The White Lotus star Michelle Monaghan has revealed she kissed Tom Cruise while on her honeymoon with husband Peter White.
Monaghan, 49, explained that she married her partner in his native Australia in 2005 and they had to fly to Los Angeles three days later so she could film Mission: Impossible III with Cruise, 62.
The star — who played movie star Jaclyn in series three of The White Lotus — described her “amazing” scenes with Cruise, as well as White’s surprising reaction to it, during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“We didn’t have time for a honeymoon because we had to start filming (Mission: Impossible), I think, three days later. So we flew back to LA,” she explained.
“I get my call sheet for my very first day on Mission. And of course, as luck would have it, it’s an intimate scene with Tom Cruise.”
Monaghan recalled being “so nervous” about shooting the scene, but her husband told her “not to worry about it” as he is “such a professional”.
She added: “I get up at 4am, I dart out of the hotel, I forget my key, of course. And I go to work, and I proceed to have the best day with Tom and J.J. Abrams, our director.”
The True Detective star then detailed White’s surprisingly laid-back approach to the situation.
“I come home later that evening. I have to knock on the door, of course. And I walk in back into the hotel, and my husband said, ‘Baby, how did it go?’” she said.
“And I was like, ‘It was amazing! It was so good.’ He was like, ‘Brush your teeth and tell me all about it.’ And I said, ‘Oh, honey, he was so sweet. It was a lovely day. It was so perfect.’
“And he looked at me and he grabbed my arms and he goes, ‘How cool is it that you were making out with Tom Cruise on our honeymoon!’”
Reflecting on her husband’s supportive reaction, Monaghan joked: “I married the right dude.”
Monaghan and White share two children — daughter Willow, 16, and son, Tommy, 11.
Earlier this year, Monaghan revealed she was sworn to secrecy about her role in The White Lotus.
She told The Standard: “The number of NDAs and things that I've signed. Even my family has no idea what's in store for the show.
“It was critical that we kept everything a secret. They’re like, ‘Just tell us a little something!’ And I won't even tell them my name."
The cast were shuttled to and from the various filming locations in The White Lotus’ new location of Thailand.
“When we got there, I didn't quite understand that as a production we would be moving amongst various hotels,” Monaghan said.
“So we would shoot dinner scenes at one hotel, we would shoot breakfast scenes at another, we would utilize the beach of another hotel,” she says: which means days spent at the Four Seasons, Airbnbs and other luxury hotels. Sometimes we were sharing the hotels with actual guests.”
