Tom Cruise Can Do Anything He Sets His Mind to, Except Open a Veyron Door or Own a Bugatti

As a celebrity, Tom Cruise is controversial at best because of his decades-long ties with the Church of Scientology and the choices he made in his personal life that ended up playing out in the tabloids for years afterward. But as an actor, the man is beyond reproach. Even esteemed director Steven Spielberg credited him with saving Hollywood, and that's no small feat to pull.

There's a long-running joke in showbiz about how there's nothing that Tom Cruise can't do – or won't do to get the most realistic take. Race cars? Check. Jump from a helicopter? Check. Jump from an even higher helicopter? Check. Climb the tallest building in the world? Straddle himself to a plane as it takes off? Do parkour on skyscrapers? BASE-jump on a dirtbike? Check, check, and double-check.

As an actor, Cruise has pushed himself into doing increasingly daring and dangerous stunts, all in the name of realism and unadulterated, non-CGI entertainment. The man loves to deliver old-school cinematic entertainment, even at those times when this puts him in the crosshairs with producers, financiers, insurers, or even the SAMP (Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures).

But do you know what Tom Cruise can't do? He can't open the door on his very own Bugatti Veyron, and he can never buy a Bugatti again because of it. Another long-running joke slash myth in showbiz is that Bugatti blacklisted Cruise in 2006 after an incident that was heard around the world. Even today, it still resurfaces occasionally, sparking new waves of memes and jokes every time it does.

It happened on May 4, 2006, at the big premiere of Mission: Impossible III, which was taking place at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, L.A. Much like he does today, for certain movie premieres, Cruise wanted to do something big, something that would get even more media attention. On this particular occasion, he settled on driving himself to the red carpet.

He had just the car to do it, too. One year prior, he'd bought himself a Bugatti Veyron for a reported price tag of $1.9 million. Cruise was one of the first high-profile customers to take delivery of a Veyron, so we reckon the purchase made both sides equally happy.

The premiere was exactly one year to the day when Cruise jumped on Oprah's couch for what will forever be remembered as the strangest love declaration in the history of television. That interview became a turning point for how showbiz and the general public discussed Cruise's involvement in Scientology, but he was still a huge star despite the dip in popularity.

In short, having Cruise drive himself to his big movie premiere in a Veyron was a huge win for Bugatti from a PR perspective.

As Cruise drove right up to the red carpet, he stepped out and, like a true gentleman, walked over to the passenger side to let his then-wife Katie Holmes out. Then, as paparazzi and screaming fans watched, he struggled for what must've felt like the 40 longest seconds to open that door.

The smile never left Cruise's face as he repeatedly tried to open it, so credit goes to him for keeping his game face on. But the smile did leave the faces of Bugatti brass and, with it, all their fuzzy feelings for Cruise.

Word has it that they felt as if this 40-second snafu misrepresented the Bugatti brand, so they banned Cruise from buying a car directly. Put in much simpler words, they thought that Cruise's inability to open that door made it look as if the Veyron was a piece of clunk, all good looks but poor workmanship.

It goes without saying, all this is just an unfounded rumor. When the game is played at a level this high as to have Cruise and Bugatti involved, a straightforward statement is never put out by any PR. There's no way of saying for sure that the Veyron was really Cruise's or that he'd paid $1.9 million for it, just like we will never know for a fact that Bugatti banned him.

But we do know this. Prestige carmakers like Bugatti or Ferrari have strict rules for the selection of their customers, and they have even stricter guidelines for ownership. Due consideration in how owners represent the brand after they take delivery is among those guidelines.

It's not unheard of for a famous person to fall foul of them and then get an unofficial ban. What we're saying is that while it seems silly for Bugatti to ban Cruise for not being able to open a door at an event, it's not unlikely. It's also petty and funny.