Dakota Fanning and Tom Cruise‘s on-screen father-daughter relationship carried on after wrapping War of the Worlds. During a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the 30-year-old actress revealed that her former co-star, 61, gave her an iconic gift while they worked together on the 2005 sci-fi movie.
“I turned 11 on War of the Worlds when we worked together, and he gave me my first cellphone for that birthday,” Dakota explained on the Tuesday, June 5, episode, before revealing which phone Tom gifted her. “It was a Motorola Razor.”
Although the Twilight star “didn’t have anyone to call” when she was an 11-year-old rising star, Dakota admitted she had wanted a Motorola Razor “so bad,” adding that she “must have been talking about it a lot” around the Mission: Impossible actor.
“I must have been talking about it a lot because that’s what he got me. It was such a great memory,” Dakota gushed.
The birthday presents didn’t stop when she was 11, though. Dakota revealed that, since then, Tom has sent her birthday gifts every year — and it’s the same one every time.
“He always sends me the same thing every year, after the cellphone,” she added. “I loved shoes when I was little, and I started to be able to fit into really small adult shoes when I was on the War of the Worlds press tour, so I was very excited about them. And so, from that birthday on, he always sends me shoes.”
In response, talk show host Kelly Clarkson noted, “That’s so nice. That’s so random too, I love it. You must have a massive shoe collection brought to you by Tom Cruise!”
In Steven Spielberg‘s 2005 sci-fi loosely based on H.G. Wells’ 1998 book, Tom played Ray Ferrier, who’s estranged from his children following his divorce from their mother. Dakota played his daughter, Rachel. After extraterrestrial beings invade earth, Ray and Rachel embark on the fight for their lives as humanity grapples with how to save itself.
After starring in War of the Worlds, Dakota’s acting career blossomed. She went on to star in hit films such as Charlotte’s Web, The Twilight Saga franchise, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood and several more. As for Tom, the movie star released the box office hit Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning: Part One.