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Tom Cruise surprises Toronto on a whirlwind ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ tour, and takes a ‘selfie’ with the audience

Will Perkins
·Blogger

Tom Cruise certainly lived up to his globetrotting movie star image this week by quite literally trotting a large portion the globe -- all part of the publicity tour for his upcoming film “Edge of Tomorrow.”

Travelling around the world to plug a big movie is not unusual for Hollywood actors, but what made Cruise’s recent promotional odyssey so impressive was the pace and scale of it.

The megastar began his “Edge of Tomorrow” journey with a Wednesday morning premiere in London, England, hitting the Paris, France premiere that afternoon, and arriving in New York City later that day just in time for the U.S. premiere. The magic of time zones!

Cruise continued the journey on Thursday, making surprise stops at “Edge of Tomorrow” screenings in Toronto and Chicago. That’s five major movie markets in under 48 hours. Not bad, Tommy. Where are you headed next? (We’re guessing Los Angeles.)

Though it was a brief appearance, the movie star delighted the Toronto crowd. Cruise talked up the movie and mentioned his history with Canada.

“I used to live in Ottawa, Ontario as a kid,” Cruise told the Toronto audience, apparently unaware of the hockey rivalry between the two cities. “It’s a real thrill to be back here.” (Cruise lived in the Ottawa suburb of Beacon Hill in the early 1970s while his father was a consultant for the Canadian military)

Before heading off to his next stop on the whirlwind press tour, Cruise asked if he could pose for a selfie-style photo with the crowd (this writer is the person directly above the actor’s head in the photo).

Outside of the Toronto International Film Festival or a movie shoot, it's unusual for Canada to get visited by high-profile movie stars like Cruise. The buzz generated by his globe-spanning surprise appearances is sure to give "Edge of Tomorrow" a much-needed publicity boost as the release date approaches. If you put Tom Cruise in a movie, he'll not only act in it but also sell the hell out of it.

"Edge of Tomorrow" blasts into theatres on June 6.