Tom Cruise gave the Hollywood treatment to the 2025 Super Bowl during Fox’s pregame show on Sunday.
Despite giving a vigorous speech, some netizens were more focused on his face than his words.
Ahead of the showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, the 62-year-old actor spoke in a prerecorded video, giving an intense speech about the Super Bowl legacy and the two teams going head-to-head in the final showdown.
Highlights
- Fans were distracted by Tom Cruise's "stretched" in a video for the Super Bowl pregame show.
- He gave a passionate message about the Super Bowl legacy and the two teams that went head to head.
- Social media users couldn't help but fixate on his face.
- “Tom Cruise is AI embodied,” one said.
Tom Cruise gave a vigorous speech in a video that was played during the 2025 Super Bowl pregame show
Image credits: Mike Coppola/WireImage/Getty Images
The video aired shortly after the release of the trailer for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the latest installment in the action hero’s famous franchise.
Keeping in tune with the Mission: Impossible fervor, Cruise’s dramatic message in the pregame video had him describing the final game as “a mission that doesn’t come along very often.”
Image credits: NFL on FOX
“Everything this sport has seen and done, every first, every mountain climbed, every seemingly impossible—conquered,” he continued.
As visuals of the two teams played, the Eyes Wide Shut actor said the Chiefs were chasing after “a third consecutive Super Bowl title” against the Eagles, which he described as a “Goliath” team that has imposed their “will, their speed, [and] strength” on anyone challenging them.
Despite the pompous speech, viewers couldn't help but fixate on the actor's facial appearance
Image credits: NFL on FOX
Cruise declared that the “mission” for Super Bowl 59 was clear: “Win here and be remembered forever.”
The Hollywood star spoke about the game like an epic saga, but netizens couldn’t help but fixate on his appearance.
“That’s Tom Cruise?” one asked.
Image credits: NFL on FOX
Some said he looked “bizarre” and “awful,” claiming it “looks like he’s wearing a Halloween mask of Tom Cruise.”
“There is no greater pressure than that of his skin trying to stay stretched on his face,” said another observer.
“Scientology is not working for Tom Cruise’s face,” read another comment.
“What happened to Tom Cruise?” asked one viewer
Image credits: NFL on FOX
Another asked, “What happened to Tom Cruise?”
“Tom Cruise is AI embodied,” one said.
Amid the criticism, one fan praised him saying, “Tom Cruise got me hyped for a game I don't even care about.”
Cruise’s pregame video for the sports event had a heavy dose of melodrama, but it didn’t have the real-life stunt that his appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games had.
Image credits: imdb
During the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games last year, the movie star surprised onlookers by performing a skydiving stunt and swinging from the top of the Stade de France.
Then too, fans were more focused on his face than the impressive stunt.
“What in the narcissism is Tom Cruise and his bloated face doing up there? Sir get down before you break a hip,” one wrote on social media at the time.
Another wrote, “Tom Cruise appears to have overdone the fillers a bit.”
The action hero was awarded the U.S. Navy’s highest civilian award last December
Image credits: Anthony Ghnassia/Getty Images
Similar comments were made when he was presented with the Distinguished Public Service Award for making “outstanding contributions” to the military through his onscreen roles.
“Why does his face look so puffy lately?” one asked after he was awarded the U.S. Navy’s highest civilian award last December.
During an interview in 2012, Cruise said he would “never” get cosmetic surgery done
Image credits: Alan Light
“He has a ton of filler in his face,” another claimed.
During a 2012 interview with Playboy, the veteran actor claimed he had never undergone plastic surgery.
“I haven’t, and I never would,” he said.
Prof. Dr Fuat, a plastic surgeon with Longevita, suspects that Tom Cruise might be getting regular dermal fillers and Botox injections to soften the appearance of the wrinkles and fine lines on his face.
“In his Super Bowl ad, Tom has relatively smoother skin, especially on the forehead. Though you can still see the horizontal lines, they appear quite diminished compared to last year. This could possibly be due to Botox injections,” the board-certified plastic surgeon told Bored Panda.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning could be the last time he plays super-spy Ethan Hunt
Image credits: Gage Skidmore
“In addition, certain areas of his face look more 'filled out' than before. Now, typically, with age, facial volume is lost, which gives the face a more sunken and gaunt appearance. Tom, however, doesn’t seem to be showing any obvious signs of it. Therefore, it could be that he’s getting dermal fillers — such as to fill in the hollows beneath his eyes that existed before,” he added. “It is also possible, however, that some editing or photoshop work was done to make Tom appear as young as possible for the shoot.”
In recent years, there has been speculation about whether Cruise has undergone a surgical procedure such as a facelift. He was also photographed with a swollen face a few years ago.
“While that could’ve been due to a mini facelift, it might’ve possibly also been the result of weight gain or some kind of medical treatment,” the plastic surgeon said.
“There’s no way to know for sure if he’s had some kind of a facelift — there are no visible scars to suggest that he has. Instead, the more likely explanation for his youthful looks could be non-surgical treatments like Botox, fillers or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections,” he continued.
Dr Fuat also suggested that the differences in his facial appearance could simply be natural as well.
“Being an actor of his calibre, one can expect he follows a healthy diet that also helps him maintain his good looks,” he added.
Cruise had plenty to say while talking about the “impossible mission of winning Super Bowl LIX.”
He has also recently had plenty to say about Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which could be the very last time he plays the character of super-spy Ethan Hunt.
No stranger to performing stunts (like scaling the side of the Burj Khalifa), the movie captured him clinging onto the wing of an aircraft among other jaw-dropping stunts.
“When you stick your face out, going over 120 to 130 miles an hour, you’re not getting oxygen,” he told Empire.
“Tom Cruise got me hyped for a game I don't even care about,” one fan said about the Super Bowl pregame video
The actor said he had to train himself on how to breathe while shooting the scene.
“There were times I would pass out physically,” he added. “I was unable to get back into the cockpit.”
The movie is slated to hit the big screen on May 23 this year.
“Tom Cruise looks like Tom Cruise wearing a Tom Cruise skin suit,” read a comment about his recent appearance
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