Tom Cruise says Jack Reacher's shoes fit him fine

A newly divorced Tom Cruise walked the red carpet solo Monday night in London as he defended his role in "Jack Reacher."

Confronting his critics head-on, the five-foot-seven Cruise told Reuters that he felt perfectly conformable in the role, despite being trimmer and shorter than the six-foot-five, 200-plus-pound character from the 17 Lee Child books.

The 50-year-old actor argued that Reacher's size was a "characteristic" rather than a "character" and said he tried to show Reacher's impact as a take-no-prisoners ex-military vigilante.

Cruise he would not have taken the role if Child had been unhappy.

In an interview this fall on "CBS This Morning," Child said, "Tom Cruise is a fantastic Jack Reacher. How? I don't know. He's an actor -- that's what they do."

Child's devoted readers can watch the movie trailer below and come to their own conclusions.

The London premiere also featured appearances by co-stars Robert Duvall and the yellow-clad British actress Rosamund Pike, who said she hoped the movie was the start of a "Jack Reacher" franchise for Paramount Pictures.

The movie, which opens in U.S. theaters Dec. 21, is getting a premiere this week in Pittsburgh, where is was shot, and next week in Los Angeles.