He even admitted that they “create jobs and everything.”

Tom Cruise, protector of cinema, clarifies that he doesn’t hate Netflix and TV

He even admitted that they “create jobs and everything.”

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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September 15, 2026 7:35 p.m. ET

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Tom Cruise attends “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” during the US Premiere in 2025. Credit:

Cindy Ord/Getty

- Despite his love for cinema, Tom Cruise doesn’t actually hate movies and TV.

- The actor recently admitted he even sees a few benefits to services like Netflix.

- But that doesn’t change his belief that the theater-going experience is crucial to humanity.

Tom Cruise, protector of cinema and sworn enemy of motion smoothing, has a few kind words to share about streaming and TV.

Over the past few years, the Hollywood icon has dedicated much of his time to championing the theatrical experience — by starring in blockbuster films, showering theater employees with love, shining a spotlight on major releases, and educating the next generation of movie stars with six hours’ worth of his hard-won knowledge.

But now, Cruise is clarifying that he doesn’t actually hate TV or streaming — he just has a special place in his heart for the experience of seeing art on the silver screen.

“Movies are — this is about humanity,” Cruise told GQ magazine in a cover story interview. “I have nothing against cable or TV or Netflix. I think it’s great. Create jobs and everything. But what I like about cinema is it is all of us coming together in a room and sharing an experience.”

Cruise speaks during CinemaCon 2026.

David Becker/Getty

He added that that feeling is true for both those watching a movie together in theaters and those behind-the-scenes, making it come together.

“When I’m working with people, I’m not afraid to, as I’m acting, to look foolish, to do it,” he continued. “It’s like: That’s not what this is about. It’s finding our tone, finding these tools together and having an experience.”

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Elsewhere in the interview, Cruise offered a few more kind words about streamers, pointing out that they provide the audience with variety that isn’t as available in movie theaters. When the interviewer suggested that younger generations are more likely to know the actor from his recent action movies — as opposed to his earlier roles in films like *Magnolia* and* Eyes Wide Shut* —  the actor pushed back.

**“**Surprisingly, that’s not true,” he said. “When you go to a premiere, there’s three, four generations of people that are there. When you look at Netflix, they are able to taste and see these different kinds of films. So those things we’ve discovered in terms of how a library travels globally.”

But even though Cruise is willing to acknowledge that TV creates jobs and streaming libraries benefit their audience, there’s no question that cinema remains his one true love.

Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie make a surprise theatre appearance in 2023.

Aaron Davidson/Getty

While Cruise has long been a venerated Hollywood star, in the past few years he’s become synonymous with the cinematic experience. In addition to fronting several blockbuster action hits, Cruise assumed a central role in helping revive theaters amid a troubling period for the industry.* Top Gun: Maverick* was smash hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, raking in $1.48 billion globally and becoming the 15th highest-grossing film of all time. Steven Spielberg would later tell a blushing Cruise that he “saved Hollywood’s ass” with the film and may have “saved theatrical distribution.”

Cruise has since made a point of showing up to theaters for major releases, posing with fans, and at every turn reminding the public of the joys of moviegoing.

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Late last year, the actor got emotional while accepting his Honorary Academy Award during the Governors Awards, where he shared that for him, making movies is not a job but a philosophy.

“The cinema, it takes me around the world,” Cruise said. “It helps me to appreciate and respect differences. It shows me also our shared humanity, how alike we are in so, so many ways. And no matter where we come from, in that theater, we laugh together, we feel together, we hope together. And that is the power of this art form.”

He added, “That is why it matters. That is why it matters to me. So making films is not what I do, it is who I am.”

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Source: “EW Movie”