Tom Cruise Acknowledges His Bear Fan Base

With preview scorecards rating his upcoming turn as a Hitler-hunting WWII war hero as “simply darling,” and “eye-patch adorable! When and where can I get my kids a plush Col. Claus von Stauffenberg doll?” Tom Cruise has decided to take another drastic turn with his scrupulously managed big screen persona. A photo snapped on the set of Ben Stiller’s superstar-cameo-packed Tropic Thunder reveals the actor has finally rid himself of his distracting Nazi bangs and SS uniform, replaced by a bald wig, prosthetic chest-fur collar, and a strap-on belly. (It bears mentioning that the latter is a mere enhancement, as his own doughy physique suggests one too many trips to Valkyrie’s sauerbraten-and-strüdel-heavy cräft services table). What industry watchers are interpreting as a self-lampooning and uncredited cameo done as a favour to his longtime friend and frequent caricaturist Stiller we fear is something far more foreboding: Realising his days of selling himself as a viable action-hero draw are winding down, Cruise is now set on closing in on the same middle-aged, body-hair-heavy roles that typically go to Robin Williams.

• Cruise is fat & bald [joblo.com]