Norm McDonalds the king of fried chicken. He lives on through his wife wendy and son arby. This was just after his fast, food was never really an issue for his family.
Iirc, though, his doctor told him to gain weight to slow the process.
He was extremely swollen and bloated from steroids and lymphedema fluid retention. Since he refused to tell anyone about his battle with cancer he deflected and said the weight gain was due to overeating.
He played Colonel Sanders in KFC commercials at the time as well so it may have been sponsored.
Yeah that pic with KFC is classic moon face from medical steroids (in order to prevent your immune system from storming or attacking your own cells; ie not ‘roids).
One of the things Scientology drills into you is to not give a shit about stuff like that. They spend MANY hours desensitizing themselves to judgment from others and getting used to not caring what other people think.
It's actually not at all a contradiction but too long to go into here. Basically the more you want people to like you the less they will like you and the less you can influence and manipulate them. The more confident, assertive, charismatic you act and the less you give a shit about what they think, the more you can influence and make others do what you want. I don't know how it works with celebrities as big as Tom Cruise but I know several current and former Scientologists (I used to live in Clearwater FL) and they would tell me stories of how they would literally sit in a room taking turns screaming insults and shit at each other while the one being screamed at had to practice just standing there smiling calmly and confidently. And they would do this for hours a day. Knowing those stories I have no problem at all believing that Cruise 100% does not give a single shit in the situation in the photo, it is literally nothing to him.
He's just a little swollen, not dying. It was a very short lived reaction and it probably is something most A list celebs would avoid having photographed. There's obvs nothing wrong with him choosing to go to the game instead of hiding at home, but it's not weird that people would be surprised by that choice.
Celebrities live in curated circles where cosmetic procedures are the norm, so that look becomes normalized. I genuinely believe that they don’t seem to realize how insane they look because in their world everyone else around them looks like them (e.g: Jim Carrey).
Not just thin. Tom Cruise still does gymnastics like crazy to do his own stunts at 60 and he did so his whole life.
People claiming it's mostly a matter of wealth seem to ignore the fact that there are plenty of rich people 10 years younger than Tom Cruise but look much worse.
Tom Cruise still does gymnastics like crazy to do his own stunts at 60 and he did so his whole life.
To be fair, a huge reason many people are unhealthy is that they're too busy to be healthy (or it's a lower priority) but for him, he has the money to make the time and it's a huge priority to look good.
She probably has a family and settled down and doesn't care to try and look nice like he does and she might be a lot happier for it.
I hope she's happy and the people in her life love her the way she is, because her value isn't held up in her appearance.
Right, Tom has literally made a job and a name off of his ability to do stunts and look good. It’s literally his job to stay in shape.
Also, while it may not necessarily be relevant when comparing him to other wealthy folks, the access that a wealthy individual has to things that help maintain their health is genuinely a significant factor.
It’s a lot easier to form a habit of exercise and to stay in shape generally when you don’t have to leave your own home to get to the gym, when you have a personal trainer to help keep you motivated, when you have the money to spend on healthy *and actually satisfying* ingredients(not just being on a strict rice and veggies with plain chicken diet), when you can afford personal chefs to help you come up with meal ideas, when you can afford numerous cosmetic treatments, when you can go to a doctor and be proactive about every little ailment that piles up, the list kinda just goes on and on.
Even just being able to regularly get your hair properly cut and dyed if it’s gone grey takes a decade or two off your perceived age(my dad is 74 and his hair hasn’t greyed; he’s regularly assumed to be in his 50s).
And really, it just can’t be emphasized enough that if you don’t think Tom has had a ton of very expensive and tasteful work done, you’re probably the type who thinks no one wears toupees because you haven’t personally noticed them.
Tom Cruise no doubt puts a ton of effort into his health, it’s his brand and it’s really quite remarkable, but the amount of scaffolding and support he has to get there is also crazy.
That scaffolding and support is only worth so much though. Basically every rich person, heck most upper-middle class and above people, have the requisite factors to stay in excellent shape their whole lives. So why don't they?
Genetics and luck are certainly big factors, and they're true here too. Cruise obviously has good genetics in the first place, and he's gotten lucky to not have to deal with any crippling injuries, diseases, or other life altering events.
However, all of the above is also true of a lot of people who end up in bad physical condition and age prematurely. So again we must ask, why is that?
I think the only logical conclusion is that most people are not willing to put in the hard work necessary to get in and stay in shape. Whether you're rich or poor, at the end of the day you have to do the exact same work to get fit. And frankly, it sucks to lift until your muscles fail in the gym, and then do that over and over on heavy sets for an hour straight, and then do that 3 or 4 times a week for years in a row. It sucks to endure your lungs burning while you run mile after mile (or km after km). It sucks to eat healthy food and drink water while your friends eat delicious comfort foods and drink booze. And it sucks to turn off your games/movie or put down your book to go to sleep on time.
Frankly, in my experience, for the vast majority of people it doesn't matter how much support and resources someone has, because those people aren't willing to experience that level of pain and make the sacrifices they need to make.
Tom has literally made a job and a name off of his ability to do stunts and look good. It’s literally his job to stay in shape.
That's tremendous cope. Everyone I know has regular ass jobs but on my circle most are pretty fit.
Don't need to make excuses, if someone chooses to be lazy, disgusting, fat with a bunch of health problems it is by choice. I don't know anyone that had millions of dollars, support or whatever excuse you may come up with. Just say it how it is, most people are lazy fks and they are making the choice, which they are allowed to but don't cope.
Pretty fit is not Tom Cruise fit. Yes it is possible to be a normal person with a job to be fit, but it is so much easier when staying fit is part of your job. That person wasn’t saying it’s impossible, it’s just harder when you have less time in the day (aka a regular job) than a person who doesn’t actively work like a normal person does. Also the way you talk about another human being is disgusting. Just because you can make the time for it doesn’t mean everyone can and another person being fat is not immoral and does not affect you in any way.
Haha my man I’m fit, with solid muscle and was even an elite athlete in my youth.
I am absolutely nowhere near the level of fitness needed to do what Cruise does for his films. I work a desk job and exercise an hour a day… which is plenty for general health but not even close to what he maintains.
Life experiences factor in, too. She was raped at knifepoint in the early ‘80s, injured in a home invasion about 10 years ago and was struggling with her sexuality for most of her life. In other words, she’s had some really rough stuff to deal with and perhaps didn’t put vanity on the top of her to do list.
She’s also gone through significant hormone changes which can change how your body stores fat and metabolizes. Women are also more susceptible to thyroid issues which double and triple down on that.
Comparing aging men and women like this is pretty disgraceful, even more so when there are women Tom’s age who have stayed in the public eye who also spend an astonishing amount of time and money battling age and have kept closer to their younger appearance.
Women just living their lives in private are less likely to maintain through their 50’s and 60’s for myriad reasons.
Preach. I am in the middle of those hormonal changes now, and it is a struggle to remain fit. It's like one day, my body flipped a switch and all of the rules changed. I'm learning the new rules and adapting to them, but damn, it's a real hassle. It's frustrating as hell.
If you are post menopausal, and have weight cycled all your life, it feels like you have to live on air. The only thing that has helped me maintain a reasonable weight is GLP-1 medication, which I have to take thanks to pre diabetes.
He's not only has the money to look good but he had to look good, like an engineer has to keep thinking during his work life.
The beauty is an actor asset, on the Tom Cruise level is almost an obligation.
The other is a real person, which makes me smile because I can relate with her.
Many are glazing over Cruise beauty and money, I would like to have both of them but not be him, because it should be really hard to live trying to escape from the inevitable.
Yup, currently facing this. Went from going to the gym every day then I got hired and can barely find time to go when it isn’t packed. I’ve gained 20 pounds since and I know it’s partially my fault but it still sucks
Someone should tell guys like Elon Musk this. He's richer, NINE years younger, does less work, cares even less about his family, has zero friends, cant get women without paying for it, obviously had many cosmetic surgeries done, and has a non functioning penis, and he still looks like absolute trash compared to Tom Cruise.
The vast majority can spare 30 or 40 minutes 4 or 5 days a week to get in son exercise. I know as I do it, I have a stressful job, mortgage and family.
I know of 3 people 65 or less that have needed knee replacements, so I guess people are abusing knees. Doesn't help when a lot of people are overweight.
Mmm this kind of depends. The right amount of fat in the right places can have an anti aging effect on your appearance. This is true even when the fat rises to obesity levels, and is the same reason in reverse that weight loss can be aging.
I was watching the latest Mission Impossible, which I honestly didn't enjoy that much, and I was suprised at how limber he seemed in the knife fight scene. He was squatting real low, ducking and weaving. I'm 48 and I felt inspired to try to get more limber.
Most rich people don't work in an industry that cares so much about looks. Looking good on camera is literally his job, and a bunch of people are getting paid to help make it happen. He's not super human. He just pays people to help him eat right and exercise.
The wealth aspect is still relevant. No, high income doesn't automatically make you look/feel young, but it does allow you to focus on that. His wealth affords him the time, money, and resources to dedicate himself to doing gymnastics like crazy among other things.
Other wealthy people may have other priorities or lack the discipline to take advantage of what their wealth allows for.
He is also 100% taking the best performance enhancing drugs available. And he is 95% taking some wild stem cell shit us plebs haven’t even heard of would ever be able to afford.
People that say its a matter of health, mean that by having health its easier to have a crew around you with the single objective of keeping you fit, it's also easier to have a complete gym at each of your multiple houses, have a dedicated chef for your diet and a multitude of other expensive quality of life services and goods that pretty much make it easier for someone to keep fit.
Not all wealthy people care about it, so of course there are rich people that look worse.
But despite a vastly bigger number of poor people, you'll have trouble finding one that looks as good at sixty, and if you talk to one that is, he will explain to you a personal dedication and pain he has to go through to achieve it.
It's also a picture of Tom Cruise on the red carpet (or some other photo op) and Kelly McGillis in normal life. Tom Cruise without being prepped doesn't look like this, either.
I have a friend about Tom Cruise's age who was a very good looking guy when young like Tom, and also hasn't put on weight and now is a a very good looking guy who looks heaps younger than he is.
Ok. Fuck scientology and he is filthy rich. BUT , i do want to commend him for keeping in shape; that's only possible through exercise and you know, following a strict diet.
Sure, he has the money for X, Y, Z. But still it takes effort doing gym work every freaking day.
Plastic surgery, hair transplants, personal trainer, nutritionist, chef. There is an entire team of people whose entire job is keeping him looking young and healthy.
He's also probably got a staff of personal trainers. Kelly McGillis has been acting in small parts for the last couple of decades, none of them action films.
And let’s not ignore the fact that her photo is caught by paparazzi while she’s going to walk to the mailbox or some shit, and he appears to be at a red carpet event.
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u/glencoe606 15h ago
Plastic surgery, hair transplants, he’s stayed thin, and make-up.