George Clooney says Tom Cruise is a "good egg"

George Clooney has praised fellow actor Tom Cruise - calling him a "good egg".

The 'Michael Clayton' star thinks Tom - who has been universally mocked for following the bizarre cult of Scientology - will be less of a joke if he can learn to laugh at himself.

He said: "I talked to Tom 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."

George also revealed he has mastered the skill of disguising his annoyance with a public sense of humour.

He added to Time magazine: "I don't talk about my personal life. People say they won't talk about their personal life. And then they do.

"And even when the tabloids say really bad things and it pisses you off and you know it's not true, you have to at least publicly have a sense of humor about it. That's how you have to deal with it."