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Rex Features
In an interview with German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, the colonel's great nephew Franz von Stauffenberg claimed that the Top Gun star was miscast.
Discussing his performance, Stauffenberg said: "[He] seems terribly cautious, almost as if he were afraid of playing the role. He tries to seem elegant but comes across as extremely stiff.
"He seems not at all decisive in the role and above all not charismatic enough. On the whole he just seems too small.
"From what I've learned about Claus von Stauffenberg from the literature, history books and family stories, he is meant to have been a charismatic man. Someone who inspired people with his smile, his humour and charm."
Von Stauffenberg was the man behind the 1944 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler by placing a bomb in a briefcase.
Earlier this month, Cruise claimed that he was unfazed by the criticism surrounding Valkyrie, saying: "I knew it would be controversial... But I couldn’t ignore it because the story is so compelling."
Valkyrie opens in the UK on February 23.
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