Tom Cruise and Jack Ma pose for photos at the premiere of "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" in Shanghai, on Sept. 6, 2015. (Photo : China.org.cn)
Hollywood actor Tom Cruise met with e-commerce tycoon Jack Ma at the Chinese premiere of "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" in Shanghai on Sunday.
Ma, one of China's richest men, appeared at the event to meet and talk with Cruise, who is now in China to promote his latest spy action thriller. One of the major investors of the movie is Alibaba Pictures, the film branch of Alibaba Group headed by Ma, its founder and executive chairman.
"How can a man be that handsome? And how can a handsome man be that great? You know, I'm considered the most ugly [sic] and unique looking person in China," Ma joked. "That is why when I'm looking at a handsome man, I'm always jealous. But I'm never jealous of him. He's so great. Congratulations to all those great movies."
Ma also revealed that the first "Mission: Impossible" film is his favorite Cruise film, although the first movie he saw starring the 53-year-old actor is the 1986 action drama "Top Gun."
In turn, Cruise said he admired Ma's accomplishments.
"I worked hard to give the audience the best story and the best performances of the highest quality in every film I've ever made since I was 18. I've worked very, very hard, and I want to entertain. This is what I'm here to do," said Cruise, adding that he hopes to make more "Mission: Impossible" sequels and remain an action star when he is in his 90's.
"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" is written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and stars Tom Cruise in the lead role, along with Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris and Alec Baldwin.
McQuarrie and Ferguson also attended the Chinese premiere with Cruise on Sunday and at a meet-and-greet event in Beijing on Monday.
The fifth installment of the highly successful "Mission: Impossible" franchise, "Rogue Nation" scored the highest ever opening day for a non-3D Hollywood movie at the Chinese box office, raking in $18.5 million on Tuesday.
It is 116 percent ahead of the first-day gross of its predecessor "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," which earned more than $100 million in China, and ranks fifth in the highest opening day of all time overall in the country, following "Furious 7" ($54.4m), "Avengers: Age of Ultron" ($29.2m), "Transformers: Age of Extinction" ($27.4m) and "Terminator Genisys" ($26.7m).
