Tom Cruise once told reporter to 'put his manners back in' after asking about Nicole Kidman

If Top Gun: Maverick proved anything when it dominated the box office in 2022, it was that Tom Cruise is still able to turn a gargantuan profit at the movies.

The long-awaited sequel to Cruise's 1986 action flick grossed over $1.4 billion at the global box office and secured itself a nomination for Best Picture at the Oscars.

There's no doubt that Cruise can still generate headlines - although press attention hasn't always been focused on his work in film.

On occasion Cruise has lost his patience with reporters, as seen in the painfully awkward clip below:

Whether it was him jumping on Oprah's sofa or catching criticism for his association with Scientology, Cruise has never been too far away from the glare of the media spotlight.

And understandably, that amount of attention can make somebody want to have their privacy.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in a resurfaced interview Cruise had with Australian journalist Peter Overton, in which Cruise bluntly told the journalist to 'put his manners back in'.

Overton was interviewing Cruise for 60 Minutes in 2005, when the topic of Nicole Kidman came up.

Cruise and Kidman had wed in 1990 before going their separate ways in 2001.

AMC

In the interview Overton starts the exchange by asking: "Was Nicole the love of your life?" prompting Cruise to ask how he's meant to answer that question.

Initially, Cruise dealt with the early questions by explaining that he wanted Kidman to be happy and that he planned to remarry.

Still, the questions about his marriage kept coming, prompting Cruise to warn Overton: "You're stepping over a line here, you know you are."

When told they are questions people want to know the answer to, Cruise eventually claps back: "Peter, you want to know, take responsibility for what you want to know.

"Don't say 'what other people', this is a conversation that I'm having with you right now. So I'm just telling you right now, put your manners back in."

Still, the whole thing ended on a positive note with a handshake and a smile as Cruise turned on the charm and reassured Overton he had found the interview 'terrific'.

60 Minutes

On the questions about his marriage, he said: "You stepped out of line, I whacked you, we got on with it."

Many viewers applauded Cruise for taking a stand.

One fan wrote: "To be honest I'm with Cruise. It's his personal life and he was able to shut down that reporter calmly and respectfully."

Another admirer agreed: "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm 100 percent on Tom Cruise's side."

However, others weren't as sympathetic, with one commenting: "Tom Cruise in combat mode - Don't push this man about his weaknesses or Scientology because he gets this mad gaze in his eyes."

Another viewer remarked: "Tom Cruise was so intense back then, he's about to pounce on this guy at any moment during this video. Wow."