Russell Crowe seriously considered becoming a Scientologist in the past

The 51-year-old star said: "From a young kid, I was quite interested in religion. When I met Tom Cruise when he was married to [fellow Australian star] Nicole [Kidman], we were spending a bit of time together so I thought I'd find out a little bit about what he was into."

The Oscar winner reached out to Tom after struggling to find much information about the religion.

He told PEOPLE magazine: "I found a video in the video store about Scientology and I watched it. It wasn't that informative. But I brought it up with Tom and I thought he was really cool. He didn't try to sell me a pair of shoes. He just said, 'If it's something that interests you, you'll pursue it.' And I think that happens with any kind of religion if you come to it by your own discovery."

But Russell insists he never joined the church despite recently being named as a member in a report.

He said: "I never ended up putting my two cents down on anybody's table. I've never graced [Scientology's] doorway."