LONDON - The London premiere of "War of the Worlds" turned into a war of words after Tom Cruise was squirted in the face by a man posing as a reporter.

Four men were released on bail after being arrested and were ordered to return to a police station Monday.

The actor was outside a movie theater in central London's Leicester Square on Sunday doing press interviews when a man squirted him with a water pistol disguised as a microphone, London's Metropolitan Police said.

Cruise initially appeared to laugh at the incident but then asked the prankster: "Why would you do that?"

As the man gave a barely audible excuse, Cruise said: "Do you like thinking less of people, is that it?" The prankster tried to walk away but Cruise reached across the metal barrier, held his arm and said: "Don't run away. That's incredibly rude. I'm here giving you an interview and you do that ... it's incredibly rude."

The actor grew increasingly irritated and told the man: "You're a jerk." Footage of the incident appeared on Sky News TV on Monday.

Police detained the man who squirted Cruise and arrested three other men who filmed the incident. The four were working on a new comedy show for British television station Channel 4 in which celebrities are the targets of practical jokes.

Police released the men on bail several hours later and ordered them to return to a central London police station on Monday, when they may be charged with assault, the police spokesman said.

Actress Katie Holmes, who recently got engaged to Cruise, was at the premiere but not by his side at the time of the incident.