http://dlisted.blogspot.com/2005/08/surprise-surprise.htmlThe Passion of Tom Cruise
Hollywood’s biggest star is a man driven by absolute faith. But will his transformation into Scientology’s biggest martyr derail his career?
by Kim Masters
In this exclusive excerpt from THE PASSION OF TOM CRUISE, veteran reporter Kim Masters details the star’s troubled rise through the church’s ranks and his very close relationship with Scientology’s supreme leader.
ACCORDING TO A FORMER Scientologist with longtime experience in the Celebrity Centre, Cruise was introduced to the church “very gently” in the late ’80s through his then wife Mimi Rogers. Soon the actor’s handling was being personally overseen by the church’s supreme leader, David Miscavige. For some time, says the former insider, the star’s involvement with Scientology wasn’t well known even within the organization. His file was said to be kept under his real surname: Mapother.
Cruise’s early progress in the church was described in a 1998 interview with Jesse Prince, a onetime high-level Scientologist. (Prince’s account is posted on factnet.org, an anti-Scientology website.) A pro-Scientology website claims that Prince is a former drug dealer who was paid to attack Scientology. Asked about Prince’s account of his experiences as a Scientologist, a church spokesperson characterized Prince and other former high-level church members quoted in this article as “discredited sources” — “apostates” who could not live up to the church’s ethical standards. Attempts to locate Prince for comment were not successful.
Prince remembered that Cruise was a fast riser. “I mean, I’ve never seen a guy progress so quickly through the Scientology ‘levels,’” he said. “I know because I personally sat down and did E-meter drills with him…. When I first met him he was nothing.”