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Expensive motorbikes and leather jackets are usually the worrying first signs of a mid-life crisis – just don’t tell Tom Cruise, who modelled both during his latest appearance in Hollywood.
The legendary actor, 63, was hard to miss as he arrived at Sunset Tower Hotel on a flame red Ducati Panigale, a distinctive sports bike manufactured by the Italian motorcycle giant since 2011 and currently retailing for around £31,000 in the United Kingdom.
Riding a V4 model of the superbike, worth around £30,695, Cruise inevitably caught the eye as he pulled into the Sunset Boulevard address – his first sighting since abruptly selling his London home and relocating to the United States.
With a black crash helmet concealing his famous features and a leather jacket even Maverick would be proud of keeping him warm, the thrill-seeking actor – famed for carrying out many of his own daring stunts – greeted onlookers with a polite wave before making his way inside.
Cruise will likely be a familiar sight on the streets of Los Angeles after making the abrupt decision to return to the US, The Daily Mail can reveal.
Concierge at the apartment block in London’s Knightsbridge, where the actor has been living in a £35million apartment, are said to have been left ‘stunned’ by the star’s sudden departure.
Sources say staff were seen at the penthouse property, which overlooks Hyde Park, removing boxes of possessions.
But the reason for the move remains unclear. A source familiar with Cruise’s departure told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Tom loved London. He loved where he lived, he would get up and go for run around Hyde Park in the mornings.
‘He loved walking in the local area but he also really, really enjoyed jumping in a helicopter at Battersea Heliport and flying off into the quintessentially British countryside.’
The source added: ‘It all happened very quickly, it was a surprise to the staff at the building where his penthouse is.
‘It’s most strange. The UK became both his professional headquarters and private playground, with discrete dates, tightly-guarded movements and late-night arrivals. England became far more than just a filming base.’
Cruise has been making films in the UK for 40 years, but he settled here in 2021. He was spotted at Wimbledon’s Centre Court, visited Glastonbury festival and has even been seen enthusiastically tucking into a classic chicken tikka masala and a takeaway fish and chips.
Sir Kenneth Branagh, 65, who appeared alongside Cruise in the 2008 historical thriller Valkyrie, revealed the American actor ‘loves British pubs’ and had even learned Cockney rhyming slang.
He made an almost seamless transition into British high society, appearing in a tongue-in-cheek video as his Top Gun character Maverick in a broadcast at Windsor Castle for the concert celebrating King Charles’s coronation, and appearing at a fundraising event with Prince William for the London Air Ambulance charity.
He also attended events for the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee alongside David and Victoria Beckham, Gordon Ramsay and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Cruise was also thrilled when he was made an honorary Brit by the British Film Institute last April.
He said of it: ‘I’m truly honoured, I’ve been making films in the UK for over 40 years and have no plans to stop.’ And love blossomed on these shores, too. The star has been linked to a string of glamorous women during his time in London – including actress Hayley Atwell, his co-star in two films from the Mission: Impossible franchise.
More recently he was said to be dating Hollywood actress Ana de Armas. The couple attended a dinner for David Beckham’s 50th birthday at Notting Hill restaurant Core last year, and he is said to have applied for special permission to allow her pets to stay at his Knightsbridge apartment. But it is understood they separated in October.
In 2022, he said: ‘I guess I am an Anglophile. I spend a lot of time in Britain and that’s not just for work reasons. I just love being here. It’s a fantastic blend of old and new… Britain is trendy, too, and has a lot that other countries then copy. I also love the British countryside.’
