In modern Hollywood, it’s hard to find a Scientology story that doesn’t orbit around Tom Cruise at some point. Introduced to the church in the mid-’80s, he eventually became its most visible celebrity advocate especially during the 2000s while also cementing his reputation as the industry’s most reliable stunt-obsessed action star. When people debate whether Scientology “helps” performers, Cruise is the name that gets brought up first, because he’s repeatedly credited the teachings with helping him focus and work through learning challenges like dyslexia. Even when he keeps quieter about it in recent years, he’s still widely regarded as a committed member rather than a celebrity who merely “dabbled.” | © Paramount Pictures
Before he was the face of Fight Club swagger and Oscar-season prestige, Brad Pitt’s name got loosely tethered to Scientology through an early-’90s relationship: he dated Juliette Lewis, who was raised in the church. Multiple reports over the years have claimed he attended courses or explored it for a period while they were together more “introduced to the world” than fully embedded in it. What matters for readers is the outcome: Pitt has never publicly identified as a Scientologist, never made it part of his image, and his adult public persona has steered toward humanitarian work and intensely private personal beliefs instead. So his “tie” is best understood as proximity and a reported short-lived experiment, not a lifelong affiliation. | © Plan B Entertainment
If Cruise is the flashiest headline, John Travolta is the long-haul case: a major star who’s spoken about Scientology as part of his life for decades. He was introduced in the mid-1970s, around the time he was breaking out with Welcome Back, Kotter, and he’s credited the church publicly with helping him handle grief most notably after the death of his son, Jett. That willingness to talk about it is also why Travolta’s film choices get pulled into the conversation; stories have circulated for years about the church weighing in on his career decisions, even as he kept taking roles that reshaped his image. Whatever you think of the organization, his connection has been consistent, public, and deeply intertwined with his personal narrative. | © Paramount Pictures
Being born into Scientology meant Juliette Lewis didn’t “discover” the church as an adult celebrity experiment it was part of the environment she grew up around, long before Natural Born Killers made her a household name. In the 1990s, she spoke about practicing, and she has publicly credited Scientology’s Narconon program with helping her get clean after years of addiction. That openness is also why her status became a recurring headline: in 2010 she answered “yes” when asked if she was a Scientologist, while still describing herself as spiritually eclectic. More recently, though, she’s signaled real distance, describing herself as a spiritualist and saying she doesn’t identify as a Scientologist anymore a shift that’s notable precisely because she used to address it head-on. | © Warner Bros.
The conversation around Scientology tends to flare up whenever The Handmaid’s Tale puts Elisabeth Moss back in the spotlight, because the show’s themes practically invite people to ask uncomfortable questions about real-life belief systems. She was raised in Scientology and has acknowledged the connection in interviews, but she usually treats it as private and pushes back on the idea that she should be a spokesperson for the church. Unlike some high-profile ex-members, she hasn’t publicly announced a break, so most reporting still frames her as connected to the religion rather than “former.” What makes her case stick in pop culture is that she’s also built a reputation for playing women trapped in controlling worlds from Mad Men to her bruising lead turn in The Invisible Man which keeps the discourse cycling back whenever a new project lands. | © MGM Television
If you know him as Luis the human espresso shot of exposition in the Ant-Man movies his real-life Scientology connection can come as a surprise, mostly because he doesn’t build his public persona around it. Peña has said he got involved around 2000 after worrying that his drinking was getting too habitual, and that the church’s programs felt more “practical” to him than purely faith-based. Over the years, he’s described Scientology as something that helped him sharpen his focus and craft, even if he tends to discuss it only when directly asked. Career-wise, he’s bounced between prestige ensembles (Crash, American Hustle), hard-edged cop dramas (End of Watch), and blockbuster comedy, which makes his low-key approach to the topic stand out even more. | © Marvel Studios
A lot of Riley Keough’s Scientology “tie” is really an origin story: she was raised around it because of her family’s environment, not because she launched a celebrity crusade. In a major profile, she talked about growing up with spirituality as a constant in her life while also making clear she doesn’t go to church and doesn’t identify with any specific religious institution more personal faith than organized affiliation. That nuance matters, because her name often gets pulled into Scientology conversations simply due to the Presley family’s history and the way Hollywood loves a dynasty narrative. Professionally, she’s carved out a reputation for choosing interesting, off-center projects (Daisy Jones & The Six, Zola) while still popping up in massive franchises so the public keeps circling back to her background whether she invites it or not. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
He’s the kind of actor you recognize instantly wide-eyed intensity, slightly off-kilter energy even if you don’t always remember his name until someone says “the guy from Avatar.” Ribisi has been widely described as a lifelong Scientologist, and he’s also been linked to high-profile church events over the years, which is why he’s frequently listed among the more firmly connected Hollywood members. Unlike celebrities who treat the topic like a branding tool, he tends to stay private, letting the work speak: the jump from Saving Private Ryan to Boiler Room to big-budget sci-fi is a résumé built on sharp supporting turns. Because he hasn’t publicly announced a departure, most coverage still frames him as actively connected especially with family ties that keep the association in the spotlight. | © 20th Century Fox
What makes Leah Remini’s Scientology story so headline-proof is that it isn’t just “celebrity member” trivia it’s a full before-and-after arc. She was brought into the church as a child (she’s said she joined at nine), spent decades inside, and then left in 2013, which is the moment her public identity around the topic flipped overnight. Instead of quietly moving on, Remini put her experience on the record through her memoir Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology and the docuseries Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, where former members described their own experiences and she challenged the church’s narrative directly. For readers, the key detail is simple and verifiable: she’s not “still tied” as a participant she’s tied because she left, and she keeps talking about why. | © Sony Pictures Television
Not every departure comes with a scorched-earth interview tour, and Laura Prepon’s is a good example of a quieter exit that still matters because she confirmed it plainly. In 2021, she said she hadn’t practiced Scientology in close to five years and that it was no longer part of her life clear wording that avoids the usual “I don’t really talk about it” dodge. The interesting wrinkle is that her name had been associated with the church for years, so that one update effectively re-labeled her as a former participant without turning her into a full-time critic. Career-wise, she’s got two massive TV pillars Orange Is the New Black gave her the grown-up reinvention, while earlier sitcom fame still defines her pop-culture footprint. | © Netflix
For a generation raised on early-2000s sitcom reruns, Francis Wilkerson is the image that sticks rebellious, chaotic, and somehow still lovable and that makes Christopher Masterson’s behind-the-scenes life feel almost intentionally off the grid. He’s long been described as a Scientology follower like his brother Danny Masterson, and reports have also tied them to shared business ventures over the years, the kind of quiet Hollywood networking that keeps these connections alive even when someone isn’t doing interviews about it. Masterson has never done a big public “here’s my status” declaration, so the most accurate framing is simply that he’s been associated for a long time and hasn’t publicly signaled a break. These days he’s also known as a DJ, which fits his generally low-profile post-Malcolm era. | © 20th Century Fox Television
It’s rare to see a working TV lead talk about Scientology with specifics, which is why Jason Beghe’s story gets cited so often: he’s described joining in 1994, getting pulled deep enough to appear in church promotional materials, and then walking away in 2007. He’s also put a number on it estimating he gave about $1 million over roughly a dozen years which turns the usual vague “took some courses” language into something concrete. After leaving, he became one of the recognizable ex-members willing to speak on camera, including in the HBO documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. That’s the Scientology tie in a nutshell: former insider, outspoken after the exit, not someone whose status is unclear. | © Universal Television
Back when Traffic made her a breakout name, Erika Christensen already had something unusual for a young actor in the spotlight: a calm, matter-of-fact way of talking about being raised in Scientology. In later interviews and podcast conversations, she’s emphasized that she thinks of it less as a “belief” and more as a set of practices, and she’s described easing into courses when she was still a kid rather than being pushed into a performative public identity. That perspective measured, personal, not preachy is also why she ends up on so many “celebrity Scientologists” lists even when she’s promoting totally unrelated work. Outside the religion conversation, she’s built a steady career in film and TV, from thrillers like Swimfan to long-run drama on Parenthood. | © USA Films
On Saturday Night Live, Chloe Fineman built her brand on razor-sharp impressions and that slightly unhinged, “I can’t believe she said that” energy that plays perfectly in live sketch comedy. Her name also pops up in Scientology conversations, but here’s the important distinction: unlike some high-profile members, she hasn’t made a public “yes/no” statement that’s widely quoted, so a lot of what circulates is based on reporting, lists, and industry chatter rather than on-the-record advocacy. That’s why you’ll see her described as having ties to Scientology without the same level of certainty attached to someone like Tom Cruise or John Travolta. In the meantime, her career footprint is very clear SNL, big-name hosting gigs, and a fast-growing reputation as one of the show’s most reliable utility players. | © Broadway Video
Family connections are often how Scientology threads its way into celebrity profiles, and Jordan Masterson is a textbook example. He’s widely reported as being connected to the church and is also part of the larger Masterson family orbit that’s been associated with Scientology for years, which keeps his name on “ties to Scientology” roundups even when he’s not giving interviews about religion. Most people recognize him from sitcom work he played Ryan Vogelson on Last Man Standing, the kind of recurring role that quietly runs for seasons and makes you feel like he’s always been on TV. What’s notable is that he’s kept things relatively low-key compared to louder celebrity adherents: no headline-making speeches, no public break announcement, just an ongoing association that tends to be treated as current in most entertainment coverage. | © 20th Century Fox Television
Scientology has been intertwined with Hollywood for decades—through famous members, family connections, and very public friendships. That visibility is why the topic keeps resurfacing, even when the details stay complicated.
Here, we’re focusing on actors whose ties to the Church of Scientology have been widely discussed in interviews, biographies, or major reporting. Some connections are direct, others more indirect—but all of them have helped keep the conversation in the spotlight.
