Simon Pegg says he's never asked his friend Tom Cruise about Scientology: 'I feel that would be me abusing my privileged access to him'
- Simon Pegg told BBC Radio's "Desert Island Discs" that he never talks to Tom Cruise about his personal life or beliefs.
- "My relationship with him is very, very simple and amiable," Pegg said. "We're friends."
Though Simon Pegg has been working with Tom Cruise on and off since he first entered the "Mission: Impossible" franchise in 2006's "Mission: Impossible III," Pegg said he's never chatted with Cruise about Scientology or the superstar's personal life.
"I don't ask him about stuff like that because I feel that would be me abusing my privileged access that I get to him, you know what I mean?" Pegg said on BBC Radio's "Desert Island Discs" (28:36 mark).
"My relationship with him is very, very simple and amiable," he continued. "We're friends."
Pegg then went on to speak about how Cruise navigates his level of fame.
"I mean, he loves the fame and he really relishes it, it's all he knows," Pegg said. "It energizes him and spurs him on."
"We joke about it," Pegg continued. "I mean, I always make fun of him for it, you know, about the things that he can access."
Cruise has been the face of the Church of Scientology for decades. The controversial religion has previously been accused by former members of abuse and forced labor of its followers. Many of those cases have been handled via "religious arbitration" within the church.
However, he's not as vocal about it as he once was.
Back in the early 2000s, Cruise's fame took a major hit after speaking out on the "Today" show about psychiatry, which Scientology is opposed to.
Since then, thanks to the box-office success of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, Cruise is back to being one of the biggest stars in the world. He never speaks about Scientology anymore when he does interviews.
Pegg will return to the "M:I" franchise and star opposite Cruise when "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" opens in theaters on July 12.