Tom Cruise on his children: 'They're good people'

In the first of a two-part interview with Oprah Winfrey, actor Tom Cruise opened up at length about his three children — Isabella Jane, 15, and Connor Antony, 13, with ex-wife Nicole Kidman, and 2-year-old Suri with wife Katie Holmes. Tom said that while false tabloid reports are understandably upsetting for the elder two children, Bella and Connor do a good job of keeping it all in perspective.

They love me, so they know. They’ve grown up with that, and I’m sure there are things that they don’t like, and you go, ‘Okay, that happened, things go wrong, but don’t live in it. Don’t live in that because today is a new day and there’s plenty of tomorrows.’ They’re good people, my children. I’m proud of them. I don’t want them to worry. They know I’m there. No matter what, I’m always there.

Katie made quite an opening impression with her future step-children, Tom said, after she gifted Bella and Connor with cupcakes.

The cupcakes are there, and they all looked at me like, ‘This is cool. Can we eat these cupcakes? This lady’s cool.’

Click ‘continue reading’ for more from the interview, and to watch videos of the appearance.

Tom, himself, made quite an impression with Suri at Christmas when he dressed as Santa Claus — though it probably wasn’t the impression he was hoping for. Showing good observational skills, Suri was able to discern that behind the Santa beard lurked a familiar face after all. Tom told Oprah,

I open the door, and I’m giving my best, ‘Oh, merry Christmas! Oh, look at this little girl,’ and Suri looks at me, and she says, ‘No — Dada!’ So that night, we were putting Suri down. Kate says, ‘How was it? Did you like it? What did you think of Santa?’ And Suri was really sweet, she looks up, and she goes, ‘Dada Santa.’

Tom revealed that Suri was born one year — to the day — after he and Katie met. The pregnancy was plagued by rumors in the tabloid media, rumors which reached fever pitch in the months after Suri was born and the couple had not released photographs of their baby girl. But Tom said that he and Katie were not keeping a deep, dark secret — they were simply enjoying some quality family time at their home in Telluride, Colo. Said Tom,

Kate and I didn’t feel any need to [introduce Suri].  We said why?  It’s just our family.  We were [in Telluride] with the whole family, then we heard all this stuff that was going on, and I said ‘What do you want to do?’  Kate said, ‘Okay, lets just do [a photo shoot].  This is ridiculous.  And we’ll just do it.  And that will be it.’  We just wanted to have our baby and have the kids and our families and everyone get to know Suri and just chill.  To just have that time, that time that you never get back.  You don’t ever get those moments back.

Tom also explained the decision to have a sonogram machine installed in their California home. Within 12-hours of Katie’s first positive pregnancy test, Tom said, news of the pregnancy began circulating when medical personnel leaked the results. The identity of Katie’s doctors and the name of the hospital she would ultimately deliver Suri at were being openly discussed in the press. The lack of privacy afforded to the couple left them feeling stunned.

We went in the middle of the night to get the [blood] pregnancy test, we were so excited, it was such a private moment…We sat down and talked about it, we’ll set up an examining room [in our home] and nobody will know.  Because they wanted to instantly try to find out who our doctor is.  What hospital is the hospital where she’s going to give birth…And you know, there’s enough stress [with a pregnancy]… Kate said ‘There’s no way I want my sonogram on the internet.’  So we bought a sonogram machine, we had the doctor coming in, doing this…so that people couldn’t figure out what doctor [we were using] and where we were going to deliver.  When you’re having a baby you just want it to be safe, and as easy as possible.

Contrary to speculation, Tom said that Nicole has not been forced out of the lives of their children. Noting that they have "shared custody" of Bella and Connor, Tom said that his relationship with his ex-wife is a good one. That Nicole and Katie are yet to spend any time together with the kids as an extended family is a byproduct of their busy schedules, and not an indicator of any animosity they harbor for each other, Tom said. The 45-year-old actor was also asked about rumors that Suri isn’t his biological child — rumors that a visibly shaken Tom said cross the line.

When someone compares your daughter to Rosemary’s Baby…It’s one thing to come after me, but when it comes to my family and my children, that’s when I went ‘this is off the charts.’ 

Finally, Tom addressed the controversy which erupted after his 2005 appearance on the Today Show, during which he criticized Brooke Shields for using anti-depressants to treat postpartum depression she suffered following the birth of her daughter Rowan, turning 5 this month. Tom said that he was feeling "pressed" during his interview with Today co-host Matt Lauer, that his main concern was — and is — what he perceives to be an over-medication of children in this country, and that his statements with regard to Brooke "came out wrong."

Brooke and I have always been friends.  It came out wrong.  I apologized to her, and as a result, we’re even closer friends…What I regret is that it just came out wrong.  What I regret is even discussing Brooke in any way.   It’s an individuals right to make a decision about what they’re going to do with their life…I was raised by four women who have children, had babies, and for me to tell anyone — I’m not trying to or want to tell anyone how to live their life, and what they should believe, in any way.  As a man and as a human being.

Part 2 of Oprah’s interview is scheduled to air Monday.

Sources: The Oprah Winfrey Show, People