Tom Cruise: Evil Side Praised

Tom Cruise is known for playing nice guys. But in his latest film, be prepared for a Cruise you've never seen before

In "Collateral," Tom Cruise plays Vincent, a cold-blooded hit man who forces an L.A. cab driver, played by Jamie Foxx, to take him on his deadly rounds.

Cruise tells The Early Show entertainment contributor Jess Cagle, "I haven't played a character like this before and that's what I look for, something tough, something that you look back and think how is this going to work out."

The challenge was to get the audience engaged and get them to understand the character, he says.

"When you understand something, there's a level of affinity for it," Cruise says. "You become engaged in Vincent, so you're going back and forth; you have this push-pull with the character."

When it comes to filmmaking, Cruise jokes, his passion for it gets the best of him. He points out with a laugh that he almost put Cagle to sleep with a long-winded answer to a question on the subject.

For his latest film, the reviews have been positive. One critic said, "Shifiting gears to play an outright villian, Cruise is at or near his best." And another one noted, "When Tom Cruise is good he is very, very good, but when he is bad, he's better."

Pleased, Cruise says he is glad his psycho killer role is so well-received.

"He's a great character, so I'm just happy," he says and notes it has been easy for him to switch gears and leave his role behind, once it is time to be himself.

He says, "The kids call, you're on the phone, people come by to visit, you go home. But when I'm working on a character, it's there, or when I'm working on a story, but there are times when you gotta get away from it, so when the day's done, the day's done."

Asked how he managed to live thie nocturnal life that his role in this film calls for, Cruise says with a laugh, "You just do it. You don't sleep much; you just go."

Cruise explains he just incorporates family time with his kids, morning and night. "We figure it out," he says.

As for dating, "It's fun," Cruise says with a big laugh and asks, "Is my face turning red, right now?"

So how does he keep it private, when everybody wants to know?

"You just do it; you just do it," he says with a big laugh.

And as for being a single dad, Cruise says, "I look at it as I'm their father and it's great and I love it. I love the time I spend with them. I'm incredibly proud of them. They are just magnificent, magnificent, magnificent"

When Renee Zelwegger accepted her Oscar, she thanked Cruise for showing her that success and kindness are not mutaully exclusive. Did someone teach him that?

"I've met a lot of really generous, kind people," Cruise replies. "I just want to treat people well and be respectful, and there's that line that I expect that back in business or in acting, so you find that. But I guess it was just in there; I've met some good people that validated that."

Cruise hopes to start production on "Mission Impossible 3" in the fall, for release next summer.