Clooney advises Cruise to mock himself

George Clooney has suggested that Tom Cruise should "make fun of himself" to regain his popularity with movie-goers.

Cruise has attracted criticism in recent years due to his outspoken support of the Church of Scientology and high-profile romance with wife Katie Holmes.

Marketing Evaluations reported in 2006 that the star's Q score, a measure of a celebrity's popularity, had dipped by 40%, while his recent movies have failed to perform as well at the box office.

However, Clooney said his fellow actor should take himself less seriously to reverse the trend, telling Time: "Before they could kill me on Batman & Robin, I said: 'It's a bad film, and I'm the worst thing in it.' You try to defend an indefensible position, you'll look like a schmuck.

"The guys I dig don't do that. Look at Winston Churchill. He said: 'These are our shortcomings. Now let's get past it.’”

On the subject of Cruise, he added: "I talked to him the other day, and he's a good egg. There's nothing self-serving about what he's saying. He has to turn it into a way to make fun of himself."