Santa Claus may be content with a sleigh and a gaggle of reindeer, but only a PJ will do for Tom Cruise—Hollywood’s very own Kris Kringle. (Well, when he’s not berating his colleagues.) For years, Cruise has celebrated the holidays by handing out what is supposed to be a decidedly decadent and delicious white chocolate coconut cake to the people who have made it onto the actor’s “nice” list. And this year that apparently included 300 members of the Mission: Impossible 7 crew.
According to Page Six, the three-time Oscar nominee one-upped Santa by personally flying his private jet, stuffed with 300 cakes, from Los Angeles to London and gifting them to the crew of the upcoming seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise.
“Tom wanted to give the team on Mission: Impossible a treat for Christmas and decided that only cakes from his favorite bakery in LA would do,” someone with inside knowledge of Cruise’s random act of cake kindness told The Sun.
“He organized for the shop to make 300 cakes especially and they were then flown back to the UK on his jet,” the sourced continued. “It is extravagant, but Tom is an incredibly generous person and he wanted to do something special for everyone who has worked on the movie with him.”
The dessert—a now-famous coconut Bundt cake with bits of white chocolate, cream cheese frosting, and a dusting of toasted coconut—is the culinary brainchild of Doan’s Bakery in Woodland Hills, California. It’s beloved by Cruise, who Page Six claims personally flew the confections across the Atlantic. And while it was surely a treat for all those who received them, one can’t help but think that a cake is the least Cruise could have done.
As was widely reported, the making of the upcoming Mission: Impossible movie was no easy feat. Filming on the longtime Cruise-fronted franchise originally kicked off in Venice in February 2020, but was soon waylaid due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production on the film continued to start up then stop again throughout the rest of the year. In December 2020, the world heard the audio of a fed-up Cruise—who was tired of people not adhering to the strict COVID regulations they were filming under—losing his sh*t on the movie’s crew because he believed that they were “the gold standard,” and were not living up to that when not following all on-set coronavirus protocols.
“I’m on the phone with every f*cking studio at night, insurance companies, producers and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies,” Cruise bellowed. “We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf*ckers. I don’t ever want to see it again. Ever!”
After news of Cruise’s rant leaked, the actor reportedly ranted again, with one insider noting that “Tom just can’t take any more after all the lengths they have gone to just to keep filming at all. He’s upset others aren’t taking it as seriously as him. In the end, he’s the one who carries the can.”
While it was reported that amidst all the growing tension and Cruise’s outbursts, some crew members did walk off the set. No word on whether those individuals are regretting the decision after learning of Santa Cruise’s totally Hollywood-style dessert delivery.
(Via Page Six)