Scientolgy is one erm, interesting, "religion" which seems to attach itself to those with power, charisma, and potential…

Which is probably why Tom Cruise was SO heavily courted by the Church when his acting career began to bloom!

In a new book detailing Scientology and its influence in Hollywood, Pulitzer-prize winning author Lawrence Wright describes how Scientology's leader David Miscavige seemed obsessed with Cruise and explains how he became best buds with Tom who, in turn, grew more involved in the church.

Wright details:

"When it came to Cruise, Miscavige was bedazzled by the glamour surrounding the star, who introduced him to a social set outside of Scientology, a world Miscavige knew little about, having spent most of his life cloistered in the Sea Org. He was thrilled when he visited Cruise on the set of Days of Thunder, and the actor took him skydiving for the first time. Cruise, for his part, fell under the spell of Miscavige's commanding personality. He modeled his determined naval-officer hero in 1992's A Few Good Men on Miscavige, a fact that the Church leader liked to brag about."

AND even though Miscavige ended up believing Tom's then wife Nicole Kidman was a money-hungry bad influence, he still attempted to create a paradise for them at one of Scientology's desert locations!

But, Miscavige did NOT approve of Kidman, and, according to the book, he:

"…blamed [her] and viewed her as a gold digger who was faking Scientology. . . Miscavige was hopeful that if they portrayed Nicole Kidman as a Suppressive Person, Cruise could be peeled away from her."

And we guess his plan worked, seeing as the pair divorced!

The more we read about Scientology, the more questions we have! It's SUCH a secretive religion that works under the guise of complete openness, AND its "auditing" practices and spiritual beliefs are straight outta science fiction…

Like, LITERALLY. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard was a pulp/science fiction writer!

LOlz!

[Image via WENN.]

Tags: book, career, david miscavige, divorce, going clear, hollywood, lawrence wright, scientology, tom cruise