Tom Cruise Makes Surprise Appearance At Acting School Graduation

Graduates at a Santa Monica acting school were shocked to see that Tom Cruise was their commencement speaker. The Mission Impossible star advised the aspiring actors to not be divas.

According to the NY Post, Cruise showed up undetected at Sunday's ceremony at the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio in Santa Monica.

An unidentified student told the site, "It was one of the most inspiring speeches we've had," on par, apparently, with previous speeches from such acting legends as Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins, Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. "It was so much more than a lecture about what to do in an audition."

Cruise reportedly advised the actors not to be divas, which is interesting, given the rumors that the star of Oblivion used to forbid anyone to make eye contact with him on set.

"He said that when you do finally get the chance of being in a movie, don't spend the time in the trailer," said a witness. "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."

Cruise's cousin, William Mapother (probably best known as scary Ethan on Lost), is a graduate of the school.

Student Greice Santo, who auditioned for Fast & Furious 7 yesterday and has a role in the upcoming film Heat, said, "That he took time out of his incredibly busy schedule to speak to a graduation class of 60 students was overwhelming."

She added, "FYI, I'm available for the next Mission: Impossible."

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