Tom Cruise Urges Aspiring Actors to Master Filmmaking Tools: “Brando Understood Lighting—All the Greats Did”

May 13, 2025: While accepting a prestigious British Film Institute Fellowship, Tom Cruise used the spotlight to deliver a passionate message to young actors: master the technical craft of filmmaking. According to Cruise, film schools often fail to teach aspiring performers the essential behind-the-scenes knowledge that elevates on-screen performance—from lighting and lens composition to editing and camera blocking.

“It is important to understand the tools around you,” Cruise said, as quoted by The Times of London. “There is tech. It is like understanding the stage as an actor, but for a lot of artists it is not taught in film school—how to understand the lens and what it can do, and why there is eye movement and recognize the effect it has.”

Cruise emphasized that a truly great actor is not only skilled in performance but is also deeply familiar with the technical language of cinema. “Spend time in the editing room, produce a movie, study old movies,” he urged. “Recognize what the composition is giving you, know what those lenses are, understand the lighting and how to use it for your benefit.”

He invoked acting legends like Marlon Brando, praising their technical fluency: “Brando absolutely understood lighting; all the greats did.”

In his commitment to mentorship, Cruise went as far as creating a private six-hour video tutorial—dubbed an unofficial “film school”—for rising actors. His Top Gun: Maverick co-star Glen Powell revealed in an interview with GQ UK that he was given a solo screening of the entire video in a movie theater.

“He said, ‘This is just for my friends,’” Powell recalled. “He goes through everything—from what a camera is, the difference between film and digital, to how air pressure works and how planes fly.”

Beyond technical know-how, Cruise believes that crafting a global blockbuster also requires emotional intelligence. He reportedly told Powell, “In order for a movie to be a global hit, it has to telegraph universal emotions and hit on anxieties that everyone can relate to.”

Cruise’s next film, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, hits U.S. theaters on May 23, continuing his legacy not only as an action icon but as a cinematic craftsman committed to elevating the next generation of talent.