Connor Cruise puts DJ career on back burner to … become a fisherman?

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Connor Cruise has a new passion — and it has nothing to do with spinning records.

The 23-year-old son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman was a DJ for years. He was playing big gigs at the age of 16, and his career took him everywhere from Las Vegas to Australia. He even had a DJ alias, D.J. C-Squared, which he went by for a minute. But he has put that on the back burner for a new pursuit: fishing.

Is DJ Connor Cruise, pictured here in February 2016, a thing of the past? (Photo: Getty Images)
Is DJ Connor Cruise, pictured here in February 2016, a thing of the past? (Photo: Getty Images)

Now living in Clearwater, Fla. — yes, home to Scientology’s international headquarters — Connor has been spending his days deep-sea fishing, often with the company 2 Shea Charters, and he’s good. Earlier this month, he and his fishing team came in third in the Rotary Club of Clearwater’s Kingfish Tournament.

Prize winnings for the tourney were just over $1,000 for the group — considerably less than his DJ paychecks, which were $10,000 for a two-hour set back in 2012 (so probably considerably higher at the end of his run). We suspect his paycheck for Red Dawn, his first major film, was much larger than even that.

The tabloid Radar Online reports that Cruise’s passion is actually a profession. He works “as a deep-sea fishing deckhand” for 2 Shea Charters. He “guts off a boat deck” and then “works for peanuts filleting finny critters caught by tourists who have no idea he’s the son of Hollywood royalty.”

Patiently waiting for summer… #Hogzilla #FishColdDiveWarm

A post shared by Connor Cruise (@theconnorcruise) on Jan 15, 2018 at 10:14am PST

According to the article, he starts his day at 5 a.m., “heading out with groups that pay $850 for six hours of angling.” A source said, “He loves being out on the water, so this is really a dream job for him.”

A rep for the charter company hasn’t yet responded to Yahoo’s inquiries, but he is featured on the company’s Instagram page.

He’s also on one of the captains’ pages.

As for that DJ career, a rep for SKAM Artists, which booked gigs for him, tells us, “He hasn’t really DJ’ed in a while.” After he missed a gig the night of and gave no notice, they “somewhat have stopped sending him work.” That explains why when you land on his page on the SKAM website, it notes, “There are currently no scheduled events for Connor Cruise.”

Connor’s DJ page on SKAM Artists says he has no upcoming gigs. (Image: SKAM Artists)
Connor’s DJ page on SKAM Artists says he has no upcoming gigs. (Image: SKAM Artists)

Connor also worked with William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, and his bio had been deleted from the company’s website. The last photo he posted promoting a gig was in 2016, though a Tampa newspaper reported in September that he was going to DJ a local Halloween party in October.

One look at Connor’s Instagram page makes it clear that he’s enjoying his life on the water.

He posts photos of his catches all the time. And he’s called “Captain Connor.”

And some of his fishing buddies have been known to crack a joke about his famous lineage.

Connor’s life isn’t all fish guts. According to Radar Online, he hasn’t given up all his “privileged connections.” He lives in a three-bedroom townhouse. He owns a boat that costs $500,000. He drives a flashy bright yellow Mustang GT. And he also regularly dines on “five-star meals” at Scientology’s “ultra-private hotel, Fort Harrison.”

His father, a Scientology bigwig, recently bought a new home in Clearwater after selling off much of his L.A. real estate. Connor, who ended a relationship last year with a surfer and fisherwoman named Phylicia Bugna, reportedly has limited contact with his mother, Nicole Kidman, since she divorced Tom and left Scientology all those years ago. (Though he has always said nice things about her.)

Connor Cruise and his dad, Tom Cruise, catching a Dodgers game in L.A. in October 2013. (Photo: Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)
Connor Cruise and his dad, Tom Cruise, catching a Dodgers game in L.A. in October 2013. (Photo: Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

As for Connor’s siblings, he seems to stay close to his sister, Bella, who was also adopted by Tom and Nicole. She recently launched a T-shirt line and — in a surprise move — incorporated Kidman’s name into the business. (Bella has also reportedly had little contact with Kidman, who married Keith Urban and lives in Nashville with their two daughters.) Meanwhile, his younger half-sister Suri — from Tom’s marriage to Katie Holmes — turned 12 on Wednesday. But Tom hasn’t been spotted with Suri in years, so we imagine for Connor it has been even longer.

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