Watch David Miscavige In Action

With the airing of HBO's new Scientology documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief on the horizon, it's natural that you might be thirsting for information about some of the central figures within the religion. And when it comes to Scientology, nobody is more central than David Miscavige, the man who's led the Church nearly uncontested since founder L. Ron Hubbard's death in 1986. So, why not meet David Miscavige?

An adherent of Scientology from childhood on, the 54-year-old Miscavige is a secretive, inaccessible figure — he hasn't agreed to a major interview since 1992, when he endured an excruciating hour across from veteran ABC anchor Ted Koppel. The whole thing went badly enough that you can kind of get why he's allegedly fallen off the radar, at least as far as public conversations go.

Regardless, there are a handful of videos of Miscavige from through the years you can watch if you want to get a sense of the man. They may not shine much light on his supposed controversial, oft-alleged violent behavior — he's been accused of violent, physically abusive outbursts against subordinates, but the Church denies these claims — but here are four videos of Scientology leader David Miscavige.

The Infamous Ted Koppel Interview

If you've got an hour to spare, have a listen to Miscavige's widely viewed 1992 interview with Ted Koppel. If you don't have the time, here's a shorter version: Scientology is great, everyone who's made accusations against it are liars.

Trying To Sell Some New Books

Do you want to buy the revised, re-released works of L. Ron Hubbard? Miscavige sure hopes you do.

Honoring Tom Cruise

This event caused a major dust-up for Cruise and for the Church. It's video of Cruise discussing his involvement with Scientology. Often forgotten is what that video was for — it was a video for the ceremony honoring Cruise with Scientology's "Freedom Medal of Valor," an occasion that saw Miscavige speak glowingly of his top-dollar star.

Ringin' In The New Year

This video was taken at Scientology's 2013 New Year's bash, an event which the Church celebrated in opulent style. Oratory brilliance is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose, so I'll leave the critique up to you.

UPDATE: The Church of Scientology has reached out to Bustle, stating: "The accusations made in the film are entirely false and alleged without ever asking the Church."

Image: ScientologyExposed/YouTube