Tom Cruise prepared for his role as a Nazi assassin in new movie Valkyrie by studying American movie icon John Wayne. The actor wore an eye patch to play an injured World War II colonel leading a plot to assassinate Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in the film.

And Cruise called upon a 1969 western movie starring his Hollywood hero to get him through the dizzying experience.

He tells talk show host David Letterman, "I remember as a kid seeing John Wayne in True Grit. He had the eye patch - I didn't realize. I got a little nauseous when I first put it on. I lost depth perception, I was banging into things, I thought of John Wayne on the horse, and what it must've been like for him. He made it look so easy."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)