It has long been rumored that Katie Holmes auditioned for the role of Tom Cruise’s missus via the controversial Church of Scientology, of which Cruise is a high-ranking member. That claim has been disputed, but a new blockbuster Vanity Fair article claims that Holmes wasn’t the first choice for Cruise’s wife.

Apparently, Scientology officials auditioned actresses who were also members of the church for the coveted post. They were told they were auditioning for a training film and were asked their thoughts on Tom Cruise, as well.

Nazanin Boniadi, who was born in Iran, raised in London and had a role on ‘General Hospital,’ won the “part” in October 2004. She was audited daily about her innermost secrets and her sex life. She had to sign a pair of confidentiality agreements, get rid of her braces and her boyfriend, as well as red highlights in her hair.

When she met Tom Cruise, they had a dinner and ice skating date in New York City, and were joined by an entourage of Scientology aides.

Boniadi reportedly fell for Tom Cruise, but the feelings were not reciprocated. She lived in his home (and shared a bedroom with him) and used a credit card issued to his production company, but he once told her that he gets “more love from an extra.”

By January 2005, she was relocated to Scientology’s Celebrity Center in Hollywood and was told the relationship was over since Cruise wanted someone in the same power strata as ex-wife Nicole Kidman.

Boniadi was then transferred to a facility in Florida, where she revealed details of the relationship and was subsequently punished for her indiscretion. The punishment allegedly included manual labor like cleaning toilets with toothbrushes and washing tiles with acid, as well as digging ditches. The church has denied such claims.

Former Scientologist Paul Haggis confirmed the Boniadi audition, saying, “Naz was embarrassed by her unwitting involvement in the incident and never wanted it to come out, so I kept silent. However I was deeply disturbed by how the highest ranking members of a church could so easily justify using one of their members; how they so callously punished her and then so effectively silenced her when it was done.”

The Church said Haggis was trying “grab headlines.” It also suggested that Haggis and Boniadi are in a relationship, hence his comments.

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