Conan O’Brien is getting into the “driving in cars with celebrities” game, but he’s going about it a bit differently and a bit more awkwardly.
The TBS late-night host was in London and scheduled a car ride with Tom Cruise, who’s promoting his new movie “American Made.” While Cruise was expecting something like “Carpool Karaoke” or even “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” O’Brien had something different in mind.
“My thing is we take it back to basics… we just drive,” O’Brien said. “Two guys. Just going to drive.”
Just a casual drive through London. Nothing weird about that, right? Not normally, unless you’re O’Brien and don’t bother to ask any questions even though Cruise wants to engage in conversation, whether it’s telling you about Jack Nicholson or historical spots in London.
O’Brien decided to make the ride even more uncomfortable by telling Cruise that he might not even be allowed to drive at all, since his license was revoked in the U.S. after a “crazy night.” “You do not want to know why… I’d rather not get into it,” he said.
When O’Brien finally decided to engage with Cruise, he asks him whether he had good chemistry with Debra Winger in “An Officer and a Gentleman” — even though that 1980s movie starred Richard Gere.
It goes about as well as you’d expect.
If you can handle the awkwardness and want to see if Cruise manages to get out of this one alive, watch the full 11-minute clip above.