Hollywood star Tom Cruise gave The Project an inspirational 10-minute interview this week about his 30 year career making the Mission Impossible films.

The emotive package aired on Wednesday night, with the movie veteran taking extra time to talk to panellist Georgie Tunny about his biggest stunts, his approach to life and what’s next for his iconic character.

Following the sit-down, Tunny returned to the Channel Ten studio, only for her Project co-hosts to ask one question: ‘What does he smell like?’

‘Georgie,’ Sarah Harris said with a faux serious tone.

‘Sam wants to know, your mum wants to know, I want to know—What’s he smell like?’

The cringeworthy question apparently had Waleed Aly and Sam Macfarlane on the edge of their seats.

The Project has been slammed for asking ‘creepy’ question about Tom Cruise’s personal hygiene after he spoke to co-host Georgia Tunny in a 10-minute interview

Following the sit-down, Tunny returned to the Channel Ten studio, only for her Project co-hosts to ask one question: ‘What does he smell like?’

‘What does he smell like?’ Sam seconded.

‘It’s honestly the first thing mum asked,’ Georgie agreed.

‘She said “Is there a fragrance coming from Tom Cruise?”‘

‘To be honest, I don’t think my nose was engaged because I was too focused on what’s going on.

‘There was no discernable fragrance, but he smells like a movie star I will say that.’

Viewers of the Channel Ten show quickly slammed The Project cast for the moment, calling it ‘creepy’ and ‘uncomfortable’.

‘All hell would break out if a male journalist said that about a female artist,’ one posted to Reddit.

‘It was super uncomfortable to watch. Thoughts?’

‘It’s honestly the first thing mum asked,’ Georgie said

‘Project is wine-o mum journalism. That question is 100% proof,’ another viewer added.

‘I mean it’s The Project, so what do you expect?’ asked another.

‘Georgie was a credible journalist when she worked at ABC… but now,’ a third viewer chimed in.

Multiple commenters agreed that two female journalists discussing how Cruise smelled was ‘creepy’.

Tom Cruise has been known to use fragrance.

While he hasn’t publicly stated a specific favorite, some sources suggest he enjoys Eau d’Hadrien by Goutal.

Additionally, he is said to like Gendarme Cologne and Vetiver by Guerlain.

During his interview with The Project, Tom, 62, explained his approach to life and movie-making.

Viewers of the Channel Ten show quickly slammed The Project cast for the moment, calling it ‘creepy’ and ‘uncomfortable’

Man of the moment Tom Cruise, 62, led the A-list arrivals on the red carpet at the premiere of his Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning during Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday

‘Don’t be afraid to be afraid,’ he told Georgie.

‘I’m not afraid to not know something and work on trying to figure out how to know it. I’m all in.  As a friend, as a co-worker, attacking life. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know.”

‘But I will figure it out. We will figure it out together. It’s all of us together.  That’s what life is about. That’s what movies are about.’

The Mission Impossible star, who has been fronting the franchise for 30 years, revealed his passion for the series has only ‘expanded’ with time.

‘It has not disappeared,’ he said.

‘I remember hoping and thinking as a kid, I just want to do this the rest of my life – at the level that I want to do it.’

He also revealed his hardest stunt to date is in the upcoming last instalment, Dead Reckoning.

Georgia said The Project had been allotted a strict 10 minutes for the pre-filmed interview and she ran over that time twice.

‘Tom said “Do not worry about that, let us keep chatting.” And it was great. Tom was very generous with his time,’ Georgie told her co-hosts.

Tom’s much-anticipated eighth and final instalment of Mission: Impossible is one of the earlier premieres on this year’s Cannes calendar.

The film, which has faced multiple delays, is finally due to hit cinemas on May 23 2025.

It looks like the blockbuster – which cost almost $400 million to make – is going to be another big win for the action star, as it is already being described as ‘astonishing’ by early viewers.