Gal Gadot discovered that she had somehow missed one of Hollywood’s strangest traditions involving Tom Cruise. Despite crossing paths with the superstar, the Wonder Woman actor never received his famous holiday cake. In fact, she did not even know the sweet ritual existed.
Gal Gadot revealed the surprising omission despite working with Tom Cruise on Mission: Impossible
The revelation came while Gal Gadot appeared on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. Shepard asked whether Tom Cruise had ever sent her his signature cake, prompting genuine confusion. Gadot asked “what cake” he meant before learning that Cruise sends a special coconut bundt cake to friends and longtime collaborators around Christmas.
The dessert comes from Doan’s Bakery in Woodland Hills, California. Its previous recipients have included Tom Hanks, Glen Powell, Jay Ellis, and Tramell Tillman, turning the annual delivery into something of an insider Hollywood badge. Shepard explained that people sometimes bring the cake to parties simply so others can finally taste it.
Gadot, however, had an easy explanation for her omission. Her part in Knight and Day, the 2010 action comedy starring Cruise and Cameron Diaz, lasted only one night. She therefore did not expect to make the cake cut. “I worked with him for one night,” she said, adding that she could live with it. There was another reason, too: Gadot said she prefers chocolate and does not particularly like cake.
Her relationship with Cruise still left a strong impression. Gadot recalled that the production suddenly changed a scene after she had prepared her lines, forcing her to learn new material on the spot. She described filming with Cruise as an “incredible experience” and remembered him taking a genuine interest in her “family and heritage.”
Years later, Cruise remembered those conversations too. After Gadot became Wonder Woman, she visited his home with a director and producer. She expected he might not recognize her, but Cruise immediately remembered their earlier meeting and even asked about her grandfather, a Holocaust survivor.
