Cruise not fazed by 'Valkyrie' controversy

Tom Cruise was not disheartened by the scepticism surrounding his World War II epic 'Valkyrie' - insisting he has courted controversy throughout his movie career.

The actor plays injured World War II Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who led a plot to assassinate Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in 1944.

The prospect of Cruise taking on the role initially came under fire from the history-making colonel's children, who voiced objections to the Hollywood superstar portraying their father.

The German government was also apprehensive about the big screen venture, and discussed at length whether to allow filmmakers to shoot scenes at certain historic German landmarks.

But the star insists he was unfazed by the negative attention the film attracted at first , because he has frequently faced backlash due to his film choices.

He told Britain's Mail on Sunday: "I knew it ('Valkyrie') would be controversial. We've never seen this perspective before. But I couldn't ignore it because the story is so compelling, it's about trying to bring down the greatest evil in the world from the inside. That makes for a fantastic thriller.

"And I've done controversial films before. With 'Rain Man' they were hanging Dustin Hoffman and me out to dry. With 'Interview with the Vampire', (author) Anne Rice took out a full-page ad against me taking on the part. When I did Kubrick it was controversial. There have always been these things. But I like challenging roles."