‘Mr. Nice Tom’ brings fourth installment of ‘Mission Impossible’

Hollywood star Tom Cruise, who is widely nicknamed “Mr. Nice Tom” by the local media for the friendly manners he has shown during his previous visits to Korea, said he loves his nickname and was excited to bring the fourth installment of his famous “Mission Impossible” series to the country.

“I just want to say I love coming here and I love my nickname -- thank you,” the Hollywood star told reporters during a press conference held at Grand Hyatt Seoul Friday.

(Yonhap News)

(Yonhap News)

“I didn’t know I had a nickname and it was so nice last night to be greeted at the airport...I feel lucky to be able to do what I love to do,“ Cruise added. ”I remember I wanted to make movies since I was a little kid. So to be able to travel to places and be here in Korea is a dream come true for me, truly.”

Cruise, 49, arrived in Seoul on Thursday as a part of his world promotional tour of the upcoming Mission Impossible film. His co-star Paula Patton and Academy Award-winning director Brad Bird, who is best known for his 2004 animated superhero-flick “The Incredibles,” joined Cruise during the press meeting.

In the upcoming film, officially titled “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” Cruise stars as an Impossible Mission Force agent who goes rogue after being framed for a terrorist bombing in Moscow. The movie features the world’s tallest building -- Dubai’s 828-meter Burj Khalifa -- and Cruise showcases some epic, death-defying stunts atop the skyscraper.

“Burj Khalifa stunt was challenging,” Cruise told reporters. “We spent months and months figuring out how to do it. Brad Bird came up with this idea and designed it. And I was very excited and could not wait to do it. It took many months to figure out how to do it physically. We spent many, many days and when it was over I did not want it to end, because it was a lot of fun.”

To this, director Bird humorously replied. “Yeah, he wasn’t ‘Nice Mr. Tom’ when we asked him to come down from the building,” he said. “It was the only time when I saw him get mad.”

Meanwhile, Paula Patton, who made a huge turn from the sympathetic, caring teacher in an alternative high school in Lee Daniel’s 2009 drama “Precious” to the fierce IMF agent, said she enjoyed shooting her scenes in palaces in India the most.

“It was a glamorous moment,” the actress, who clearly looked excited throughout the conference, told reporters. “And I did get to be a bit of bad, fierce chick. It was really fun.”

Cruise, who said he’d like to retire “when he turns 100,” once again proved that he is still “Mr. Nice Tom” by the end of the conference, by helping the hotel janitors move tables off the stage for the photo call.

This visit marks Cruise’s fifth trip to Korea. His first trip took place in 1994, during his world promotion tour of “Interview with Vampire.” Cruise made his last visit to Korea three years ago, to promote “Valkyrie.”

Cruise attended a red-carpet event at Yeongdeungpo Times Square on Friday night, along with Patton and Bird. The trio left for India, their next destination of the tour, on Saturday morning.

“Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol” opens in theaters in Korea on Dec. 15.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldm.com)

<한글 기사>

탐 크루즈 역대최고스타, 경호원만 160명

달라도 너무 달랐다. 할리우드를 대표하는 톱스 타 브래드 피트와 톰 크루즈 이야기다.

둘은 90년대 초부터 현재까지 정상의 자리에서 내려오지 않는 최고의 스타. 나 이도 피트가 마흔여덟, 크루즈가 마흔아홉으로 엇비슷하다.

둘 다 배우뿐 아니라 제작자로 활동하는 점도 같다. 피트는 '머니볼'을, 크루즈 는 '미션 임파서블:고스트 프로토콜'을 제작했다.

약 2주 차이를 두고 내한한 피트와 크루즈는 그러나 다른 성격과 엇갈린 행보로 눈길을 끌었다.

피트는 진지함을, 크루즈는 친숙함을 각자의 무기로 삼았다.

피트는 지난달 15일 기자회견에서 쏟아지는 질문에 마치 경제학 교수님 마냥 길 게 대답했다. 내용도 '머니 볼' 홍보에 집중됐다.

경제학 강의를 하는 듯한 만연체 답변에 웃음은 터질 리 없었다. 간혹 가벼운 질문에도 장난기 있는 답변보다는 진정성을 보여주기 위해 노력하는 모습이었다. 가 벼운 농담조차 일절 하지 않았다.

반면 톰 크루즈는 마치 파티에 온 듯, 여유롭고 즐겁게 손님(기자)들을 맞았다.