Sports star David Beckham is highly popular among his fans and in Hollywood. Married to the 49-year-old fashion designer, Beckham has also gained popularity outside of soccer and has made some very close friends in the film industry. He also befriended Hollywood star Tom Cruise and the duo is often seen on late-night motorcycle rides on the streets of Los Angeles. Their friendship is so close that the former soccer player has even admitted naming his youngest son, Cruz Beckham, after the Mission Impossible actor.
The non-fiction book by Grant Wahl, The Beckham Experiment, reflects on how the star couple David Beckham and Victoria Beckham named their youngest son after the Hollywood superstar.
David Beckham Names His Son After Tom Cruise
After dating for two years, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham married in July 1999. The couple soon welcomed their eldest son Brooklyn Beckham. They have three more children, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper. In the 2009 book by Grant Wahl, the former soccer player explained the inspiration behind naming his children.
He shared that his eldest son was named after his place of conception, and his second son was named Romeo, in the hopes of him becoming a ladies’ man. However, for his youngest son, the sports star had something different in mind.
He admits being so star-struck by movie star Tom Cruise that he suggested to his wife that they should name their youngest son after him. “Cruise is a great name, but we could spell it different,” he suggested to his wife, Victoria Beckham.
He further shared that Cruise is spelled as ‘Cruz‘ in Spanish, so they decided to go with Cruz Beckham. “Also, living in Spain, Cruz is spelled the way it is in Spanish. So that’s why we got it,” Beckham added.
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David Beckham on Joining Scientology
Cruise and Beckham seem to have one of the closest friendships in Hollywood, as the book, The Beckham Experiment, had an entire chapter dedicated to their relationship detailing from how they met to the revelations that the Top Gun star also tried to convince the 47-year-old sports star to join the Church of Scientology.
Scientology has been an inseparable part of Tom Cruise since he joined the organization with his first wife, Mimi Rogers. There have also been claims that his association with the Church of Scientology was one of the reasons behind his broken marriages.
David Beckham opened up about his friend’s connection, saying that he respects the Jack Reacher star’s beliefs, but he does not feel the same about it. He said, “‘It’s something I respect because Tom’s explained to me and Victoria what it’s all about.”
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David Beckham also shared that Cruise never tried to implement his beliefs on him. However, some reports suggested that the Beckham couple also got into some disagreements due to Tom Cruise allegedly pushing his Scientology beliefs on the sports star and his family.
Source: The Beckham Experiment