Alden Richards reveals what he told Tom Cruise at the ‘Mission: Impossible’ premiere
Alden Richards couldn't help but be a total fanboy when he had a chance to speak with action star Tom Cruise during the premiere of his new film Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in South Korea.
In an interview with PeopleAsia, the actor recalled the moment he was able to rub shoulders with Cruise when he attended the red carpet event for the movie.
"Definitely, we asked Paramount Pictures Philippines if we're gonna be able to get the chance for a meet and greet with, of course, the one and only, Mr. Tom Cruise," he said.
While he was told that there was no certainty that he would get to talk to the Hollywood star, he emphasized that it was "more than enough" for him to be invited and see Cruise in the flesh.
"Tom Cruise has been my childhood idol, hero, inspiration for a lot of things," Richards said.
He continued, "And then, we were actually surprised that we're gonna be having the chance to meet him, and the instructions were you can only ask two [questions.]"
However, Richards decided to take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open up to Cruise about how much he means to him instead.
"When I approached him, I told him, 'Hi Tom, my name is Alden Richards. I'm an actor from the Philippines and you have inspired me a lot with your work.' Sinabi ko po 'yung about not having stunt doubles and sabi ko, 'I've seen all of your films: from Mission films, to Jack Reacher, to Top Gun, to Top Gun: Maverick.' He was just saying wow, wow, over and over again," he said.
"I told him na, 'Thank you for your work. Thank you for the inspiration you've given a lot of people, most especially me. I hope I can work with you soon,' and then that's when he hugged me. Then after that parang sabi niya, 'Come on let's take a photo and you have to take care of yourself,'" he continued.
Richards also shared that Cruise is one of the reasons why he's pursuing a two-year program to be a pilot at an aviation school. Cruise is known to have an impressive airplane collection, including fighter jets.
"By the time I graduate, I can already fly commercial aircraft and be a pilot of commercial airlines. Because of Top Gun: Maverick, I wanna be a reservice pilot for the Philippine Air Force. I want to be in the cockpit to fly jets," Richards shared.
On top of his aviation studies, he's also busy directing and producing his own film.
