Update

Tom Cruise: I Change Diapers

By Pete Norman

UPDATED 04/24/2006 at 04:05 PM EDT • Originally published 04/24/2006 at 12:55 PM EDT

New dad Tom Cruise isn't letting fatherhood slow him down.

Less than a week after the birth of his daughter, Suri, Cruise, 43, flew to Rome, Italy, on Monday for the world premiere of Mission: Impossible III.

"My own mission impossible was getting here today," Cruise told reporters at the movie's press event on Monday. "Kate said, 'Go have fun.'"

Last Tuesday, Cruise's fiancée, Katie Holmes, gave birth to the couple's first child together.

Early in the day on Monday, Cruise said he planned to stay in Rome for only eight hours before returning to Los Angeles to be with Holmes and their new daughter Suri. However he changed his plans and will continue on to do press in London on Tuesday and Paris on Wednesday.

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A leather-jacket clad Cruise made a grand entrance at the press event Monday, bounding onstage to wild cheers while costar Philip Seymour Hoffman was talking to reporters. "Sorry to interrupt," he said. "I just got off an airplane, so I'm way too tired."

Asked about baby duties, Cruise was quick to reply. "I changed her first. I change diapers all the time. We've got a whole system worked out – the B&B. (Katie) does the breastfeeding and I do the burping," he said. "And changing the diapers."

When the film's director J.J. Abrams asked Cruise if he'd slept properly since his baby's birth, the star said: "I haven't slept once." Added Cruise: "It's wonderful to be back in Rome. ... I have my newborn daughter. I didn't want to leave her."

It was nearly a year ago exactly that Cruise and Holmes made their first public appearance as a couple in Rome.

Later on Monday, Cruise and his costars took to the stage at Rome's Piazza del Popolo for an appearance in front of several thousand people. When one fan threw a teddy bear towards Cruise, the actor picked it up and thanked the crowd.

"Thank you so much. Thank you for the warm welcome you have given to my daughter Suri and fiancée Katie, and I just love you all."

Cruise proved that love at the movie's premiere Monday night. He spent two and a half hours on the red carpet, signing autographs, posing for photos and answering reporters' questions.

With him on the red carpet: his daughter Isabella, 13, and son Connor, 11.

As for heading on to Paris, Cruise said: "The next time I go to Paris – that's where I asked Katie to marry me – I want to go with her and my family."