Dakota Fanning, 30, Confessed Why Tom Cruise Makes Her Gifts Every Year Since She Was 11

In her long career of over 20 years, Dakota Fanning has worked with many famous Hollywood actors. She talked about her experiences working with actors like Denzel Washington and Robert Pattinson. One of her sweetest stories was about working with Tom Cruise in the movie War of the Worlds in 2005.

Tom Cruise gifted Dakota Fanning her first cell phone.

Fanning revealed that Cruise, whom she considers a lifelong friend, has been sending her a birthday gift every year since 2005. In a recent interview for Harper’s Bazaar Fanning shared that her first mobile phone came as a present from Tom Cruise. The actress revealed that her co-star in War of the Worlds gave her a Motorola Razr for her 11th birthday.

“Oh, my God, I was so excited,” she recalled this moment. However, Fanning admitted it might not have been the most practical gift, confessing that she didn’t have anybody to call or text at that time. “You know, I was 11,” she quipped, before adding, “But I loved having it. I loved it. I felt so cool.”

And the gifts didn’t stop at the iconic flip phone.

When Fanning joined Andy Cohen on the engaging show, Watch What Happens Live, she fondly revealed that Cruise didn’t stop his funny tradition. “He has sent me a birthday gift every year since I was 11 years old,” she disclosed, “Beautiful gifts.”

Now, more than a decade later, Fanning sometimes wonders if it will stop. “I always think, ’Oh, when I’m 18, he’ll probably stop. Oh, 21, he’ll stop.’ But every year. It’s really kind.”

Of course, Cohen asked Fanning to divulge what these “beautiful gifts” were, and surprisingly enough, the answer was fairly sensible, with Fanning revealing that “It’s usually shoes.”

After this cute revelation, some people found pitfalls in Tom’s actions.

• Tom Cruise is one of those people that is so nice. Everyone who works with him has talked about this unrelenting positivity he has as a person, how he doesn’t complain when he’s filming. And he is so earnest as an actor, really giving it his all. © MedicalPersimmon001 / Reddit
• Little investments like these to a mega celebrity cost Tom Cruise nothing. However, the positive press it eventually generates from even this one article more than has paid for what he has spent on those gifts, no doubt through the years. There’s a lesson here in networking and maintaining relationships. Sometimes tiny investments in ongoing relationships for decades can pay dividends. © Fruitopeon / Reddit

It was not the only gift Dakota received from a Hollywood celebrity.

Dakota Fanning shared memories about a gift she got from her Dreamer co-star Kurt Russell. “Kurt Russell gave me a horse,” she said.

Reflecting on her experiences working with big names like Cruise and Russell since childhood, she mentioned that she didn’t feel intimidated, “Because I grew up familiar with being around people who would be considered ’intimidating’ kind of, I think it might’ve numbed that side of me a little. When you’re 8 years old, you’re sort of just getting to know a person as a person and not thinking about all of the other stuff, you know?”

It’s really adorable to see actors who worked together when one of them was a child meet up again years later or stay in touch all the time. And sometimes we even can’t believe these celebrity kids grew up in front of our eyes.