Diego Boneta Is ‘Eternally Grateful’ for Tom Cruise Mentoring Him
February 28, 2023
Diego Boneta is sharing his gratitude for a Hollywood icon taking the time to help him at the beginning of his career.
The singer and actor’s big break was in the big-screen adaptation of the musical “Rock of Ages,” co-starring Tom Cruise. Diego told Jennifer Hudson on the February 28 episode of the show that he loved singing the ’80s music he grew up with in the movie, but the best part of filming was working with Cruise, who acted as a mentor.
“Working with him was amazing,” he told JHud. “We both had to learn how to play guitar. We both had the same guitar coach, and one day he’s like, ‘Diego, we should do jamming sessions.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, sure, Tom,’ like that’s ever going to happen.”
Then he got a call from Tom one night. “He said, ‘Diego, it’s Tom. Come up to the penthouse, let’s do jamming sessions.’ I go up, and he starts asking me all these questions.”
Tom asked Diego about his family, where they were from — everything. Then he told him, “Listen, man, you’re the lead of this movie, you’re 20 years old. Let me tell you everything I wish I knew when I was 20 years old.”
Diego recalled that Tom told him stories about working with Hollywood legends like Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman, and Steven Spielberg. But that wasn’t all.
“He had me shadow him on set. He was like a mentor,” he said. “I’ll be eternally grateful to him for that.”
With the utmost respect, Diego also shared his super impressive Tom Cruise impersonation!
“He’s super, super intense!” said Diego. “He’s got this super intense stare. You feel he’s looking through you.”
Diego currently stars in the first film from his production company Three Amigos, a romantic comedy called “At Midnight” that was written in just one week’s time!
As for the origin of the film, Diego explained that during a meeting with Paramount, Diego was caught off guard when execs asked him what his next producing project would be after producing the series “Luis Miguel,” in which he also starred. He froze, then said he had a script for a romantic comedy that would be ready in a week. (Spoiler: There was no script.)
“I leave the meeting and I call my partners… I go, ‘Good news, bad news. Good news, Paramount wants to work with us. Bad news, I told them I’d send them the script in a week.’
“We’re up till 3 in the morning just writing on the walls, Post-Its everywhere,” he said. “It was like that for days until we finally cracked the story.”
He then enlisted the help of a screenwriter friend to write the whole thing in a matter of days. They sent it to Paramount, and the rest is history!
“That was cutting it close, but you did it anyhow!” said JHud, impressed.
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