in Cruise's career, a time when he was jumping over Oprah's couch and making bizarre statements about his life as a Scientologist. I think he's mostly rehabilitated his image since those days, but maybe there's still some residual hate floating around that Waddingham is reacting to?

In any case, you can see both Cruise and Waddingham in the next Mission: Impossible film when it comes out on May 23, 2025.

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h/t Deadline