Tom Cruise surprised a group of acting school students by showing up at their graduation ceremony unannounced Sunday and speaking about the craft that has made him one of the highest-paid celebrities in the world.

The New York Post reports that Cruise showed up at the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio in Santa Monica, California, surprising the audience. “It was one of the most inspiring speeches we’ve had,” a source told the paper. “It was so much more than a lecture about what to do in an audition.”

Cruise offered some advice for the acting hopefuls and recalled the early days of his career. Most of all, he told them that being a diva is not a good idea. He mentioned a story about how the director of 1981’s Taps got upset with him when he shaved his head.

“He said that when you do finally get the chance of being in a movie, don’t spend the time in the trailer,” another witness told the Post. “He said you need to experience everything on the movie, talk to everyone on the crew, the grips, everyone. Learn everything you can. You will never get that time back...He talked about trying to be as prepared as possible, and that you can only depend on yourself.”

People reports that one student also shared an image on Twitter.

According to USA Today, Cruise has a family connection with the school. His cousin, William Mapother, graduated.

“That he took time out of his incredibly busy schedule to speak to a graduation class of 60 students was overwhelming,” student Greice Santo told the Post. “FYI, I’m available for the next Mission: Impossible.”

image: Twitter