Tom Cruise's ex-publicist spills on what it was like working for Tom Tom Cruise was represented by Pat Kingsley for 12 years. Pat Kingsley pictured with Drew Barrymore in 2002. SHE'S been described as "Hollywood's once-most-feared woman" - a title apt for a woman who managed Tom Cruise's career for 12 years. Pat Kingsley, who for the majority of her working life was also dubbed Hollywood's most powerful publicist has given a revealing interview for the first time in years at the age of 81. Kingsley also once handled the careers of Al Pacino, Will Smith, Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Barrymore and Woody Allen. But no client became as closely linked to her as Cruise, whom she signed during the early '90s. While she has not seen the Top Gun actor "in private" since their professional relationship ended in 2004, Kingsley still holds respect for him. "Tom Cruise was a prince," she said. Kingsley sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about how she became involved with Cruise in 1992, how he famously fired her in 2004 and everything in between. Here are some of her stunning insights into their relationship: On how she came to work with Cruise: "I met with him on the set of [1992's] A Few Good Men, and he grilled me in his trailer," she told The Hollywood Reporter. It was fabulous! What do you think about this? How important do you think Japan is? And how important do you think TV is opposed to print? I was quite taken with him. And then he called me and said, 'Let's start tomorrow.' Pat Kingsley, founder of public relations powerhouse PKG, which represents Tom Cruise among others, poses next to a movie poster for the actor at her office in 2002. On their relationship: The pair became so close "we could almost finish each other's sentence. We never really had a disagreement about direction or any particular interview. The trust became pretty complete on both sides. They would talk every day, often at 11pm. We talked constantly. He was an insomniac. I liked the fact that he was so much fun. And he was so thoughtful. He remembered birthdays, my daughter's birthday. He came to her wedding; she was registered somewhere for the china, and he bought out everything. They've got things they haven't even opened yet, and they've been together 15 years! Oh how she handled his relationship with Scientology: Cruise's Scientology played a role in the demise of their association, but only toward the end, Kingsley says. Before that, there had been just one serious conflict with reps for the religious organisation, "but it was taken care of very early in the game. I felt that they were involved in a story that I was doing on Tom, and I said: 'It's not your story, it's Tom's. You have to step aside. And they did. Cruise later wanted to be more vocal about his beliefs. "I did have that conversation with Tom, about cooling it," notes Kingsley, saying she told him: " 'Scientology is fine. You want to do a tour for Scientology? Do a tour for Scientology. But Warner Bros. is sponsoring this tour. That was for [2003's] The Last Samurai. He didn't say yes or no, except he did not discuss Scientology on that European tour. Publicist to the stars Pat Kingsley on set with Will Smith. Oh how she was fired by Cruise: "His assistant called and made an appointment for Tom to come into my office," Kingsley told The Hollywood Reporter. He had never been to my office before. And he came in, had a few minutes of chitchat, and he said, 'I want you to know I've decided to make a change.' I said: 'I knew that was going to happen today. I guess I'll probably take a pretty big hit with the media.' And he said, 'Well, we've all had those hits, haven't we?' I said, 'Yeah. I'll be OK.' And then I said, 'A lot of people have worked on your behalf that you're not aware of, and I'd like to have you say hello to them.' So I took him around, and he saw everybody and even went to see the mailman, just as cordial as could be. On why she thinks their relationship ended: The end of their relationship in many ways meant the end of Kingsley's run at the top. She realised it was coming: The late-night chats had dried up, and she wasn't travelling with Cruise as much as before. "I'd had so much control over everything," she observes. I think he wanted to be more personally involved in all those decisions. He felt, 'Look, it's been 14 years. I think it's time I tried something different.' And I certainly had no quarrel with that. It was his life, his career. It was not working. I was not having the rapport. I felt a kind of pulling back, and I knew it was going to happen. Kingsley says she told Cruise to "cool it" with Scientology. Following Kingsley's split with Cruise, he hired his sister Lee Anne Devette to act as his publicist instead. He is now represented by Amanda Lundberg.