Tom Cruise is an award-winning American actor and director best known for his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ film series. He is regarded as one of America’s top movie stars, and in 2012, he was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. There was nothing in his early life to suggest that he would one day become one of the world’s most famous actors. He was born in New York to an abusive father and raised in near-poverty. Cruise aspired to be a priest rather than an actor since he was a teenager. However, fate had other ideas for him, and as a 19-year-old, he found himself in a small role in the film ‘Endless Love.’ He recognized that acting was something he was naturally good at and wanted to pursue it as a career. He played a variety of supporting roles over the next few years until landing his first significant role in the romantic comedy ‘Risky Business.’ He took Hollywood by storm in no time, strikingly gorgeous and endowed with boyish charms. He quickly established himself as a much sought after A-list celebrity. When he was cast as secret agent Ethan Hunt in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ film series, his reputation skyrocketed.
Childhood and Adolescence
In Syracuse, New York, he was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, the son of Mary Lee and Thomas Cruise Mapother III. His mother was a special education teacher and his father was an electrical engineer. He is the youngest of three sisters.
He grew raised in near-poverty and had a tough upbringing. His father was a violent man who would beat young Tom on the flimsiest of pretexts.
When his father was offered a post in the Canadian Armed Forces, the family relocated to Canada. However, Tom Cruise’s parents divorced after only a few years, and he returned to the United States with his mother and sisters.
As a student, he became active in drama and was encouraged by his professors, who saw the boy’s inherent talent for acting. He desired to be a Catholic priest as a youth and temporarily attended a Franciscan seminary in Cincinnati on a church grant.
Career of Tom Cruise
He abandoned his plans to become a priest in his late teens and instead pursued a career as an actor. As a 19-year-old, he traveled to New York and was successful in landing a small role in the 1981 film ‘Endless Love.’
He portrayed Joel Goodson in the romantic comedy ‘Risky Business’ in 1983, after playing small roles in a few more films. The movie was a smash hit, and Tom Cruise’s chocolate-boy good looks made him the heartthrob of millions of American girls.
In 1986, he played Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a rookie naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, in the action drama film “Top Gun.” This film was also a great hit, solidifying his status as a celebrity.
With films like ‘The Color of Money’ (1986), ‘Cocktail’ (1988), ‘Rain Man’ (1988), and ‘Born on the Fourth of July,’ his streak of success extended into the late 1980s (1989).
He frequently shared the screen in the early 1990s with actress Nicole Kidman, whom he had married in 1990. In films like ‘Days of Thunder’ (1990) and ‘Far and Away,’ the real-life pair played lovers (1992).
When he played Ethan Hunt in the action spy film ‘Mission: Impossible’ in 1996, he had unprecedented success. The plot revolves around agent Hunt and his quest to find the mole who has accused him of murdering his entire crew. The film was a box office smash, spawning a slew of sequels.
With films like ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999), ‘Vanilla Sky’ (2001), ‘Minority Report’ (2002), ‘The Last Samurai’ (2003), ‘Collateral’ (2004), ‘War of the Worlds’ (2005), and ‘Lions for Lambs,’ he remained a bankable and popular figure throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s (2007). ‘Rock of Ages’ (2012), ‘Jack Reacher’ (2012), ‘Oblivion’ (2013), and ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ are some of his more recent films (2014).
Tom Cruise appeared in ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,’ the fifth entry of the Mission: Impossible series, in 2015. In 2018, he returned to the role in ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout,’ the franchise’s sixth installment.
He featured in the horror film ‘The Mummy’ in 2017. The film was a remake of the same-named Boris Karloff picture from 1932.
Major Projects of Tom Cruise
One of his most well-known films is the war drama ‘Born on the Fourth of July’ (1989). Cruise was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as Ron Kovic in the film. The movie was a critical and financial triumph.
Tom Cruise is most known for his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ films, a series of action spy thriller films based on the same-named television series. With almost $2 billion in worldwide gross, the series is the 17th highest-grossing film series of all time, and it has helped Cruise maintain his superstar status throughout the years.
Achievements & Awards
Tom Cruise has won three Golden Globes, including Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for ‘Born on the Fourth of July’ in 1990 and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical for ‘Jerry Maguire’ in 1997.
In 2003, he was honored by the National Mentoring Partnership with the Excellence in Mentoring Award for his contributions to the organization.
In 2005, he earned the ‘Special David’ award from the David di Donatello Awards.
For his work as a dedicated philanthropist, Cruise received a humanitarian award from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre and Museum of Tolerance in 2011.
Philanthropic Contributions
Tom Cruise overcame dyslexia as a child and went on to start the Hollywood Education and Literacy Project, which helps youngsters learn to read and prosper. Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Friars Foundation, H.E.L.P., and Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation are among the charities he has sponsored.
Personal & Family Life
In May 1987, Tom Cruise married actress Mimi Rogers. Cruise was introduced to Scientology by Rogers, who later became an active supporter of the Church of Scientology. However, their marriage dissolved in February 1990.
He married actress Nicole Kidman in December 1990. The couple had two children together, but their marriage ended in divorce as well.
He married Katie Holmes for the third time on November 18, 2006. They are the parents of a daughter. Holmes filed for divorce from Cruise on June 29, 2012, after five and a half years of marriage.
He had relationships with Spanish actress Penelope Cruz and British-Iranian actress Nazanin Boniadi in addition to his three marriages.