Tom Cruise gives co-star Dakota Fanning a birthday present every year

Tom Cruise enjoys checking in with his former on-screen daughter. Photo / Getty Images

Dakota Fanning didn’t expect to still be getting annual birthday gifts from Tom Cruise.

The 30-year-old actress worked with the Mission: Impossible star on 2005 movie War of the Worlds, and while she recently revealed he bought her her first cellphone when she turned 11, she’s confirmed he remembers her special day every year and told her he enjoys “checking in” with his former on-screen daughter.

Fanning told Entertainment Tonight: “He always sends me something every year. He gave me my first cellphone when I was 11 years old. That was my first gift from him and he’s remembered it every year since then.

The actress worked with Tom Cruise on the 2005 movie War of the Worlds. Photo / Getty Images

“I always am like, ‘Maybe when I’m 18 [he will stop]?’ Like that would be a normal place, you know what I mean? Or, like, 21 or whatever.

“And then he said a few years ago that he likes sort of that moment of checking in like once a year.

“It’s so thoughtful, and I really appreciate it.”

The Ocean’s 8 star celebrated her milestone 30th birthday in February and feels like she’s entering a new chapter.

She said: “I’m so grateful for all the opportunities that I have now at the moment and that I’ve had in the past.

“[I want to focus on] just being super present and enjoying it and not ever getting kind of too far ahead of myself.”

Fanning stars in Ishana Night Shyamalan's directorial debut, The Watchers. Photo / AP

Fanning can next be seen in The Watchers and enjoyed the experience of working with first-time director Ishana Night Shyamalan.

She said: “She’s such a wonderful person. Her spirit is so open and kind and she is really good at collaborating and loves collaborating and being with a group of people.

“So it was a very playful, collaborative environment.

“I think that’s such an important quality as a director, to be kind of adaptable and [to take] in something from everybody around you on set,” she added. “She definitely had her own vision and was super clear about what she wanted to do, but also it was [collaborative].”