Tom Cruise in Berlin for ‘Valkyrie’ premiere

“I would also have tried to kill Hitler like Stauffenberg!”

Hollywood star Tom Cruise has told BILD he would have tried to kill Hitler – just like Claus von Stauffenberg, who he plays in hit film ‘Valkyrie’, did in real life.

The actor made the revelations during an interview in the Los Angeles Beverley Hills Hotel. ‘TC’ sauntered into the restaurant – slim, sparkling teeth, wearing jeans, a jacket and an open shirt.

BILD: How are you, Tom?

Tom Cruise: Very, very well. I am excited!

Valykrie has already earned $71 million in 2,800 US cinemas in 18 days. The ‘Washington Post’ called it an “entertainment juggernaut.”

Tom has changed over the last years. He is still the $7 billion man – the box office total from his 25-year career – but he also has many other strings to his bow.

He is now a film mogul, financier, producer, world star and family man.

“But believe me – I am who I am. I am still the small boy who saved money so that he could go to the cinema and dream.”

The star will hit the red carpet in Berlin tomorrow for the European premiere of his new film.

BILD: You turned a German hero into an on-screen legend. Germany must thank you. How did you find out about Claus von Stauffenberg?

Tom Cruise: I was a child when I read ‘the Diary of Anne Frank’ for the first time – his name came up in that. But, like the rest of the world, I didn’t know anything about him.

BILD: Why is a Hollywood star making a thriller about forgotten heroes?

Tom Cruise: When I read the script by hands were sweating with anticipation. Every page was sensational!

Why does nobody know this story? It is world history – and a thriller! I read it until 3 in the morning while the kids were in bed.

BILD: You were in Berlin for five months playing von Stauffenberg. Could you sleep at night?

Tom Cruise: Oh, yes, no! I am very excitable and energetic, I don’t need more than three hours sleep. Berlin fascinated me. It was the scene of the crime. Von Stauffenberg was executed here in Bendlerblock. This was where Hitler raged.

You and I, we never experienced the war and we must be thankful for that. But we also have the duty to teach the history to our children.

BILD: Have your children seen ‘Valkyrie’?

Tom Cruise: (laughing) Suri hasn’t – she is only two. But Bella (16) and Connor were entranced by it. My wife Kate too, and my mother.

BILD: Would you have killed Hitler, if you had been alive then?

Tom Cruise: You know what, I would like to think that about myself. I think so. I would have tried everything to kill this monster. In my childhood I always wanted to kill Hitler – we always played war games: The Allies against the Nazis.

BILD: What is the message of the Stauffenberg film?

Tom Cruise: That there was a good German! That there was an opposition to Hitler. That one person could make a difference. Look at us! We are doing really, really well. We sit here – 64 years later – and still talk about this great man, who died a noble death for Germany, his family and his children.”

(Source: Bild)