Tom Cruise gushed to the New York Post's Liz Smith about his wife, daughter -- and even his former UA business partner.

Of course, Tom says he looks forward to wife Katie Holmes' debut on Broadway in "All My Sons" on Sept. 18.

When asked about his adorable tot Suri, Cruise said: "She's so charming; she's so beautiful; she's just great!"

Tom also spoke about the stepping down of partner Paula Wagner from her post as CEO of United Artists, saying "I'll say this of her leaving United Artists -- whatever Paula wants is what I want her to have! And I hope we'll continue working together on future projects."