In a recent interview with her ‘Ripley’ co-star Andrew Scott for Harper’s Bazaar, Fanning revealed that the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ actor gave her her first cell phone as a gift and he has forgotten about her birthday since The Hollywood Reporter reports.
Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning in 2005 film ‘War of the Worlds’ (Paramount Pictures)

Tom Cruise sends Dakota Fanning a birthday gift every year

Fanning co-stars with Andrew Scott in the Netflix series ‘Ripley’ and in a recent interview with the actress, Scott was asked to guess who handed Fanning her first cell phone, “Who gave Dakota her first cell phone?”

Thinking that it would be “going to be some Hollywood icon,” Scott came up with the correct answer, Tom Cruise. Fanning revealed that during their time together shooting the 2005 film ‘War of the Worlds,’ the actor gave her a Motorola Razr for her 11th birthday.

The ‘Twilight’ actress reminisced, “Oh, my God, I was so excited,” but she also mentioned that she “didn’t have anybody to call or text at that time,” so she wasn’t sure how useful the gift was for her.

She laughed, “You know, I was 11,” and said, “But I loved having it. I loved it. I felt so cool.”

“Tom sends me a birthday gift every year and has since that birthday. Yeah. [At] 30, I got a birthday gift. So thoughtful. That’s really, really nice,” revealed Fanning, who turned thirty in February.

Fanning played Cruise’s 10-year-old daughter in Steven Spielberg’s film ‘War of the Worlds.’ The movie centers on Cruise’s efforts to protect his estranged children and bring them back to their mother amid an extraterrestrial invasion.

Fanning received gifts from other Hollywood icons while she was a child star, alongside Cruise’s Motorola Razr.

As the actress and Scott appeared together in Elle’s ‘Ask Me Anything’ interview series, Fanning said that Kurt Russell, who co-starred with her in the 2005 film ‘Dreamer,’ gave her the “best wrap gift” she had ever received, per People.
Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, and Dakota Fanning in 2005 film ‘War of the Worlds’ (Paramount Pictures)

Dakota Fanning also reconnected with another Hollywood A-lister

After working together as a child star, Dakota Fanning reconnected with another A-list actor in 2023. She starred alongside Denzel Washington in the action thriller ‘Man on Fire’ in 2004.

She reunited with Washington on screen almost 20 years later when she played in the follow-up film ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Fanning has previously mentioned how Washington has also always treated her with great kindness.

She told Entertainment Tonight in 2023, “He has always been so good to me and kind to me, and I feel such a connection to him because he’s known me for so long.” “It’s most people’s dream to get to work with him once, so to get to work with him twice at different stages in my life is a real treat,” she added.

Internet praises ‘gentleman’ Tom Cruise for sweet gesture to Dakota Fanning

Social media users immediately took to X (formerly Twitter) to praise the ‘Top Gun’ actor with one calling him a “gentleman.”

A second one exclaimed, “I love Tom Cruise,” while a third one added, “Dude is awesome.”

A fourth one justified, “Tom Cruise might be a bit crazy but he’s a legendary actor and seems like a genuinely nice guy, one of a kind, also pretty damn nice for him to do that.”

“Didn’t he also throw a birthday party for her stand in/stunt double on set?” enquired another one.

One more added, “So many people who have worked with him talk about yes he’s intense but he’s thoughtful and kind”