Three-time Oscar-nominee Tom Cruise apparently didn’t always want to be an actor. He allegedly wanted to be a Catholic priest.
Tom Cruise is one of – if not the – biggest stars on the planet. The 60-year-old actor’s latest movie Top Gun: Maverick is making a killing at the box office and with three new films on the way, Cruise is showing no signs of retiring anytime soon.
Most will know that Cruise, when he’s not acting or performing his own stunts, is a devout Scientologist. However, before Cruise joined the Church of Scientology and even before Cruise became an actor, he was a big believer in the Catholic church and allegedly wanted to be a Catholic priest.
At least this is according to Shane Dempler, who told the New York Daily News that he was Cruise’s best friend when they both attended St. Francis Seminary School from 1976 to 1977. Back then, Cruise’s name was Tommy Mapother (Cruise changed his name for showbiz) and Dempler claims Cruise had a sincere ambition to become a Catholic priest.
“[Tom] had a very strong Catholic faith. We went to Mass, spent time in the chapel and enjoyed hearing stories from the priests. We thought the priests had a great lifestyle and we were really interested in priesthood.”
Shane Dempler
However, Cruise was allegedly asked not to return to the seminary after stealing and drinking alcohol with Dempler – dashing any hopes Cruise had of joining the Catholic priesthood.
“The school wrote a letter to our parents saying they liked us both but would prefer if we didn’t return. So we weren’t kicked out, just preferred not to go…”
Shane Dempler
Perhaps if Cruise and Dempler weren’t caught, Cruise wouldn’t be the star he is today and would’ve become a priest instead. Although, it’s hard to imagine going to a church and confessing sins to a priest with a smile as dashing and ‘Hollywood’ as Cruise’s.
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