Cruise defended by film-making partner

Tom Cruise's film-making partner Paula Wagner has hit out at critics of the actor's religious beliefs.

Cruise's devotion to the Church of Scientology has been receiving more attention this week, after a four-year-old video which showed him discussing his faith was leaked onto the internet.

"I am not a Scientologist, nor are most of the people Tom and I work with, but that doesn't mean I can sit by silently while he is attacked for his religious beliefs," Wagner explained in a statement.

"As a filmmaker and an American, I feel strongly that an individual's religion should have no bearing on their professional life. I have always believed that Americans celebrated these differences, and to see the vitriol that has been directed towards my friend is truly discouraging.

"It's easy to mock an out-of-context video, but that doesn't change the fact that Tom Cruise is one of the hardest-working and nicest human beings I have ever known."

Wagner has worked with Cruise for over 25 years and co-owns the United Artists studio with him. She has been the executive producer of a number of his films, including Mission Impossible and War of the Worlds.