Versace's Killer Targeted Tom! Inside Creep's Twisted Obsession With Cruise Uncovered

Gianni Versace's murderer — AIDS-infected serial killer Andrew Cunanan — was obsessed with Tom Cruise, and bragged he’d one day become his lover, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively!

“Andrew was consumed by Tom,” Michael O’Brien, a one-time pal of the notorious gay gigolo, revealed.

“He lusted after him sexually. He had a Cruise gauge or meter when it came to rating other guys. If somebody said to him a guy on the street was cute, Andrew would say, ‘Oh, he’s OK, but he’s no Tom Cruise. No guy is as cute as my Tom.”

In an eerie twist, Cunanan was only a four-hour drive from Tom’s home in Clearwater, Fla., when he shot the 50-year-old “Designer to the Stars” on the front steps of his Miami Beach mansion.

Versace’s murder 20 years ago on July 15, 1997, shocked the nation — and Cunanan’s obsession with the Mission: Impossible superstar is among the revelations uncovered by RadarOnline.com ahead of the Jan. 17 premiere of the FX series The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

RadarOnline.com also discovered Cunanan — who brutally killed four men in three states before shooting Versace — was likely motivated by a sick thirst to seek revenge for being infected with AIDS-causing HIV.

San Diego AIDS counselor Mike Dudley said he spoke to Cunanan about safe sex.

He said Cunanan jumped up, kicked the wall and yelled, “If I found out who did this to me, I’m gonna get them.”

Six hours before Cunanan put a gun to Versace’s head, he spied on his victim at a popular Miami Beach hot spot called Liquid.

RadarOnline.com has learned the two men were close enough that night to touch each other, although Cunanan remained careful to keep his face hidden in the shadows.

“In hindsight, I never thought much about it,” revealed one witness.

“At first, I figured he was just another young wannabe hoping to attract Gianni’s attention. Now I know the opposite was true. He was there planning the kill.”

Kooky killer Cunanan “was dancing by himself until 4 a.m. And he looked really strange at times. It was like he was performing some sort of weird ritual,” spilled the witness.

Cunanan shot himself to death eight days after murdering Versace, and his obsession with Cruise is chilling given the implied danger Tom faced with the fanatic being just a short drive away.

“Andrew wanted to be Tom Cruise and often emulated him,” his pal Michael told RadarOnline.com.

“He’d go to Hollywood and hit the best places and drive around in a rented BMW in the hopes of running into his hero.

“He had a vast collection of leather jackets, but his favorite was the bomber jacket that looked exactly like the one Cruise wore in Top Gun. Andrew would look in the mirror and pretend to be the characters Tom played in the movies.