‘NCIS: Origins’ Star Caleb Foote Reflects on Tom Cruise Visiting Set (Exclusive)

NCIS: Origins star Caleb Foote is opening up to PopCulture.com about Tom Cruise visiting the set.

The Top Gun star stopped by the set of the NCIS prequel, which films at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, back in October.

Foote admitted he “didn’t believe it at first” when he heard that Cruise was in the vicinity. “We were hanging out in interrogation. That’s where our cast holding was,” he continued. “And Jake, our PA, said, ‘Tom Cruise is in the secretary…’ And I was like, ‘What?’ It didn’t even register as a real sentence. Those words have never been said before. And then he said it again, and he was dead serious this time. He said, ‘Tom Cruise is in the secretary pool.’ So then we went in there, and he was just holding court with our whole crew. It was so amazing.”

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“I think that’s the perk of shooting somewhere as legendary as the Paramount Lot. I think that’s the beauty of shooting in Los Angeles,” Foote shared. “And I think that’s what makes it so special. It’s just one of these once-in-a-lifetime moments where Tom Cruise is just so excited to be on set. And I wouldn’t say appear because it’s Tom freaking Cruise, but where you can have these genuine conversations face to face, and then pop into the scene, and then come back, and then keep talking to the legend that is Tom Cruise.”

It’s still unclear why Cruise stopped by the set, but it was certainly a nice surprise for the cast and crew. Plus, Foote and everyone else will have a memory that not many people have and a story to tell for years to come. And it sounds like Foote is still surprised that it happened.

NCIS: Origins has been renewed for Season 3, but Foote has confirmed that filming won’t begin until July. What surprises will be in store, both on-screen and off, remain to be seen, but it will be hard to top Tom Cruise coming to the set. The surprises for Season 2 aren’t done yet, as the finale airs on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day on Paramount+. NCIS: Origins Season 3 will premiere this fall.