It was during the filming of Vanilla Sky that Tom Cruise separated from Nicole Kidman.

"It was such a difficult time in his life but you'd never have known it," says Jason Lee, who stars opposite Cruise in Vanilla Sky. "Given Tom's celebrity, it's amazing how he handles his daily machine. He left his personal problems and the media frenzy at the gate of the set. It was never an issue for him while he was working."

"I play a writer who is Tom's best friend. I learned so much by just watching him act and conduct himself on the set."

In Almost Famous, Lee portrayed a rock star and on Vanilla Sky he got to observe what he calls "the biggest star on this planet.

"I never want that kind of celebrity because I want to be around for a long time.

"The big publicity machine wants to make you an instant celebrity and then eat you up and spit you out. The only magazine that has ever approached me was Jane for its beefcake issue. I was more amused than anything. They need to rethink their definition of beefcake."

Lee worked with another celebrity when he filmed Stealing Stanford with Tom Green.

"I play a guy who promised his niece he'd pay to send her to college. Suddenly he needs to come up with $30,000.

"Tom Green plays my sidekick. He wears bad teeth and bad glasses. It's his first time playing a real character."


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