Tom Cruise complimented his ex-wife Nicole Kidman as rumors circulate about him dating Ana de Armas.
The Oscar nominee made his remark about Kidman, whom he was married to from 1990 to 2001, when discussing their 1999 thriller, “Eyes Wide Shut,” in an interview with film magazine Sight and Sound.
“It was a great experience. I was very excited to do it,” he told the outlet of the Sydney Pollack-directed movie, Deadline reported Saturday.
Cruise, who portrayed Bill Harfordin in the film, explained he met with Pollack ahead of filming and suggested Kidman, now 57, star as his on-screen wife, Alice Harford.
“I suggested Nicole play the role [of Alice],” the actor said before gushing of his former spouse, “because, obviously, she’s a great actress.”
Cruise, 62, continued, “I thought the film was very interesting and I wanted to have that experience.”
The “Top Gun” star and Kidman rarely address their 11-year marriage, though the latter has briefly opened up about it in recent interviews.
Last year, the actress revealed she was still healing from her divorce when she accepted her Academy Award in 2003 for her work in “The Hours.”
“I was struggling with things in my personal life, yet my professional life was going so well,” she told author and entertainment journalist Dave Karger in his book “50 Oscar Nights.”
Last November, Kidman addressed a rumor that she was celebrating her divorce from Cruise when she was photographed walking with her arms wide open in a 2001 viral image.
“That’s not true,” she clarified to British GQ. “That was from a film. That wasn’t real life. I know that image!”
Kidman and Cruise adopted two children, Isabella, 32, and Conner, 30, in 1992 and 1995, respectively.
After their split, the “Babygirl” star tied the knot with Keith Urban in 2006. They share 16-year-old daughter, Sunday Rose, and 13-year-old daughter, Faith.
Cruise went on to marry Katie Holmes and welcome a daughter, Suri Cruise, 18. However, he and Holmes, now 46, divorced in 2012.
The “Mission Impossible” star has, more recently, been linked to de Armas, 37. They spent her birthday together at a London park and the “Deep Water” star joined Cruise at David Beckham’s 50th birthday.
However, a source told Page Six Saturday that while the duo “clearly enjoy hanging out,” there is “no proof it’s romantic.”
