BERLIN: Hollywood actor Tom Cruise not only battles creatures from outer space in his latest film “War of the Worlds”, he also believes aliens exist, he told a German newspaper on Wednesday.

Asked in an interview with the tabloid daily Bild if he believed in aliens, Cruise said: “Yes, of course. Are you really so arrogant as to believe we are alone in this universe?

“Millions of stars, and we’re supposed to be the only living creatures? No, there are many things out there, we just don’t know,” Cruise, 42, said in the interview published in German.

Cruise is a follower of the Scientology church founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, and his recent willingness to discuss the faith has raised eyebrows in the media.

Most controversially, Cruise criticised actress Brooke Shields for revealing she had taken antidepressants. An official Scientology website argues that people should live drug-free.

Cruise also dismissed psychiatry as a “pseudo science”, invoking the ire of the American Psychiatric Association that called the remarks “irresponsible”.

But many scientologists feel they are unfairly criticised, arguing that although many believe in the concept of aliens, it is not such an unreasonable proposition, and that the side effects of some medication are not fully understood.

Cruise’s new film “War of the Worlds” is based on British writer H.G. Wells’ 1898 story of the invasion of Earth by Martians.—Reuters