Tom Cruise Went To Great Lengths To Recruit David Beckham To Scientology, According To New Book
There's no limit to his strategy.
Andrea Raffin / Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock. Tom Cruise once had his eyes set on a soccer superstar to recruit him to join the Church of Scientology, according to a book.
The “Mission Impossible” star has been open throughout the years about his journey with Scientology, having joined the Church in the 1980s.
The secretive church is known for recruiting famous faces to join its ranks.
Tom Cruise allegedly wanted David Beckham to convert to Scientology.
Former Scientologist Mike Rinder's book, "A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology,” details his journey on discovering the church’s hidden agenda.
The book also details how Cruise reportedly tried to convince Beckham to join.
Reportedly, the church was so keen on having Beckham that they once built him a soccer field.
Rinder wrote, “A professional-grade soccer pitch was constructed on the property at Gold [Base, church headquarters in San Jacinto, Calif.]."
"The ground was leveled, irrigation installed, perfect turf, goals raised. A full-time caretaker was appointed from the Gold staff … It was built for one purpose only: so Tom Cruise could woo his friend David to come to Gold. It never happened.”
Perhaps the soccer star couldn’t be so easily swayed due to him identifying more strongly with the Jewish and Christian faiths of his parents.
“My grandfather was Jewish, that was on my mother’s side,” said Beckham, in an interview with Jewsish Chronicle, via Tablet.
“So yes, I do consider myself… I was never brought up Jewish, but like I said, my grandfather was, and every time we went to synagogue I was a part of that.”
Page Six spoke to a spokesperson for the Church of Scientology who slammed Rinder’s book.
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“Mike Rinder is an inveterate liar who seeks to profit from his dishonesty. He supports himself by orchestrating the harassment of his former Church and its leader through false police reports, incendiary propaganda and fraudulent media stories,” the spokesperson told Page Six.
Tom Cruise is one of the most prominent members of the Church of Scientology.
Since being introduced by Mimi Rogers, Cruise has been one of the biggest supporters of the church.
When accepting his Scientology’s Freedom Medal of Valor in 2008, Cruise shared his gratitude for the church and said he cared “very deeply” about the cause.
In January 2008 an interview from the church showed Cruise describing what Scientology meant to him.
“I think it’s a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist and it’s something you have to earn,” he said in the interview.
However, Cruise's unwavering support has also landed him in hot water.
In an interview on the Today Show in June 2005, Cruise spoke openly how he didn’t believe in psychiatry and medications.
“I’ve never agreed with psychiatry- ever. Before I was a Scientologist I never agreed with psychiatry and then when I started studying the history of psychiatry, I started realizing more and more why I didn’t agree with psychiatry,” he said.
He then goes on to call Ritalin, a popular medication to help ease ADHD, a “street drug.”
The interview wasn’t received well but did little to stop Cruise in his acting tracks.
Since then, Cruise hasn’t spoken outwardly about his support for the church but is still involved in it to this day.
Victoria Soliz is a writer with YourTango who covers news and entertainment content. Her work explores pop culture trends, film and TV, and celebrity news.