Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2010

JAPAN TODAY

No Hollywood actor gets a bigger reception in Japan than Tom Cruise—even if he’s only in the country for 14 hours. The 48-year-old star has cultivated his fan base here better than any other celebrity. In the past, he has taken supporters on chartered plane and shinkansen rides. Last month, he didn’t have as much time, so 800 fans were invited to a red carpet premiere of his new movie, Knight and Day, in which he co-stars with Cameron Diaz.

Cruise arrived at Haneda at 7:30am, joined Diaz for the evening premiere at Roppongi Hills Arena (which was broadcast live to theaters in Shibuya and Shinjuku), and then spent an hour chatting with fans (including former yokozuna Asashoryu) before heading back out to Haneda for a trip back to Prague, where he is filming Mission: Impossible 4.

“There is something special about coming to Japan,” gushed Cruise, who has been here 14 times for 14 movies. “I’ve always had a great relationship with this country, and fan support is something that I have never taken for granted.” Diaz, also a regular visitor to Japan, said she has loved the country ever since she spent six months in Tokyo working as a model when she was 18.

In Knight and Day, directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line), Cruise plays a spy pursued by his own agency (which believes he has gone rogue) and by arms dealers (who think he has the world’s first self-renewing energy source). Along the way, he bumps into an auto mechanic (Diaz), and the two of them go on a globetrotting spree.

Knight and Day reunites Cruise and Diaz, 38, who last starred together in 2001’s Vanilla Sky. “It was great working with Cameron again,” said Cruise. “At least in this movie she wasn’t trying to kill me.” For her part, Diaz had plenty of praise for her costar. “There is no one better to work with than Tom,” she said. “He does his own stunts, and he made sure we all had a blast on the set. I think that when you see the film, it will be evident what a good time we all had.”

Cruise, who still retains his boyish good looks, said that after starring in the World War II drama Valkyrie two years ago, he wanted to make something light that audiences could just go along and have a good time watching. “I’m proud of Valkyrie, but this film has a lot more in it—there is action, comedy and romance.”

Cruise hasn’t been afraid to go against type, most noticeably by playing Les Grossman, the vulgar movie producer in 2008’s Tropic Thunder—a role he reprised onstage with Jennifer Lopez at the MTV Movie Awards in June. “Now it’s back to action with M:I 4, which will be out in December 2011,” he said. “And I promise you all that I’ll stay longer next time I come.”

Chris Betros is the editor of Japan Today (www.japantoday.com).