Tom Cruise Pal Reveals Cigarettes & Hunting Past  9/2/05

CAn old pal of movie star Tom Cruise has rocked the actor's nice guy image by revealing he used to lead cruel attacks on mice and birds and reward his gang with cigarettes.

The War of the Worlds star's past has come back to haunt him in the guise of Kentucky childhood pal Tommy Puckett, who has revealed some of Cruise's darkest secrets to US tabloid the Globe.

Puckett claims his famous pal was the leader of a gang of naughty kids who used to terrorize neighborhood pets and vermin.

He reveals, "One of our hobbies was to take my BB gun and shoot at critters like rabbits, squirrels, mice and birds. Tom was a pretty good shot.

"He became the leader of the pack and he would reward our loyalty by buying cigarettes from the corner store for all of us to smoke."