It seemed impossible to top the star power at Friday’s Taylor Swift show at Wembley Stadium, but that was before Tom Cruise—Mr. Impossible, himself—showed up on Saturday at the second London stop in the billionaire singer’s Eras Tour. And Cruise wasn’t the only big name at Saturday’s Swift show, as Hugh Grant, Princess Olivia of Greece, Greta Gerwig, and a number of other stars packed the stadium’s VIP area as Swift sang—and threw shade—from the stage.
Cruise has reportedly lived in London since 2021, making his presence at this show (as opposed to one in, say, LA or New York) less brow-raising than it might otherwise be. And yet, it still feels surprising (did you know he was a Swiftie? I sure didn’t!) that he was there, and that he arrived—as numerous users of social media noted—with a Swift fans’ now-familiar handful of DIY friendship bracelets that he traded with his fellow VIPers. Did Tom Cruise make his own friendship bracelets for this thing? Wouldn’t it be wild if he did? (Vanity Fair reached out to a Cruise representative for more information on his Swift interest, but has not received a response as of publication time.)
The 61-year-old star was seemingly good-natured even when a huge man in the tent grabbed him by the shoulders and started shaking him about, as was captured in footage shared by fans. It helps, perhaps, that the big guy was Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is also known as Swift’s boyfriend and/or the guy the royal family didn’t want a selfie with the night before.
Actor Hugh Grant, who was also at Saturday’s show, was similarly struck by Kelce’s size and charm. Via X (formerly Twitter), the 63-year-old Grant wrote of his Saturday night concert experience, “Dear @taylorswift13, You have an incredible show, an amazing and v hospitable team and excellent if gigantic boyfriend (#tequilashots.). Thanks so much from one ageing London boy, wife and thrilled 8 year old #halfgirlhalfbracelet.” It’s a tweet that leaves this correspondent wondering what seemed less likely likely a decade ago: the star of Eyes Wide Shut playing with beaded bracelets, or the star of Four Weddings and a Funeral using hashtags?