Tom: Katie's a Scientologist, too

AFP



Tom Cruise (L) sits beside ABC's Diane Sawyer in this undated publicity photo from her exclusive interview with Cruise in Los Angeles. (Carol Kaelson/ABC/Handout/Reuters)

Despite Katie Holmes' Catholic upbringing, there will be no baptism for the first fruit of her labor.

"You can be Catholic and be a Scientologist. You can be Jewish and be a Scientologist," Tom Cruise--movie star and male half of the relationship otherwise known as TomKat--told Diane Sawyer in an interview scheduled to air Friday on ABC's Primetime. "But we're just Scientologists."

While it was announced last summer that Holmes had been taking some Scientology classes, this particular revelation was the couple's (of which Cruise is the given spokesperson) first public acknowledgment that Holmes has fully jumped on her man's belief bandwagon.

And with that statement, among others, the 43-year-old actor worked on filling in some of the blanks about the state of his union with Holmes.

For instance, talk about the couple's Scientology practice has sparked rumors that there's discord between Holmes and her family. Depending on what you're reading on what day, the parents of the 27-year-old Dawson's Creek alumna are very unhappy that she has embraced Cruise's religion of choice, or they're fine with it.

"Absolutely, yes," Cruise answered, when asked if Holmes' parents, Martin and Kathleen, approved of Scientology. He's close with "the whole family," the Golden Globe winner said.

Once the religion cat was officially out of the bag, Cruise shed more light on the concept of "silent birth," the Scientology ritual that the couple will apparently observe. It's "basically just respecting the mother," Cruise explained, squashing the misunderstanding that it for some reason involves Holmes not making a sound.

"The mother makes as much noise?you know, she's going through it," he told Sawyer. "But why have other people make noise? You know, you want that area very calm and to make it very special."

But will there be painkillers if need be, even though Scientology seems to frown on certain types of medication?

"Whatever the woman wants," said Cruise, who has two adopted children with Nicole Kidman. "If she needs her epidural, she's gonna get her epidural." And while the War of the Worlds star did arrange for an at-home sonogram machine for his fiancee, there's no truth to the tale that he commissioned an adult-size pacifier for Holmes to bite down on during the delivery.

(Hear the collective sigh of relief.)

When not fending off rumors, Cruise said the couple made time to pick out baby names suitable to either a little Tom or a little Katie, but he is keeping that sought-after info under wraps for now.

And unless you've been sleeping in a cave for the past year, you won't be surprised Friday to hear Cruise refer to Holmes as "extraordinary" for the umpteenth?well, he uses that word a lot, alternating it with "magnificent."

As for the infamous Oprah couch jump: "Now there's some fun," he told Sawyer.

"People really have come out of the woodwork and felt very open now about discussing their couch-jumping experiences, you know in their own lives when they've gone through it, and the different things that they did when they, you know, when they found that person that they really love, and knew they were going to share the rest of their life with."

So, we assume that also means TomKat isn't splitting up anytime soon, even though breakup rumors may never stop swirling.

"We're just a couple that are gonna have a baby and we're very excited about it, about this new life," Cruise said.

Sure, just your average couple.

The Primetime pit stop is latest in the soon-to-be proud papa's whirlwind publicity blitz, which has included visits to Europe and interviews with Parade (where he disclosed he was abused by his father) and, most recently, GQ, all leading up to the May 3 premiere of Mission: Impossible III at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In his GQ Q&A, which hit newsstands this week, Cruise dishes on a variety of topics, including his love of adventure; how impressed he is that Holmes caught on so quickly to scuba diving and dirt biking; how great Holmes looks pregnant (we believe "magnificent" was the word he used); how he was "pretty restrained" during his Today show throwdown with Matt Lauer; and, finally, how he and Holmes are looking to tie the knot in late summer or early fall.

Oh, and he made a pretty nifty joke about eating the placenta. (Really, it was funny.)

Although Holmes is staying closer to home these days as the big day approaches, she can be seen onscreen in Thank You for Smoking with Aaron Eckhart.

But the expectant couple apparently are in constant contact. According to ABC News, during a break in his Primetime interview, Cruise got a text message from Holmes saying, "Love you, way to go, have a great interview! No baby action yet."

That BlackBerry better stay on. Although he told GQ that his jam-packed schedule will not keep him from missing his child's birth, this much we know: Labor waits for no man. Not even Tom Cruise.