Tom Cruise, who stars in Edward Zwick's "The Last Samurai," on Friday praised eastern religion, saying "Buddhism is the grandfather of scientology."
The 41-year-old star, sporting short hair and a grey suit, waxed lyrical on Buddhism during a Paris news conference at the Ritz hotel held to promote the release in France of the movie next week.
"I was struck by the code of Bushido (the way of the samurai). It's powerful, it talks about compassion, helping others, responsibility, integrity ... timeless values, ways I identify with," said Cruise, who has practised scientology for 20 years.
"Buddhism is the grandfather of scientology," added the actor, flanked by Zwick and his Japanese partner Hiroyuki Sanada.