Why Tom ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë may ¸«²ò¡Ê¤ò¤È¤ë¡Ë his daughter Suri as a '²ÄǽÀ­¤Î¤¢¤ë trouble source': ¤Þ¤Ã¤¿¤ÀÃæ¤Ë rumours the pair ¹Á¡¿ÈòÆñ½ê't spoken in 12 years, ALISON BOSHOFF ÌÀ¤é¤«¤Ë¤¹¤ë¡¿Ï³¤é¤¹s the very strange world of Scientology and why its »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ës could be ÈóÆñ¤¹¤ëd for ¶Ã¤¯¤Ù¤­¡¿ÆÃÌ¿¤Î¡¿Î×»þ¤Î ÉÔÏÂ

His is one of the most recognisable smiles on the ÏÇÀ± ¡½ not to ¤Ë¤Ä¤¤¤Æ¸ÀµÚ¤¹¤ë that defined jawline and striking profile.

So when Tom ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë's daughter, Suri, stepped out last ½µËö in New York on her 18th birthday, it was truly surprising to see just how much she looked like her famous father.

Yet while his daughter with actress Katie Holmes celebrated, her A-̾Êí¡Ê¤ËºÜ¤»¤ë¡Ë¡¿É½¡Ê¤Ë¤¢¤²¤ë¡Ë father was 3,500 miles away, filming in London.

You might imagine most fathers would endeavour to ¼¨¤¹ such a ÌÜ°õ date in person with their daughter.

But the last time ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë was pictured in Suri's company was nearly 12 years ago, in July 2012, when she was just six.

Tom Cruise's daughter Suri, pictured in New York on her 18th birthday, looks strikingly similar to her famous father

Tom ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë's daughter Suri, pictured in New York on her 18th birthday, looks strikingly Îà»÷¤Î to her famous father

The last time Cruise was pictured in Suri?s company was nearly 12 years ago, in July 2012, when she was just six as they visited Disney World Florida

The last time ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë was pictured in Suri's company was nearly 12 years ago, in July 2012, when she was just six as they visited Disney World Florida

It was a tumultuous time: he had just settled his Î¥º§ to Holmes and was enjoying a Êݸ¹´Î± visit to Disney World Florida. Suri ¡½ dressed as the Little Mermaid ¡½ clutched her father's ¼êÅϤ¹.

Many people ¡½ some of them ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë's former friends ¡ ½ ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ë he hasn't seen his daughter in person since then.

Could this ¤«¤â¤·¤ì¤Ê¤¤ be true?

The question of what sort of ´Ø·¸ ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë has with Suri ¡½ he also has two older children, Bella and Connor, ²Ä·è¤¹¤ë¡¦ºÎÂò¤¹¤ëd during his marriage to Nicole Kidman ¡½ is a riddle wrapped in an enigma and there is no ¡Êµ¿¤¤¤ò¡ËÀ²¤é¤¹ answer.

Calls and emails to Amanda Lundberg, his publicist, and to his lawyer, asking whether he has seen Suri, go unanswered.

It's all the more perplexing because ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë was so effusive about the importance of spending time with his daughter. Just think »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë to the 22-page Âç¿Ã¤ÎÃÏ°Ì in Vanity Fair in 2006, which pictured Suri for the first time.

'I always said to myself that my children would be able to depend on me, and I would always be there for them and love them,' a proud ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë told the magazine.

Now, though, that pride seems a world away ¡½ and the ´Å¤¤ ¼ÒºÄ between father and daughter looks to be ¸ÅÂå¤Î history.

Last summer a source ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ë to the actor told this newspaper he kept in touch with his daughter ·Ðͳ¤Ç Zoom and phone calls, and ÈÝÄꤹ¤ëd they were estranged.

Yet others µ¿Ìä this ¡½ and Æõ­¤¹¤ë¡¿°úÍѤ¹¤ë Scientology, the µÄÏÀ¤ÎŪ¤Ë¤Ê¤ë ½¡¶µ followed by ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë, as the possible ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ë of any schism.

When she was married to ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë, Holmes received »Ø¼¨¡¿¶µ¼ø¡¿¶µ°é in Scientology, and Suri was to have been raised a Scientologist.

However, after their ʬÎö¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë, she returned to her Roman ¥«¥È¥ê¥Ã¥¯¶µÅÌ Ìó« and was said to be keen to get Suri away from Scientology.

Fascinatingly, there's some question over whether the divide between ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë and Suri is É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë to Holmes ¸ºß Êݸî¤Î of her daughter ¡½ or ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë cutting her off at the Ì¿Îá of his ½¡¶µ.

Indeed, Scientology is °­Ì¾¹â¤¤ for discouraging ¿®Êô¼Ôs from »ý³¤¹¤ëing ´Ø·¸s with those outside the ½¡¶µ and has been routinely ÈóÆñ¤¹¤ëd for estranging its ½¼¤Æ¤ës from Èó¡¤ÉÔ¡¤Ìµ-¿®Êô¼Ôs, some of whom they ̾ÉÕ¤±¤ë¡¿¿á¤­Âؤ¨¤ë 'Suppressive Persons'.

Former ¼çÍ×¤Ê Scientologist Karen De La ±¿Á÷¡¿ÊÝ¶Ý¼Ô ¡½ once married to the ½¡¶µ's ÂçÅýÎΡ¤¡¿¼ÒĹ ¡½ tells me she's sure Scientology is at the root of the ÉÔÏÂ.

Before her parents? divorce, Suri was pictured incessantly, almost always being held by her father. And then, as soon as the split was announced in 2012, that ended

Before her parents' Î¥º§, Suri was pictured incessantly, almost always ¸ºß held by her father. And then, as soon as the ʬÎö¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë was ȯɽ¤¹¤ëd in 2012, that ended

There are questions over whether the divide between Cruise and Suri is down to Katie Holmes b
eing protective of her daughter ? or Cruise cutting her off at the behest of Scientology, the controversial religion he follows

There are questions over whether the divide between ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë and Suri is É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë to Katie Holmes ¸ºß Êݸî¤Î of her daughter ¡½ or ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë cutting her off at the Ì¿Îá of Scientology, the µÄÏÀ¤ÎŪ¤Ë¤Ê¤ë ½¡¶µ he follows

She said: 'Katie was ¤ß¤Ê¤¹d a Suppressive Person and Suri, by ³ÈÄ¥, ²ÄǽÀ­¤Î¤¢¤ë Trouble Source. Tom cannot engage or connect with his own daughter. In Scientology, it is Scientology first, family Í¥Àès come low É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë in the order.'

Brendan Tighe, who worked in ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë's °ÂÁ´ ¾ÜºÙ¡Ê¤Ë½Ò¤Ù¤ë¡Ë and was a Scientologist, told me this week: '´ðËÜŪ¤Ë when it comes to Scientology thinking, there is a disconnection À¯ºö. When it's ŬÍѤ¹¤ëd rigorously, there is no room for emotion.

'So long as Suri Ì£Êý¤¹¤ës with her mom, there will be no ÀÜ¿¨¤¹¤ë with her dad.'

¥Þ¥¤¥¯ Rinder, once Scientology's number three, knew ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë and his family first-¼êÅϤ¹ for years. Since leaving the ½¡¶µ, he has spoken out against it, and recently published an autobiography A Billion Years.

Rinder tells me his own oldest children, who remain ¿®Êô¼Ôs, will not speak to him because he has left the ½¡¶µ. He says he is sure this is the ¿äÏÀ¤¹¤ë¡¿Íýͳ for the ÌÀ¤é¤«¤Ê ·èÎö¡¿¸Î¾ã between ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë and Suri.

'Because Katie took the lead in getting the Î¥º§, springing a 'surprise' on the most °æ¸Í¡¿ÊÛ¸î»ÎÀÊ-known Scientologist on Earth, she committed a 'Suppressive ¹Ô°Ù¡¿Ë¡Îá¡¿¹ÔÆ°¤¹¤ë'. Thus, Tom could not be connected to her,' he says.

Would this not trouble ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë? Rinder says not, Äɲ乤ëing: 'Scientologists believe everyone is a spiritual ¸ºß who lives many lifetimes. The ¸ºß that is your mother this lifetime could have been your daughter in a previous life ¡½ and this ¸º¤é¤¹s the importance of familial ´Ø·¸.'

½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë might take ÌäÂ꡿ȯ¹Ô¤¹¤ë with this, not least because it all comes from ex-Scientologists who ÂѤ¨¤ë animus ¤Ë¸þ¤«¤Ã¤Æ his ½¡¶µ.

A Scientology ¹­ÊóôÅö¼Ô did not Åú¤¨¤ë¡¿±þ¤¸¤ë to a request to discuss any ÌÀ³Î¤Ê¡¿ºÙÉôs of what the ¾õ¶·¡¿¾ðÀª might be between Suri and ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë. However, the church has said in the past that it never 'orders' ¿®Êô¼Ôs to disconnect from anyone, and the practice does not have anything to do with 'former members or people who are ÈãȽŪ¤Ê of the Church'.

Yet it is ³Î¤«¤Ê that the happy family ̤Íè which ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë pictured for himself, Suri and her older siblings, who remain Scientologists, has not transpired.

Indeed, some say a Îà»÷¤Î dynamic can be seen after ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë's Î¥º§ from Nicole Kidman ¡½ who no longer follows Scientology, and has seen very little of their children, Bella, 31, and Conor, now 29, since then.

Before her parents' Î¥º§, Suri was pictured incessantly, almost always ¸ºß held by her father. And then, as soon as the ʬÎö¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë was ȯɽ¤¹¤ëd in 2012, that ended. Holmes moved to New York and took ¶ìÄËs to keep her child out of the public ÃíÌܤ¹¤ë¡¤¤â¤¯¤í¤à.

The ÌäÂ꡿ȯ¹Ô¤¹¤ë of Suri's ´Ø·¸ with her father became explosively public in September 2013, when ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë took ¹çˡŪ¤Ê ³èÆ°¡¿ÀïÆ® against two magazines which said he had 'abandoned' his daughter.

The Áʾ٠was settled out of Ë¡ÄºÛȽ½ê, and it was ¡Êµ¿¤¤¤ò¡ËÀ²¤é¤¹ ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë ÅÜ¤Ã¤Æ resented the ¼çÄ¥. During a deposition, he ǧ¤á¤ë he had not seen the then six-year-old for 110 days over the previous summer, ¸¢Íø after the Î¥º§.

He said he and Suri instead kept in touch by phone, as he was busy with filming: 'I tell wonderful stories... I've gotten pretty good at communicating.'

He Äɲ乤ëd that ¼ê¤Ï¤º¡¿½àÈ÷ with Holmes were Ê£»¨¤Ë¤¹¤ëd.

He said: 'Listen, when there is a Î¥º§... it's more Ê£»¨¤Ë¤¹¤ëd. Things change.

He Äɲ乤ëd: 'Certainly what doesn't change is the love I have for my daughter, and the fact I didn't abandon her emotionally, ÆùÂÎŪ¤Ë, or ¤µ¤â¤Ê¤±¤ì¤Ð.'

One can only hope he would say the same today.