Tom Cruise, while receiving a British Film Institute Fellowship, has called on aspiring actors to immerse themselves in the technical aspects of filmmaking, criticising film schools for not doing enough to teach production tools and technology.

According to the Times of London, Cruise used the prestigious moment to stress the importance of actors understanding elements like lighting and camera blocking, suggesting that strong performances rely on much more than acting alone. His comments were later reported by Variety.

“It is important to understand the tools around you,” Cruise said. “There is tech. It is like understanding the stage as an actor but for a lot of artists it is not taught in film school: how to understand the lens and what it can do, and why there is eye movement and recognise the effect it has.”

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The actor, known for his detailed preparation and hands-on approach to filmmaking, also said he encourages young performers to explore every stage of production.

“I always tell actors, spend time in the editing room, produce a movie, study old movies, recognise what the composition is giving you, know what those lenses are, understand the lighting and how to use it for your benefit,” he added. “Understand the art form to that degree. Brando absolutely understood lighting; all the greats did.”

So passionate is Cruise about this message that he created a six-hour film school video to educate emerging actors. Glen Powell, who starred alongside Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, revealed in a GQ UK interview last year that he watched the full session alone in a cinema.

“He said, ‘This is just for my friends’,” Powell recalled. “[In the video Cruise] is like, ‘Do we all agree that this is what a camera is? This is the difference between a film camera and a digital camera…’ The funniest part is on flying. It was like he put together this entire flight school. So he would literally go, OK, this is what a plane is. Here’s how things fly. Here’s how air pressure works.”

Cruise also told Powell that for a film to be a global success, it must “telegraph universal emotions” and “hit on anxieties that everyone can relate to.”

His next release, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, opens in UK and US cinemas on May 23.