Tom Cruise tried to play both sides during SAG-AFTRA negotiations — but he can't champion The Movies while also undermining the strike

• Tom Cruise reportedly petitioned studios over AI and stunt performers during SAG-AFTRA negotiations.
• He also asked SAG-AFTRA to consider letting actors promote films while on strike, for the sake of theaters.
• Cruise's attempt to play both sides makes sense — he is a man deeply concerned with The Movies.

In June, Tom Cruise — action hero, and the guy who may have "saved the entire theatrical industry" — took part in negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP, petitioning the studios over AI and stunt performers. But Cruise, the highest-profile star to participate in negotiations per The Hollywood Reporter, also had one other wish: he asked that actors be allowed to promote their films during the strike, for the sake of movie theaters.

Obviously, that didn't fly — actors doing publicity for films like Cruise's "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" would be promoting work made by the companies that SAG-AFTRA is striking against (an anonymous source told Deadline that Cruise's ask had nothing to with that film, whose PR campaign has ended). The "Oppenheimer" cast took the rule so seriously that they walked out of the film's European premiere on Thursday in solidarity with the strike the afternoon that SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher announced it.

A source in the room, according to the Hollywood Reporter, called the moment "uncomfortable."

—Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 13, 2023

Aside from being a giant action star, here's the thing that you have to understand about Tom Cruise: the man loves The Movies. As Rolling Stone's Jon Blistein wrote in an essay published Saturday, cinema has become Cruise's public-facing religion (as opposed to uh, Scientology). During the pandemic, he reached almost messiah-like status as a champion of film through both box office success and personally intervening to ensure his own major productions would continue during the pandemic:

• During production on "Dead Reckoning Part One," Cruise was recorded yelling at crew members, reportedly for not following COVID-19 protocols on set. Per The New York Times, he said that the film was "creating thousands of jobs," implying that unsafe crew were putting them in jeopardy.
• He apparently spoke with United Kingdom culture secretary Oliver Dowden to help move forward production on "Dead Reckoning Part One" and its sequel during the pandemic.
• He was lauded by Stephen Spielberg for saving "Hollywood's ass" with the theatrical release of "Top Gun: Maverick." 

Ultimately, it makes sense that Cruise, in particular, tried to play both sides in negotiations. As one of the industry's biggest stars, he wields considerable heft, and it's notable that he threw it behind the union — the man appreciates a good stunt.  

His ask for the union to consider allowing actors to promote their films also falls in line with his demonstrated concern for movie theaters and the industry. But while the pandemic posed an existential threat to theaters, SAG-AFTRA representatives have said the strike also represents an existential battle for Cruise's profession, particularly when it comes to concerns like AI.

Cruise's ask makes him look misguided at best, and out of touch with his peers at worst, though any backlash to the report likely won't touch his level of celebrity. And while he may have been advocating for theaters, asking to do work that would undermine the strike ultimately isn't a very Movie Hero move to make.