Tom Cruise's Dark, Twisted Journey to Scientology's Top Gun

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15. Apparently he nearly left when they told him about Xenu

They treat celebrities quite differently than low-level schmoos partly because those celebrities lose their value if they get too weird or unable to continue successfully in their public careers. (Not that Cruise isn't weird, but I think he would have been weird even without Scientology.) Supposedly he felt like an idiot when the OT III material was revealed, which is a rather sensible way to feel but most ordinary members who get to that point are so invested in the whole thing that the absurdity does not deter them. Apparently Cruise wasn't quite so heavily indoctrinated and required a "pep talk" about how all religions are basically metaphors and he should just roll with it a bit, etc. And I guess it worked.