Who Knew Tom Cruise Was Capable Of Such An Inspiring Graduation Speech? [Video]

The title says it all: Honestly, who knew that Tom Cruise was capable of such a touching and inspiring graduation speech?

Though better known for his films and weird Scientology stuff, Cruise actually does a lot of speaking work in his spare time (he recently spoke at a huge Wal Mart event with other celebrities).

If you can forget his eccentricities, Cruise is actually quite the charmer, and that was never more evident that during his surprise graduation speech at the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio in Santa Monica, California over the weekend.

Speaking to a group of fresh grads, Cruise talked about how he got this far in his career, shared humorous anecdotes, and offered a “stirring” and inspirational call-to-arms to the new performers.

“He said that when you do finally get the chance of being in a movie, don’t spend the time in the trailer,” said one audience member.

“He said you need to experience everything on the movie, talk to everyone on the crew, the grips, everyone. Learn everything you can. You will never get that time back … And he talked about trying to be as prepared as possible, and that you can only depend on yourself.”

One source told the New York Post that Cruise’s speech “was one of the most inspiring speeches we’ve had,” and that it was “so much more than a lecture about what to do in an audition.”

Previous graduation speeches at the school were delivered by Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Anthony Hopkins and Dustin Hoffman. Cruise’s own cousin, William Mapother, is a graduate of the school as well.

Check out a video of Tom Cruise’s graduation speech below, and let us know what you think!

[Image via: Shutterstock]