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Schauspieler, Filmproduzent

Der US-amerikanische Schauspieler und Filmproduzent Tom Cruise feierte 1986 seinen Durchbruch mit Top Gun – Sie fürchten weder Tod noch Teufel . Dank Filmen wie Rain Man , der Mission: Impossible -Reihe und Jerry Maguire – Spiel des Lebens mauserte er sich in Hollywood zu einem der gefragtesten Darsteller. In Deutschland steht man ihm aber auch kritisch gegenüber, denn er ist seit 1996 überzeugter Scientology-Anhänger.

Biografie zu Tom Cruise

Am 3. Juli 1962 wird Thomas Cruise Mapother IV in Syracuse im Bundesstaat New York geboren. Der lange Name klingt fast adlig, doch er wächst mit seinen drei Schwestern in recht ärmlichen Verhältnissen auf. Seine Eltern Thomas und Mary haben keinen festen Wohnsitz und ziehen deshalb ständig um. Durch die häufigen Ortswechsel besucht Tom Cruise mehr als 15 verschiedene Schulen in den USA und Kanada. Erst nach der Scheidung seiner Eltern bleibt er für längere Zeit an einem Ort. Fortan lebt er bei seiner Mutter und deren neuem Ehemann in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Als er 14 Jahre alt ist, lebt er ein Jahr lang in einem Priesterseminar, weil er katholischer Priester werden will.

Nach seinem Aufenthalt bei den Franziskanern verwirft Tom Cruise seinen geistlichen Berufswunsch allerdings wieder. In der Schule gilt sein Interesse vor allem der Schauspielerei und dem Sport. Er kämpft in der Ringermannschaft, muss diese aber wegen einer Knieverletzung verlassen. Daraufhin konzentriert sich Tom Cruise noch mehr auf die Schauspielerei. Mit 18 Jahren beginnt er sein Studium an der "Neighbourhood Playhouse School of Theatre" in New York.  

Tom Cruise beginnt seine Schauspielkarriere

Sein Leinwanddebüt gibt Tom Cruise 1981 im Filmdrama Endlose Liebe (mit Brooke Shields und James Spader), in dem er eine Nebenrolle übernimmt. Danach spielt er 1983 in  Die Outsider (mit Matt Dillon und Patrick Swayze ) und in der Komödie Lockere Geschäfte  mit, in der er seine erste Hauptrolle bekommt. 1985 spielt Tom Cruise eine weitere Hauptrolle im Fantasy-Epos Legende von Regisseur Ridley Scott.

1986 gelingt ihm dann der große Durchbruch: Top Gun – Sie fürchten weder Tod noch Teufel (mit Val Kilmer, Tim Robbins und Meg Ryan ) bringt weltweit über 340 Millionen Dollar ein. Damit macht Top Gun Tom Cruise zum erfolgreichsten Schauspieler seiner Generation. Mit weiteren Filmen wie Die Farbe des Geldes (1986, mit Paul Newman und Forest Whitaker ) und der Filmkomödie Cocktail (1988) mausert er sich endgültig zum Publikumsliebling.

Von "Rain Man" bis "In einem fernen Land"

Im Drama Rain Man (1988) spielt Tom Cruise den selbstverliebten Autohändler Charlie Babbitt, der sich um seinen autistischen Bruder Raymond ( Dustin Hoffman ) kümmert, um so ans Erbe seines Vaters zu kommen. Der Film wird in acht Kategorien für den Oscar nominiert, in vier Kategorien wird er mit der begehrten Trophäe ausgezeichnet. Tom Cruise geht dabei jedoch leer aus.

Ein Jahr später übernimmt er in Geboren am 4. Juli (mit Willem Dafoe und Kyra Sedgwick) die Rolle des gelähmten Vietnam-Veteranen Ron Kovic und wird dafür mit einem Golden Globe und seiner ersten Oscar -Nominierung belohnt. 1990 dreht Tom Cruise den Actionfilm Tage des Donners , in dem er neben Nicole Kidman die Hauptrolle spielt. Die beiden beginnen eine Affäre und heiraten nach seiner Scheidung von der Schauspielerin Mimi Rogers, mit der er zuvor vier Jahre lang liiert ist. 

Tom Cruise startet seine "Mission Impossible"

Von 1992 bis 1996 schafft er etwas, was noch keinem Schauspieler vor ihm gelang: Er dreht fünf Filme in Folge, die allein in den USA jeweils mehr als 100 Millionen Dollar einspielen – und zwar: Eine Frage der Ehre (1992, mit Jack Nicholson , Demi Moore und Kiefer Sutherland ), Die Firma (1993), Interview mit einem Vampir (1994, mit Brad Pitt , Kirsten Dunst und Antonio Banderas ) sowie Jerry Maguire - Spiel des Lebens (1996, mit Cuba Gooding Jr. und Renée Zellweger ), für den Tom Cruise zum zweiten Mal für den Oscar nominiert wird.

Als fünfter Streich erscheint 1996 Mission: Impossible (mit Jon Voight und Jean Reno ), ein Spionage-Thriller um den Agenten Ethan Hunt, zu dem es mittlerweile fünf Fortsetzungen gibt: Mission: Impossible II (2000), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Mission Impossible  – Phantom Protokoll (2011),  Mission: Impossible –  Rogue Nation (2015, mit Jeremy Renner und Simon Pegg ) sowie Mission: Impossible –  Fallout  (2018, mit Rebecca Ferguson und Henry Cavill ). "Mission: Impossible  – Dead Reckoning" - Teil Eins soll im Juli 2023 in die Kinos kommen.

Seine dritte Oscar -Nominierung bekommt Tom Cruise für seine Nebenrolle im Independent-Film Magnolia (1999, mit Julianne Moore und Philip Seymour Hoffman). Mit Ausnahme der James Bond -Parodie Austin Powers in Goldständer (2012, mit Mike Myers und Michael Caine ), in der er einen Cameo-Auftritt hat, spielt er bis ins Jahr 2007 ausschließlich ernsthafte Rollen. Unter anderem übernimmt der Hollywoodstar unter der Regie von Steven Spielberg 2002 die Hauptrolle im Science-Fiction-Thriller Minority Report (mit Colin Farrell und Max von Sydow) und agiert 2005 als Protagonist in Krieg der Welten (mit Dakota Fanning und Tim Robbins).

Für den Historienfilm Last Samurai (2003, mit Ken Watanabe und Billy Connolly) erhält er außerdem eine weitere Golden-Globe -Nominierung. 2008 nimmt der Schauspieler eine Nebenrolle in der Actionkomödie Tropic Thunder (mit Robert Downey Jr. und Jack Black ) von Ben Stiller an - mit Erfolg: Tom Cruise verdankt dem Film eine weitere Golden-Globe -Nominierung, diesmal als bester Nebendarsteller. 

Der Hollywoodstar als Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg

Ein umstrittenes Filmprojekt ist Operation Walküre   – Das Stauffenberg-Attentat (2008). Tom Cruise verkörpert darin den deutschen Widerstandskämpfer Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, dessen Attentat auf Adolf Hitler am 20. Juli 1944 fehlschlägt. Weil der Hollywoodstar Scientology-Mitglied ist, fordert der älteste Sohn des Grafen ihn dazu auf, auf die Rolle zu verzichten. Bei aller Kritik seitens der Nachkommen Stauffenbergs sowie der Medien erntet Tom Cruise für seine Darstellung des Obersts überwiegend positive Reaktionen. Für seine Rolle in Operation Walküre wird er mit dem Bambi "Courage" ausgezeichnet. 

Nach der Operation Walküre geht es für Tom Cruise eher durchwachsen weiter. Die Action-Komödie Knight and Day (2010, mit Cameron Diaz und Peter Sarsgaard), die eigentlich sein großes Comeback werden soll, floppt in den USA. Der Musicalfilm Rock of Ages (2012, mit Russell Brand und Catherine Zeta-Jones ) wird vom Publikum ebenfalls nur mäßig aufgenommen. Der Kriminalfilm Jack Reacher (2012, mit Rosamund Pike und Richard Jenkins ) erinnert zumindest wieder ein wenig an die Glanzzeiten von Tom Cruise und bekommt 2016 unter dem Titel Jack Reacher: Kein Weg zurück (mit Cobie Smulder und Robert Knepper) eine Fortsetzung.

Von seinen jüngeren Werken überzeugen im Kino vor allem der Science-Fiction-Thriller Edge of Tomorrow (2014, mit Emily Blunt und Bill Paxton ) sowie die auf wahrer Begebenheit basierende Abenteuerkomödie Barry Seal: Only in America (2017, mit Jayma Mays und Domhnall Gleeson). Mit Top Gun: Maverick  feiert Tom Cruise im Jahr 2022 wieder große Erfolge. Die Fortsetzung der Top Gun -Reihe wird unter anderem für den Oscar und die Golden Globes 2023 nominiert und gilt bis heute als erfolgreichster Film von Tom Cruise. 

Tom Cruise und die Frauen: Von Mimi Rogers bis Katie Holmes

Was seine Liebschaften anbelangt, bevorzugt Tom Cruise Schauspielerinnen. Im Jahr 1987 heiratet er Mimi Rogers, von der er sich nur drei Jahre später wieder scheiden lässt, um mit Nicole Kidman 1990 den Bund fürs Leben einzugehen. Das Paar adoptiert zwei Kinder – Sohn Connor und Tochter Isabella. Nach der Scheidung im Jahr 2001 wird das Sorgerecht für die Kinder beiden Elternteilen zugesprochen. Unmittelbar nach der Trennung beginnt Tom Cruise eine Partnerschaft mit Pénelope Cruz . Nach drei Jahren gehört auch diese Beziehung wieder der Vergangenheit an.

Im April 2005 macht Tom Cruise seine Liebe zu  Katie Holmes öffentlich. 2006 wird ihre gemeinsame Tochter Suri geboren. Nur wenige Monate später heiratet das Paar in Italien nach Scientology-Ritus. Im Juni 2012 geben Katie Holmes und der Schauspieler ihre Trennung bekannt.

Hat Tom Cruise eine Freundin?

Seit seiner Scheidung soll es keine neue Frau an seiner Seite geben. Laut den aktuellen Informationen ist Tom Cruise auch 2023 ungebunden. Es gab gelegentliche Gerüchte über kurze Affären, jedoch scheint nichts Ernsthaftes darunter gewesen zu sein. Es wurde auch berichtet, dass er in der Vergangenheit kurzzeitige Beziehungen mit anderen Frauen hatte, doch es gibt derzeit aktuell keine Anzeichen dafür, dass er vergeben ist.

Tom Cruise als Schauspieler: Seine wichtigsten Filme im Überblick

• Mission: Impossible 7 (2023)
• Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
• Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
• Die Mumie (2017)
• Barry Seal: Only in America (2017)
• Jack Reacher: Kein Weg zurück (2016)
• Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
• Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
• Oblivion (2013)
• Jack Reacher (2012)
• Rock of Ages (2012)
• Mission: Impossible – Phantom Protokoll (2011)
• Knight and Day (2010)
• Operation Walküre – Das Stauffenberg-Attentat (2008)
• Von Löwen und Lämmern (2007)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• Krieg der Welten (2005)
• Collateral (2004)
• Last Samurai (2003)
• Minority Report (2002)
• Vanilla Sky (2001)
• Mission: Impossible II (2000)
• Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
• Magnolia (1999)
• Jerry Maguire – Spiel des Lebens (1996)
• Mission: Impossible (1996)
• Interview mit einem Vampir (1994)
• Die Firma (1993)
• Eine Frage der Ehre (1992)
• In einem fernen Land (1992)
• Tage des Donners (1990)
• Geboren am 4. Juli (1989)
• Cocktail (1988)
• Rain Man (1988)
• Top Gun – Sie fürchten weder Tod noch Teufel (1986)
• Legende (1985)

Mehr Informationen über Tom Cruise

Oscars: Diese Schauspieler haben noch nie einen Academy Award gewonnen

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Hollywood-Superstar Tom Cruise feiert 60. Geburtstag

Tim Robbins

Forest Whitaker

Dustin Hoffman

Willem Dafoe

Nicole Kidman

Jack Nicholson

Kiefer Sutherland

Kirsten Dunst

Antonio Banderas

Renée Zellweger

Jeremy Renner

Julianne Moore

Michael Caine

Colin Farrell

Dakota Fanning

Ken Watanabe

Robert Downey jr.

Ben Stiller

Cameron Diaz

Russell Brand

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Rosamund Pike

Richard Jenkins

Cobie Smulders

Bill Paxton

Penélope Cruz

Katie Holmes

Henry Cavill

Russell Crowe

• Born July 3 , 1962 · Syracuse, New York, USA
• Birth name Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
• Height 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
• In 1976, if you had told fourteen-year-old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be Tom Cruise, one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to join the priesthood. Nonetheless, this sensitive, deeply religious youngster who was born in 1962 in Syracuse, New York, was destined to become one of the highest paid and most sought after actors in screen history. Tom is the only son (among four children) of nomadic parents, Mary Lee (Pfeiffer), a special education teacher, and Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer. His parents were both from Louisville, Kentucky, and he has German, Irish, and English ancestry. Young Tom spent his boyhood always on the move, and by the time he was 14 he had attended 15 different schools in the U.S. and Canada. He finally settled in Glen Ridge, New Jersey with his mother and her new husband. While in high school, Tom wanted to become a priest but pretty soon he developed an interest in acting and abandoned his plans of becoming a priest, dropped out of school, and at age 18 headed for New York and a possible acting career. The next 15 years of his life are the stuff of legends. He made his film debut with a small part in Endless Love (1981) and from the outset exhibited an undeniable box office appeal to both male and female audiences. With handsome movie star looks and a charismatic smile, within 5 years Tom Cruise was starring in some of the top-grossing films of the 1980s including Top Gun (1986) ; The Color of Money (1986) , Rain Man (1988) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989) . By the 1990s he was one of the highest-paid actors in the world earning an average 15 million dollars a picture in such blockbuster hits as Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) , Mission: Impossible (1996) and Jerry Maguire (1996) , for which he received an Academy Award Nomination for best actor. Tom Cruise's biggest franchise, Mission Impossible, has also earned a total of 3 billion dollars worldwide. Tom Cruise has also shown lots of interest in producing, with his biggest producer credits being the Mission Impossible franchise. In 1990 he renounced his devout Catholic beliefs and embraced The Church of Scientology claiming that Scientology teachings had cured him of the dyslexia that had plagued him all of his life. A kind and thoughtful man well known for his compassion and generosity, Tom Cruise is one of the best liked members of the movie community. He was married to actress Nicole Kidman until 2001. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV has indeed come a long way from the lonely wanderings of his youth to become one of the biggest movie stars ever. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tom McDonough, Grant failor
• Spouses Katie Holmes (November 18, 2006 - August 20, 2012) (divorced, 1 child) Nicole Kidman (December 24, 1990 - August 8, 2001) (divorced, 2 children) Mimi Rogers (May 9, 1987 - February 4, 1990) (divorced)
• Children Isabella Jane Cruise Suri Cruise Connor Cruise
• Parents Thomas Mapother III Mary Lee Pfeiffer
• Relatives William Mapother (Cousin) Amy Mapother (Cousin) Katherine Mapother (Cousin) Lee Anne De Vette (Sibling)
• Often plays romantic leading men with an edge
• Often plays characters caught up in extraordinary circumstances
• Frequently plays intelligent yet laidback and likeable characters
• Beaming smile and intense eye contact
• Boundless off-stage energy
• His acting idol is Paul Newman . Much to the delight of Cruise, they became good friends during work on The Color of Money (1986) . Newman got him into racing, and Cruise ultimately raced on his team.
• Stopped to help a hit and run victim and paid her hospital bills. The victim was aspiring Brazilian actress Heloisa Vinhas (1996).
• Insists on performing many of his own stunts in his films, including climbing the exterior of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, during the filming of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) , and driving during the car chases in Jack Reacher (2012) .
• Cruise earned roughly $75 million for Mission: Impossible II (2000) . He did this by turning down any upfront salary, for instead taking a back-end deal that landed him 30% of the film's gross for both his producing and acting duties.
• He did not stay for the remainder of the 2002 Academy Awards after opening them because it was his turn to look after his and ex-wife Nicole Kidman 's children. He reportedly left the Kodak Theatre by a back door after opening proceedings and dashed home to watch the rest of the event on television with his kids Connor and Isabella.
• The thing about filmmaking is I give it everything, that's why I work so hard. I always tell young actors to take charge. It's not that hard. Sign your own checks, be responsible.
• [to Jay Leno regarding his topless Vanity Fair cover shoot] I don't drink but I had a beer that night and they only did one setup like that. I'm a cheap date. What can I say?
• [on Eyes Wide Shut (1999) ] We knew from the beginning the level of commitment needed. We felt honored to work with Stanley Kubrick . We were going to do what it took to do this picture, whatever time, because I felt - and Nic [ Nicole Kidman ] did, too - that this was going to be a really special time for us. We knew it would be difficult. But I would have absolutely kicked myself if I hadn't done this.
• I have cooked turkeys in my day but when Mom's around I let her do it.
• I was 18 when I saw Akira Kurosawa 's Seven Samurai (1954) . After about 30 seconds, I realized that this was not just a cultural thing, it was universal. Years later, I read Bushido. It talked about many things that I strive for in my own life: loyalty, compassion, responsibility, the idea of looking back on your life and taking responsibility for everything you've ever done. I'm fascinated by the samurai and the samurai code - it's one of the main reasons I wanted to make The Last Samurai (2003) .
• Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two (2025) - $13,000,000 + % of back end
• Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) - $13,000,000 + % of back end
• Top Gun: Maverick (2022) - $13,000,000 + % of back end
• The Mummy (2017) - $13,000,000 + % of gross
• Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - $12,500,000 + % of back end

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Actor Tom Cruise is the star of several box-office hits, including Risky Business , A Few Good Men , The Firm , Jerry Maguire , and the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Who Is Tom Cruise?

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, better known as Tom Cruise, was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, to Mary and Thomas Mapother. Cruise's mother was an amateur actress and schoolteacher, and his father was an electrical engineer. His family moved around a great deal when Cruise was a child to accommodate his father's career.

Cruise's parents divorced when he was 11, and the children moved with their mother to Louisville, Kentucky, and then to Glen Ridge, New Jersey, after she remarried. Like his mother and three sisters, Cruise suffered from dyslexia, which made academic success difficult for him. He excelled in athletics, however, and considered pursuing a career in professional wrestling until a knee injury sidelined him during high school.

At age 14, Cruise enrolled in a Franciscan seminary with thoughts of becoming a priest, but he left after a year. When he was 16, a teacher encouraged him to participate in the school's production of the musical Guys and Dolls . After Cruise won the lead of Nathan Detroit, he found himself surprisingly at home on the stage, and a career was born.

'Taps,' 'The Outsiders'

Cruise set a 10-year deadline for himself in which to build an acting career. He left school and moved to New York City, struggling through audition after audition before landing an appearance in 1981's Endless Love , starring Brooke Shields. Around this same time, he snagged a small role in the military school drama Taps (1981), co-starring Sean Penn .

His role in Taps was upgraded after director Harold Becker saw Cruise's potential, and his performance caught the attention of a number of critics and filmmakers. In 1983, Cruise appeared in Francis Ford Coppola 's The Outsiders , which also starred Emilio Estevez , Matt Dillon and Rob Lowe —all prominent members of a group of young actors the entertainment press dubbed the "Brat Pack." The film was not well received, but it allowed Cruise to work with an acclaimed director on a high-profile project.

'Risky Business'

His next film, Risky Business (1983), grossed $65 million. It also made Cruise a highly recognizable actor — thanks in no small part to a memorable scene of the young star dancing in his underwear.

In 1986, after a two-year hiatus, the budding actor released the big-budget fantasy film Legend , which did poorly at the box office. That same year, however, Cruise's A-list status was confirmed with the release of Top Gun , which co-starred Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan . The testosterone-fueled action-romance, set against the backdrop of an elite naval flight school, became the highest-grossing film of 1986.

'The Color of Money,' 'Rain Man' and 'Born on the Fourth of July'

Cruise followed the tremendous success of Top Gun with a string of both critically acclaimed and commercially successful films. He first starred in The Color of Money (1986) with co-star Paul Newman , and then went on to work with Dustin Hoffman on Rain Man (1988). Cruise's next role, as Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic in the biopic Born on the Fourth of July (1989), earned him an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Actor.

'A Few Good Men,' 'The Firm' and 'Interview with a Vampire'

In 1992, Cruise proved once more that he could hold his own opposite a screen legend when he co-starred with Jack Nicholson in the military courtroom drama A Few Good Men . The film grossed more than $15 million its first weekend and earned Cruise a Golden Globe nomination. He continued to demonstrate his success as a leading man with The Firm (1993) and Interview with a Vampire (1994), which co-starred Brad Pitt.

'Mission: Impossible,' 'Jerry McGuire'

Next, Cruise hit the big screen with two huge hits—the $64 million blockbuster Mission: Impossible (1996), which the star also produced, and the highly acclaimed Jerry McGuire (1996), directed by Cameron Crowe. For the latter, Cruise earned a second Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe for Best Actor.

'Eyes Wide Shut,' 'Magnolia'

Cruise and then-wife Kidman spent much of 1997 and 1998 in England shooting Eyes Wide Shut , an erotic thriller that would be director Stanley Kubrick 's final film. The movie came out in the summer of 1999 to mixed reviews, but that year Cruise enjoyed greater success with the release of Magnolia . His performance as a self-confident sex guru in the ensemble film earned him another Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

'Vanilla Sky,' 'The Last Samurai'

Cruise then starred in the long-awaited smash hit Mission: Impossible 2 in 2000, alongside Anthony Hopkins , Thandie Newton and Ving Rhames. In 2002, he starred in Vanilla Sky , his second collaboration with Crowe, as well as Steven Spielberg 's Minority Report . The following year, Cruise traveled to Australia to shoot the $100 million war epic The Last Samurai, which earned him another Golden Globe nomination.

'War of the Worlds'

Cruise proved he remained a top draw by starring in the Spielberg-directed remake of the science-fiction classic War of the Worlds (2005), which grossed more than $230 million at the box office.

His next effort, Mission: Impossible 3 (2006), also scored well with audiences. However, Cruise was faced with a professional setback in August when Paramount Pictures ended its 14-year relationship with the actor. The company's chairman cited Cruise's erratic behavior and controversial views as the reason for the split, though industry experts noted that Paramount more likely ended the partnership over Cruise's high earnings from the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Cruise quickly rebounded and on November 2, 2006, he announced his new partnership with film executive Paula Wagner and the United Artists film studio. Their first production as a team, the political drama Lions for Lambs (2007), proved a commercial disappointment despite a strong cast that included Meryl Streep and Robert Redford .

'Tropic Thunder'

Taking a break from weighty material, Cruise delighted audiences with his performance in the comedy Tropic Thunder (2008). Despite his relatively small role in a movie that featured Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller , Cruise stood out by obscuring his trademark good looks to play a balding, obese movie studio executive.

'Valkyrie,' 'Rock of Ages'

In December 2008, Cruise released his second project through United Artists. The film, Valkyrie , was a World War II drama about a plot to assassinate German leader Adolf Hitler . Cruise starred as a German army officer who became involved in the conspiracy.

Cruise returned to one of his most popular franchises in 2011 with Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol . Breaking into new territory, he then starred in the 2012 musical Rock of Ages . Although Cruise received some positive reviews for his performance as a rock star, the movie failed to attract much of an audience.

'Jack Reacher,' 'Edge of Tomorrow'

Returning to his mainstream action roots, Cruise starred in the 2012 crime drama Jack Reacher , based on a book by Lee Child. He then headlined a pair of science-fiction adventures, Oblivion (2013) and Edge of Tomorrow (2014). Showing no signs of slowing down, the veteran actor in 2015 delivered his usual high-energy performance for the fifth installment of his blockbuster franchise, Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation .

Latest Movies and Familiar Franchises

In 2016, Cruise reprised the role of Jack Reacher for Never Go Back . He then headlined a reboot of The Mummy (2017), which performed respectably at the box office but was savaged by critics, before earning better reviews later that year for the crime thriller American Made .

2018 brought a return to familiar territory for Cruise, who starred in Mission Impossible —Fallout that summer. Prior to its release, he tweeted a photo to mark day 1 of production on the long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick , scheduled for a June 2020 release.

Scientology and Personal Life

Cruise married actress Mimi Rogers in 1987. It was through Rogers that the actor became a student of Scientology, the religion founded by writer L. Ron Hubbard. Cruise credited the church with curing his dyslexia, and he soon became one of its leading proponents. However, while his spiritual life flourished, his marriage to Rogers ended in 1990. That same year, Cruise made the racecar drama Days of Thunder alongside Kidman. Though the movie was unpopular among critics and fans alike, the two lead actors had real chemistry. On Christmas Eve 1990, after a brief courtship, Cruise and Kidman married in Telluride, Colorado.

Divorce from Kidman

For much of the 1990s, Cruise and Kidman found themselves fiercely defending the happiness and legitimacy of their marriage. They filed two different lawsuits against tabloid publications for stories they considered libelous. In each case, the couple received a published retraction and apology, along with a large monetary settlement which they donated to charity. The couple has two children, Isabella and Connor.

On February 5, 2001, Cruise and Kidman announced their separation after 11 years of marriage. The couple cited the difficulties involved with two acting careers and the amount of time spent apart while working. Following the divorce, Cruise briefly dated his Vanilla Sky co-star Penelope Cruz , followed by a much-publicized relationship with actress Katie Holmes. A month after his ties to Holmes became public, Cruise professed his love for the actress in a now-famous appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, during which he jumped on Winfrey's sofa, shouting "Yes!"

Marriage to Katie Holmes

In June 2005, after a two-month courtship, Cruise proposed to Holmes in a restaurant at the top of the Eiffel tower. In October, they announced that they were expecting their first child together. The hasty proposal and surprise pregnancy quickly became tabloid gossip. But Cruise made even bigger headlines that year as an outspoken advocate for Scientology. He openly criticized former co-star Brooke Shields for using anti-depressants during her recovery from postpartum depression. He also denounced psychiatry and modern medicine, claiming Scientology held the key to true healing. Cruise's statements led to a heated argument with news anchor Matt Lauer on The Today Show in June 2005, for which Cruise later apologized.

In 2006, Cruise and Holmes welcomed daughter Suri into the world. That year, they were married in an Italian castle, with celebrities Will Smith , Jada Pinkett Smith , Jennifer Lopez and Victoria and David Beckham among those in attendance. However, the storybook romance wouldn't last, and in June 2012, the couple announced their separation.

QUICK FACTS

• Birth Year: 1962
• Birth date: July 3, 1962
• Birth State: New York
• Birth City: Syracuse
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Actor Tom Cruise is the star of several box-office hits, including 'Risky Business,' 'A Few Good Men,' 'The Firm,' 'Jerry Maguire' and the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise.
• Astrological Sign: Cancer

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Tom Cruise Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/tom-cruise
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: March 26, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014

The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us

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It was an intimate cocktail party. Tom Cruise wore a cheerful smile so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to test it. “For someone who’s just been fired, you look very happy,” I said. “Sumner Redstone figured you would be angry by the press release.”

“I’m not really fire-able, if that’s even a word,” Cruise replied, his smile intact. “Besides, prods from CEOs never anger me.”

’Top Gun: Maverick’ From Cannes To Theaters – Deadline’s Complete Coverage

The media briefly fed on the studio press release, but as it turned out, Redstone and Paramount went into retreat mode within a week. Paramount’s long-standing deal with Cruise’s production company had elapsed a month earlier, but the CEO forgot to check his facts before issuing his statement, so Cruise looked smart in ignoring the Hollywood rhetoric (details below).

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The incident took place 15 years ago, but I was reminded of it this week as Cruise was again winning some important battles on his latest, much delayed, movie. Top Gun: Maverick would be destined to “own” Memorial Day weekend with a guaranteed, much extended theatrical run pre-streaming. In addition, two further Mission: Impossible sequels were positioned for lavish takeoffs.

With the New York Times christening him “The Last Movie Star,” Cruise’s four-day opening in North America may reach $100 million in 4,732 locations and perhaps hit $200 million internationally.

So that cheerful smile was still implanted on Cruise’s youthful 59-year-old face last week as he skillfully leveraged his simultaneous publicity blast-offs, one from the zealously self-protective Cannes Film Festival, the other from the British Royal Family. This was an historic PR coup: With war jitters raging, the startling image of eight fighter jets streaming red, white and blue across the Euro sky seemed at once defiant and disturbing.

Cruise’s promotional perils over the years have been matched by the physical stunts that he has orchestrated in defining his past films; his death-defying mountain climbs in M:I – 2 likely worried his studio and insurance carriers more than his feats on Top Gun: Maverick . All represented well-calculated adventures in Cruise Control, designed to nurture his continuum of pre-ordained tentpoles.

Also reflected in Cruise’s pursuit of peril has been his idiosyncratic choice of roles, both starring and supporting: Tropic Thunder, Magnolia, Born on the Fourth of July, Rain Man , etc. “His filmmaking friends understand that Cruise gets more excited about playing assholes than heroes,” says a director who has worked with him but doesn’t want to be quoted. “No other star has the guts to satirize both studio chiefs and porn freaks.”

Once he has signed on, Cruise is dauntless about seeing them through, he adds.

On Rain Man , Cruise remained committed to a challenging script even though filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, Sidney Pollack and Martin Brest had all committed then backed out. Barry Levinson finally directed the award-winning film, in which Cruise played the younger brother of a severely autistic Dustin Hoffman, linked together on an emotional cross-country journey. In Jerry Maguire , Cruise was cast as a ruthless hustler who was unrelentingly chasing the big bucks, but Cruise turned him into an empathetic figure.

There were also failed ventures, such as Cocktail, Vanilla Sky or The Mummy .

A decade ago, when Cruise and his long-term manager Paula Wagner took control of United Artists, they had the option of pursuing the tentpole route or a more demanding slate. They took the latter path, marshalling a political thriller titled Lions For Lambs . with Robert Redford directing Cruise and Meryl Streep. The ill-fated project ran into a recession, a writers’ strike and financing setbacks for MGM, UA’s parent company. After a succession of disappointments, Cruise seemed grateful to return to the Mission franchise.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Review: Tom Cruise Is Back Soaring In What May Be The Role Of His Career

What will be his future scenario? The Top Gun: Maverick launch demonstrated anew his skill at commanding the younger movie audience — the Mission films alone have totaled $3.6 billion in global box office. But the present challenges are real: The army of teenagers who liked Top Gun are pushing 50 now, a difficult demo to conquer.

Surveys indicate that more than half of the 45-and-over crowd haven’t been to a movie in over a year compared with 20% of the 18-24 demo. Cruise’s battle to gain a 45-day-plus window for theatrical release thus will likely prove pivotal — the older audience waits for reviews and word-of-mouth.

So will Cruise ever, in fact, be “fired”? There were conflicting reports 15 years ago over what precipitated Sumner Redstone’s outburst. One of his top aides confided to me that his boss had become grumpy about first-dollar gross deals in general. Why should select stars have major paydays before the studio had recouped?

I finally asked Redstone directly two or three weeks later, when we were dining at Dan Tana’s restaurant. “Why did you aim your rant at Cruise?” I asked. “Under his deal he took no money up front. Not even scale?”

“I understand all that,” the CEO snapped. “I’m closing a new deal with him next week. Same terms.”

“Good. Then you’re biting the bullet, right?”

Redstone grunted. “He is still overpaid. And I can still fire him.”

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The Real Reason Tom Cruise Hasn't Aged

Now in his 60s, Tom Cruise is showing no signs of slowing down, and he isn't aging either.

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Did tom cruise get plastic surgery, how does tom cruise look so young for his age.

Tom Cruise turned 60 in July 2022, yet he still looks like his 24-year-old self in his hit 1986 film, Top Gun, whose sequel premiered May 2022 . Some say it is all plastic surgery while others believe it is the actor's healthy lifestyle and commitment to doing his own stunts . In March 2021, Men's Health revealed the real reason the actor has stayed in great shape all these years.

Updated on March 6, 2023: Tom Cruise remains one of the most prolific action stars in Hollywood, with the long awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick raking in close to $1.5 billion box office dollars . The Mission: Impossible actor is preparing to turn 61 this July, yet he still holds a youthful look and opts to do most of his own stunts.

Jacked Gorilla shared an inside look into Cruise's workout routine, which helps keep him in shape as well as feeling young. "Tom Cruise's workout routine consists of many different exercises . Cruise uses three days of weight training and cardio. It's his job to get active and utilize other forms of fitness on the other two days."

RELATED: Top Gun: Maverick Had To Make Major Changed Between Tom Cruise And Jennifer Connelly's Romance

Cruise has been accused of getting plastic surgery for several years. In 2016, fans noticed that he looked "inflated" and "puffy" during the BAFTAs for that year. Many assumed that he'd gotten Botox or fillers. Around the same time, Cuba Gooding Jr. — Cruise's co-star in Jerry Maguire — told Watch What Happens Live! that the actor "absolutely" had work done on his face. "I don't know what he's had done, but I remember I surprised him at his house one day," Gooding Jr. shared. "And he had all of these dots all over his face and I was like, 'You all right?' and he goes, 'I didn’t know you were coming' and I was like, 'I can see why.'"

In 2012, when asked whether he has had plastic surgery, Cruise told Playboy : "I haven't, and I never would." Meanwhile, National Enquirer 's sources said that the Risky Business star was lying. "Insiders say the gifted star remains desperate to maintain his boyish good looks and stay atop of the heap as he approaches his sixties — with the help of plastic surgery!" One cosmetic procedure the actor has never denied is getting his teeth fixed .

When Cruise was in his 20s, back in the early '80s, he had extremely unaligned and discolored teeth. He eventually had teeth whitening and alignment procedures to correct them. In 2001, he also had invisible braces with ceramic brackets. By 2010, he had a massive improvement in his smile. Still, fans noticed that aside from his misaligned middle tooth, his left incisor also appeared bigger than the right one. It still does today, but we are sure the highest-paid actor per word is not bothered about it.

RELATED: Tom Cruise Turned Down The Lead In A Franchise Worth Over $2 Billion Because It Wasn't Lining Up Creatively

In a 2021 Men's Health feature , the magazine finally spilled Cruise's secrets to defying youth. For his diet, he is reportedly on a "Beckham-devised diet consisting of a just 1200 calories, grilled foods and a noticeable absence of carbohydrate." Nutritional scientist Dr. Paul Clayton told the magazine that carbs generate insulin, which is an aging hormone. "They become glucose molecules in the body, damaging muscle and skin tissues which causes aging," said the Health Defense author. The actor's mindset is apparently a big factor as well. "I don't invalidate it when I can't do something...I say, 'that's interesting' and go with it. It's from there you get your energy," quoted the magazine.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Abigael San said that Cruise's resistance to failure helps in keeping him active. "Never avoid looking at why something went wrong – list all the reasons why it did as soon as you can," said San. "Failure leads to inaction. Planning goals as soon as possible restores a feeling of power and control. If you didn't get a promotion, do all you can to find out why." No wonder the actor is such a beast who is so committed to every project he takes on. It is also what boosts his confidence, making him the sex symbol that he is.

RELATED: Tom Cruise Apologized To Brooke Shields After His Today Show Interview, But Did He Regret The Way He Handled Matt Lauer?

"Being super-informed bestows subtle confidence," explained career consultant Sherridan Hughes. "Everyone else will feel at ease working with you and for you. You're more flexible and adaptable than your peers because whatever happens, you've covered it." Then, of course, there is a whole workout routine for achieving and maintaining that action star physique. "Sea-kayaking, caving... fencing, treadmill, weights... rock-climbing, hiking... I jog... I do so many different activities," Cruise once said when asked how he stays youthful.

Sports scientist Anne Elliott said that "variety" is the secret to getting that body. "How we move conveys energy and youth – not how buff we are," she explained. "Regularly switching up cardio and strength work with something like fencing or climbing – like Cruise – maintains flexibility and balance: the first two things that give your age away."

Lastly, it's all about dressing well. "The right fit conveys power and shows you've accepted who you are, physically," said the actor's stylist, Alan Au. "Cruise always wears a well-tailored coat (lapels not too big or small) whether smart casual and his ‘relaxed’ is only just loose enough (too loose looks hand-me-down). Avoid boxy cuts and styles and bring attention up to the face and chest with a lighter top. Make sure only a quarter-inch of sleeve hem is showing from jackets."

How Old Was Tom Cruise In 1986's Top Gun Compared To Its Sequel Maverick?

While plenty of big '80s franchises have returned to relevance in recent years, few can boast the kind of reemergence that the "Top Gun" series got with its 2022 sequel, "Maverick." Not only was the film beloved by both fans and critics, but it also reached the #12 spot on the top-grossing films of all time list, bringing in a staggering $1.495 million in box office receipts.

However, considering how long the multi-decade gap between the first film and "Top Gun: Maverick" was, even the film's biggest fans may be unaware of how much the perpetually youthful Tom Cruise changed in age during the interim. Amazingly, the star was 23 after the first film released in May 1986 and 59 when "Maverick" landed in theaters.

Still, even as that puts the actor at 61 as of now, it doesn't look like he'll be slowing down one iota with regard to making massive-scale action movies in the vein of "Top Gun: Maverick." After all, his most recent film in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise is set to be only the first half of an epic and eventful cinematic journey.

Can anything stop one of Hollywood's biggest action stars?

According to The Sydney Morning Herald , Tom Cruise isn't planning on changing his status as one of Hollywood's top action stars any time soon. In fact, the actor cited Harrison Ford as an inspiration and suggested that he might even have another two decades of action movies in the future, just like the "Star Wars" star.

"Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope to be still going. I've got 20 years to catch up with him," Cruise said of the 81-year-old actor. "I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I'm his age." While it's true that Ford is still in the action game after all of these years, it may be tough for Cruise to continue with his typical tenacity as the years go by; the veteran actor has made his mark on the entertainment industry by performing a wide array of his own jaw-dropping stunts, each one more ridiculous than the last. 

Still, with at least one more "Mission: Impossible" movie on the horizon and Cruise's plans to continue with tentpole action movies indefinitely, fans of the star can expect to be watching him complete even more impressive feats, at least for a few more years. Furthermore, with the massive success of "Top Gun: Maverick," it's possible that there could be another installment in that franchise coming down the pipeline as well.

Den of Geek

Tom Cruise: The Last Movie Star Who Gets Better with Age

Tom Cruise returns to the skies for Top Gun: Maverick, but his movie star persona has never touched the ground since 1986. In fact, it’s flying higher than ever.

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It’s not exactly subtle. Appearing in even the first teaser of Top Gun: Maverick —released an astonishing three years ago!— Tom Cruise ’s fighter pilot is getting an epic dressing down from the boss. His superior, Radam. Chester “the Hammer” Cain (Ed Harris), is sick and tired of Maverick’s hot shot ways and insubordination. And he’s here to put the younger man in his place. It’s a scene we’ve witnessed many times, including to iconic effect in the original Top Gun from 1986, and yet the Hammer’s critique of his fiftysomething naval officer is sharper here. More pointed. He is getting at something existential about the trajectory of a man’s life.

“You can’t get a promotion,” Harris’ rear admiral sneers, “you won’t retire, and despite your best efforts, you refuse to die. You should be at least a two-star admiral by now… or a senator. Yet here you are, captain . Why is that?” We then cut to Cruise’s slightly more weathered yet remarkably still boyish face, and he simply teases the outline of a familiar smirk.

The sequence, which comes early in the finished Top Gun: Maverick , is obviously meant to clue us into what its title character has been up to for the past 36 years. But it also works as an admission that Maverick and Cruise’s biographies are entwined. Despite the actor once being weary of doing a Top Gun sequel, and dismissing the idea out of hand in a 1990 Playboy interview, Cruise is back in one of his most beloved roles and doing what he’s always done best: fly really fast planes, drive really fast motorcycles, and look quite cool while doing both.

In many respects, this makes Maverick a rarity: a character study on the life of a movie star who for four decades has operated at the very height of American pop culture and entertainment, and who instead of choosing the path that so many other gifted stars of yesteryear—graduating to the rank of esteemed character actor and a cinematic statesman, becoming a Paul Newman or Robert Redford, who were no strangers to playing senators—he remained the guy in the cockpit, doing it better than anyone his junior. In fact, he’s doing it better than when he was in his junior years.

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In this way, it’s interesting that his superiors in Maverick include Harris. The older actor is only 12 years Cruise’s senior and once played globally renowned fighter pilot John Glenn in The Right Stuff (1983). As the years passed, Glenn became a real-life senator, and Harris is now playing an admiral. Similarly, in Cruise’s signature action movie franchise, Mission: Impossible , the star is often reprimanded by IMF Director Alan Hunley, a character played by Alec Baldwin. Also like Cruise, Baldwin came up in the 1980s and starred in his own classic spy thriller, The Hunt for Red October (1990).

Harris and Baldwin both were “promoted” to the role of the proverbial senator. But Cruise? He’s the last and perhaps only living proof that movie star charisma can endure. It can even get better with age.

Once a Different Type of Movie Star

Before Top Gun was released in 1986, the idea of Tom Cruise as the grinning action star did not exist. After Top Gun , Cruise still at least somewhat resisted being placed only in that box. To be sure, he’d already achieved a certain level celebrity before then by appearing in 1983’s surprise hit Risky Business . But while largely remembered today for the innocuous image of Cruise playing a teenager eager to dance to Bob Seger in his underwear, that picture actually remains a moody and surreal thriller about a young kid who is out of his depth when he’s seduced by a call girl into turning the family home into a brothel.

It brought Cruise attention, but it didn’t make him a household name, nor did the similar romantic teen dramas (and one bizarre Ridley Scott fantasy) he made immediately afterward. Top Gun was the inflection point; the picture where Cruise starred in the highest concept Jerry Bruckeheimer and Don Simpson’s hard-partying offices ever came up with in the ‘80s. This blend of fighter jets, postcard sunsets, and well-tanned male bodies went on to become the biggest movie of 1986 too, not to mention the greatest recruitment video the Navy ever had.

As a result, Cruise was a brand, and one as reliable as Coca-Cola. When it came to the biggest hits of his early career— Top Gun , Cocktail (1988), Days of Thunder (1990)—they all followed a pretty familiar formula as outlined by standup comic Rich Hall . Whether he was a fighter pilot or a yuppie mixologist, he was still the same hotshot who needed to be slightly humbled (but never defeated) by the love of a good woman.

Cruise and his agents obviously agreed to all these lucrative box office hits, but even in those heady Reagan years, there was an initial apprehension by Cruise and his team to let the biggest movie star in the world become only that. As a young man, he made a point to star in those guaranteed moneymakers, as well as passion projects by auteurs. He was Paul Newman’s protégé in the Martin Scorsese-directed The Color of Money (1986), and after Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War reverie, Platoon (1986), won Best Picture, Cruise fought to star in Stone’s next film about that nightmare, Born on the Fourth of July (1989). His unexpected casting as Vietnam vet Ron Kovic, who returned from Southeast Asia paralyzed and as an anti-war activist, still remains the best performance in Cruise’s career.

As Cruise’s star status reached its zenith in the 1990s, he continued to try to be both the brand—hence the first Mission: Impossible movie in 1996—and the leading actor who chased auteurs. Stanley Kubrick; Rob Reiner; Neil Jordan; Paul Thomas Anderson; Michael Mann; Cameron Crowe; Steven Spielberg. He worked with all of them in the most prolific period of his career, sometimes in movies that were intended to be blockbusters, such as the sci-fi one-two punch of Minority Report (2002) and War of the Worlds (2005) with Spielberg, or the seminal military courtroom drama A Few Good Men (1992) with Reiner. But, generally speaking, he allowed his star status to get weirdly ambitious projects greenlit and marketed like blockbusters due to his participation.

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And, frankly, even the interesting failures in that category—like Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Kubrick’s arguably unfinished final film that was released after his sudden death and which starred Cruise and Nicole Kidman at the end of their marriage—are more captivating than a lot of the well-oiled star vehicles he was doing concurrently, such as the only bad Mission: Impossible movie, M:I-2 from 2000.

Yet all careers ebb and flow, and the natural order of thing for stars, no matter how bright, is to fade—infamously so in Cruise’s case after his personal life came under heavy scrutiny due to his outspoken (and presumptuous) views about psychotropic medication, his very public courtship of his third wife Katie Holmes (who was 16 years younger), and his general participation in the Church of Scientology.

One year after Cruise gained national derision for jumping on Oprah Winfrey’s couch, Mission: Impossible III (2006) underperformed at the box office, and Paramount made no bones about blaming the actor’s off-screen perception. For a time, the studio even seemed ready to terminate Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character.

This was the point an aging movie star would be expected to recline from that status, accept things will never be as they once were, and take on more character roles like Lions for Lambs (2007), the Robert Redford movie in which Cruise played a senator in a supporting role.

The maverick actor, however, would go on to choose a different path.

A Star Is Reborn

There was a time when Paramount Pictures was entirely done with Cruise as the lead of the Mission: Impossible franchise. After the J.J. Abrams-directed M:I-3 earned substantially less than its predecessor from six years earlier, then-Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone told The Wall Street Journal (via Screen Crush ), “We don’t think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot.” Redstone had Paramount terminate their production deal with Cruise and shutter his office behind the studio’s famous gate. They quite literally pushed the biggest star in the world, who led numerous summer blockbusters for the studio, off the lot.

Typically an event such as this marks the tombstone in a Hollywood lead’s status. It’s the moment where they (and their agent) realize celebrity has waned and it is time for reinvention. But Cruise’s idea of reinvention was not to do a lot more movies like Lions for Lambs ; it ultimately became to do what he had done before… but far better than anyone ever imagined was possible.

Admittedly, the moment of grace and public rehabilitation came from a smaller supporting role, in-keeping with that time he might’ve played a narcissistic motivational speaker in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (1999), except in Tropic Thunder (2008), Cruise’s ability to completely over-commit to a seedy character role was dialed up to 11 in a mainstream comedy where he personified what has long been speculated to be a parody of then-Hollywood power player Scott Rudin (whom Cruise worked with on 1993’s The Firm ). Under pounds of prosthetics and makeup, Cruise looked unrecognizable as Les Grossman, a fictional late 2000s-studio mogul as repugnant as his pun-y name might suggest… and just as entertaining.

The public enthusiasm over Cruise’s Grossman dancing to hip-hop during Tropic Thunder ’s end credits may have been the last of two footholds Cruise had to salvage his stardust. The other was a continued friendship with Abrams, who despite helming the only Mission: Impossible movie to take a bath at the box office came out of the experience smelling like roses to the studio. He even became a golden boy when he reinvented Paramount’s Star Trek franchise in 2009 with the movie that turned it seemingly into a long-running action saga in the Star Wars mold.

It was the success of Tropic Thunder , and Abrams’ wingman-ing, that caused the studio to agree to let Cruise return for M:I-4 … if Cruise also agreed they could cast a new leading man who would be set up to take over the franchise in the following film(s).

If you go back and study the marketing material for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), it’s now amusing how hard Paramount pushed Jeremy Renner as franchise newcomer William Brandt. On the poster, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is intentionally made to look older and weathered for the first time, adorning a hoodie to hide Cruise’s famous black mane of hair. Meanwhile, over his shoulder, stands a crisp and bespoke Renner: a fresh face at the literal right hand. Similarly, almost every trailer concluded with the moment Cruise’s Ethan Hunt pulls a gun on Brandt, and Renner’s new protagonist is able to disarm him and hold Cruise at gunpoint instead. A supposed heir apparent has emerged, or so went the implication. And this one is an Avenger .

Yet something that Paramount’s top brass perhaps did not expect was also emerging in the fourth Mission: Impossible : a middle-aged and chastened Cruise deciding that, with his star status diminished, he’d re-commit to the type of big screen spectacle that made him a household name in the first place. He’d obviously been that guy ever since audiences first got a glimpse of Maverick zooming across a military runway on a motorcycle at sunset in Top Gun . But back then, the motorcycle might’ve been real, and the naval jets definitely were, but Cruise was (almost never) flying in them.

Yet alongside Incredibles director Brad Bird, the middle-aged star now engineered some of the most spectacular stunts ever put to screen in Ghost Protocol , and he did them all. When you see Ethan Hunt pull a proverbial Spider-Man and wallcrawl—and run, and skip—alongside the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, that’s really him doing it. Tobey Maguire used CGI, but Cruise is hanging from a rope as he dangles around a manmade colossus.

Similarly, as an actor previously publicized for doing his own stunts, Cruise used this pivot point in his career to better highlight that fact in long, wide, and dazzling shots that bucked the modern trend of relying on rapid editing. Bird let audiences savor that Cruise is the guy up there. And by the time the actor found his collaborative soulmates in stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood and director Christopher McQuarrie on Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), the whole marketing likewise shifted toward that aspect. Entire posters for M:I-5 were nothing more than photographic evidence that Cruise was the one actor seemingly crazy enough to hang from the side of a plane that’s taking off. Meanwhile Renner’s Brandt was reduced to a true supporting role in that one before not appearing at all in 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout .

Top Gun: Maverick Review – Tom Cruise Sticks Landing

The First Mission: Impossible Still Has One of the Greatest Action Set Pieces

The last american movie star.

So, yes, Cruise was able to wrestle control back over the Mission: Impossible movies and genuinely make them better than ever, with each of the last three installments surpassing what came before. But more than that, when given the choice of “retirement” or “promotion,” Cruise like Maverick defied the odds and stayed in the cockpit, achieving feats never before seen in his field despite his advancing age.

The context of this in the larger industry is striking. With the infamous exception of 2017’s The Mummy reboot , the 2010s saw an older Cruise retain a commitment to what is obviously traditional blockbuster storytelling. But it is also incredibly well-crafted, intelligent storytelling executed at the peak of Hollywood resources.

Ever since reclaiming Mission: Impossible and his status, the actor has eschewed the auteur projects he coveted in his youth, but the blockbusters he’s doubled down on have improved: Jack Reacher (2012), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), American Made (2017), the three aforementioned M:I movies, and now Top Gun: Maverick are all exceedingly well-made spectacles in which filmmaking craft is at the highest bleeding edge. The emphasis on sharp writing, much of it done by Oscar-winner McQuarrie, is arguably even higher too, which is why McQuarrie became the first director to helm more than one Mission: Impossible movie, and seems poised to draw a curtain on the franchise with the upcoming Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning two-parter that continues his novel innovation of actually developing Ethan Hunt into a character instead of an archetype.

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In a vacuum, this is impressive. But in contrast with the rest of the industry that is chasing interconnected shared universes in the Marvel Studios vein, and a style that values spectacle generated in a computer (and storytelling that appears to be going in an endless circle), it feels like a life raft. Sometimes the old ways are the best. And while it’s nice that movie stardom is more prolific than ever before with a greater diversity of voices and faces in front of the screen, the entire next generation of “stars” seem obligated to make a Faustian bargain where their success hangs on their likenesses being encased in the plastic uniform of a comic book character.

Conversely, and against all odds, Cruise has maintained his own name as the true brand. Mission: Impossible is technically based on an intellectual property, but you’d be crazier than Hunt if you think its fandom comes from adulation of a 1960s TV show. It’s Cruise’s insistence on maintaining the quality of the writing, the acting, and the stunts which has kept people coming back. Consider that despite the fact he’s pushing 60, Cruise is beloved more than any Hollywood leading man since the days of Douglas Fairbanks for his daredevil antics. It was even while mimicking one of Fairbanks’ between-rooftops leaps in Fallout that Cruise broke an ankle. Nonetheless, they kept filming (the take with his injury is in the finished film) and ultimately incorporated his limp into the movie’s finale.

That style of movie stardom feels like a revenant from the past in the 21st century. That style of stardom felt like a revenant in the late 20th century when Cruise was in his heyday and not actually flying any planes in Top Gun . And yet, as Jennifer Connelly recently attested to us, that’s really him piloting her in a single engine plane in Top Gun: Maverick .

In 2020, Cruise’s intensity came under scrutiny again during the filming of the first forthcoming Dead Reckoning movie. Shooting during the early days of the pandemic—and at a period before there was a vaccine—he apparently was enraged when he saw crew members not practicing social distancing or properly wearing their masks.

“We want the gold standard,” Cruise bellowed. “They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us! Because they believe in us and what we’re doing! I’m on the phone with every fucking studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us [as the example for how] to make their movies.”

Overly harsh? Maybe. Indicative of an inflated hero complex? Most probably. But proof of an ironclad dedication to the art and commerce of moviemaking in the old school Hollywood sense? Absolutely.

Once, in a different era, Cruise starred opposite another movie star who was at a transition point in his career, Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men . In that movie’s classic finale, which was penned by a young Aaron Sorkin, Cruise’s Lt. Daniel Kaffee attempts to get Nicholson’s Col. Nathan R. Jessep to confess culpability in a crime. It’s most famous now for Cruise finally shouting, “I want the truth,” and Nicolson screaming in response, “You can’t handle the truth!”

Yet there’s another gem of a line in this sequence where Nicholson, justifying his hardline tactics, explains, “We live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded… you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.”

For about 40 years, Cruise has stood on a wall of his own, and he may very well be the last man up there in 2022. One day, as Harris’ rear admiral suggests in Top Gun 2 , he will have to retire and come on down. Moviegoers will be the poorer for it. But not today. Today, the wall looks taller than ever.

David Crow | @DCrowsNest

David Crow is the movies editor at Den of Geek. He has long been proud of his geek credentials. Raised on cinema classics that ranged from…

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Tom Cruise Has Entered His Alejandro González Iñárittu Era, and We Have Never Been More Back

By Abe Beame

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Yesterday, early evening, if you were listening closely, an odd call went out across the country. It was the collective groan of dads, uncles, and weird older guys who really shouldn’t be on apps anymore, making that noise we all make as we get up, to cheer and celebrate the news that our beautiful boy, Glenwood Ridge High School’s own Thomas Mapother IV—the Tom we all know and love, the actor who informed our youths, adolescences, and early adulthoods—was coming back to us. The word is Tom will star in the next Alejandro González Iñárittu project, A.I.G.’s first since getting Leonardo DiCaprio his long overdue Best Actor statue for The Revenant . And please, hater— please, skeptic. We understand your mileage varies on Iñárittu, but this news isn’t significant simply because Cruise is about to link with this specific filmmaker. Reading the tea leaves, it’s what it could mean for America’s begotten son going forward.

If you’re, let’s say, a person younger than 25 without a Paramount+ subscription, unfamiliar with the formative cinematic American media of the 80s and 90s, or just generally incurious, you may not be aware that at one time, Tom Cruise wasn’t just the box-office driver he is today, but a very serious, capital-A Actor . He more or less invented the modern Hollywood playbook, a heartthrob with chops who committed totally to each part, who gave us classic “fluff” like Days of Thunder and Cocktail , but beginning in the late 80s, always mixed prestige chocolate into the crowd pleasing peanut butter, and at his absolute best, pulled off both at once.

Here is a partial list of the directors Cruise worked with during his still-untouchable 20-year run, from the early '80s through the early aughts: Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley & Tony Scott, Martin Scorsese, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Rob Reiner, Sydney Pollack, Brian De Palma, Cameron Crowe, Stanley Kubrick , Paul Thomas Anderson, John Woo, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann—he worked with everyone, ok? Everyone. He was a quick study, beloved by each of these incredible directors, even when they willfully fucked with his head and destroyed his marriaged to Nicole Kidman for fun , and for all his pain and sacrifice, what did he get? Two Best Actor nominations, one Best Supporting Actor nomination, and three Golden Globes.

It was following a prolonged spate of rejection, presumably the first sustained stretch Tom ever endured in his life, that the wheels began to come off his golden-boy persona. It was uncomfortably, increasingly linked to Scientology, and there are likely several timelines that ended in cancellation, had Tom been less savvy and self-aware. There were ugly details that leaked , first from his divorce from Kidman after a decade of what had been presented in the semi-civil pre-internet tabloid days as a fairytale Hollywood partnership. Then five years later, he married Katie Holmes, generally regarded as a WB ingenue, a relationship that had an odd, seemingly PR-contrived quality everyone was unsettled by. There were several public meltdowns, from Oprah's couch to Tom calling Matt Lauer “glib” while denying modern psychiatry and medicine.

In 2004, Cruise turned in one of his best performances, and films, in Collateral , a two-hander with Jamie Foxx in which, for the first and more-or-less-only time in his career, he plays a deliciously evil, charmingly sociopathic marrow-deep bad guy. But in 2005, he worked with Spielberg on the (sorry, but: intensely mid) War of the Worlds , and due to the aforementioned odd behavior in public promoting the film, a rift opened between the two which has only recently begun to mend .

In the meantime Cruise creates a playbook of another kind, which we’ve seen other greats, from Liam Neeson, to Denzel Washington, to Vin Diesel exploit to lucrative effect. He retracts into a heated deck of Regal popcorn in a clear glass prism. We see Tom Cruise, the ambassador for movies, the glorified stuntman set on sacrificing himself for our entertainment, but we get no closer to the man doing the stunts. We do get regular installments of Mission Impossible , a misguided bid to become Jack Reacher, a disastrous attempt to reboot The Mummy and launch Universal’s Dark Universe , and his miraculously triumphant return to Top Gun , a fevered death-dream that singlehandedly resuscitated the American cinema “post”-Covid. It wasn't all cynical IP, though a lot of it was.

This is why the Iñárittu news is worthy of celebration. The 61-year-old star may be finally, finally willing to do what his longtime die hard legion has been willing him to do, even as we continued to support his respectable, increasingly competent and compulsively entertaining genre stabs with Christopher McQuarrie and Joseph Kosinski: Let us back in!

Don't even let us in too much-- we're still not really interested in where Tom is at on, say, the Adderall shortage-- but do fun and weird shit you can only do if you're Tom Cruise! Weaponize that lethal charisma to do more than rip off a mask and spout exposition as we move tidily from one predictable beat to the next. Cruise has been in talks to get involved in the alleged final Tarantino project , so let’s do it. Bring on the PTA reunion, Christopher Nolan , a final masterpiece from former co-worker Werner Herzog, Alonso Ruizpalacios, Weird Ken in the Barbie sequel. Let’s take some swings! Movies!

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Who Is Elsina Khayrova? 5 Things to Know About Tom Cruise’s Girlfriend

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

Tom Cruise has a new love interest.

After Cruise and Elsina Khayrova made their public debut in December, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the pair have been quietly dating for “a while now.”

“They’re very happy,” the insider told Us . “And Tom’s extremely confident about it working out for the long term.”

The source shared that the pair met through mutual friends in London. “What started as a basic friendship quickly turned into something more special,” the insider added.

As for where Cruise’s eldest children, Isabella and Connor, stand with the relationship, the source told Us that they “think Elsina is great and are so happy to see that their dad has love in his life again.” (Cruise shares both children with ex-wife Nicole Kidman . He also shares a daughter with ex-wife Katie Holmes .)

So who is Khayrova? Here’s everything to know about his girlfriend.

Tom Cruise’s Dating History Through the Years: Nicole Kidman, Katie Holmes and More

1. Where Was Elsina Khayrova Born?

Khayrova was born in Russia but now lives in London. Earlier this month, she was spotted with Cruise at a party in London’s Grosvenor Square.

“They’ve hung out at Tom’s favorite private members club and regularly enjoy afternoon tea and gourmet dinners out in London,” the source told Us .

2. Did Elsina Khayrova model?

Khayrova formerly modeled for brands including Graff. In 2015, the luxury diamond jeweler shared a snap via Instagram of her wearing a pair of their earrings.

3. Who is Elsina Khayrova’s father?

Elsina is the daughter of Rinat Khayrova , who is a member of the Russian Military Police.

Tom Cruise Through the Years: His Megahit Movies, Headline-Making Marriages and More

4. Has Elsina Khayrova been in a relationship?

Elsina filed for divorce from Russian oligarch Dmitry Tsvetkov in 2022. The pair separated two years prior after over a decade of marriage. In December, Tsvetkov weighed in on his ex's new relationship with Cruise when he spoke to the Daily Mail.

“Irrespective of whoever she’s with, Tom Cruise or anybody else, they should be aware that she likes the finer things in life and has expensive and luxurious tastes,” he said. “Tom should keep his eyes and wallet wide open.”

He continued: “I'm happy for her, I wish her all the best.”

5. Does Elsina Khayrova have children?

She reportedly shares two children with ex Tsvetkov. In September, Elsina posted a sweet Instagram birthday tribute to her daughter Eva, whom she refers to as her “best friend.”

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How Old Is Tom Cruise? Ageless Star’s Profile

In the ever-revolving carousel of Hollywood faces, there exists an ageless enigma, a man who seemingly hits pause on the relentless march of time. The question on everyone’s lips, whispered in hushed tones as if sharing an industry secret, is “ How old is Tom Cruise ?” The “Mission: Impossible” maestro, the “Top Gun” who flew into our hearts and refused to age, makes us rub our eyes in disbelief. So, let’s embark on this investigative journey through twisted turns and stylish musings to unravel the mystery of Thomas Cruise Mapother IV’s perennial youth.

How Old Is Tom Cruise? Age Mystery: A Deep Dive into the Star’s Chronology

Tom Cruise arrived on this planet on July 3, 1962, which slots him at an astonishing 62 years young as of 2024. But here’s the rub: place a picture of young Cruise next to a current snapshot, and you’d swear the clock has stood still. Therein lies the public’s endless fascination; he’s the man of yesterday, today, and seemingly, tomorrow.

• Birthdate and Current Age (2024): Tom Cruise, born July 3, 1962, is now 62.
• Unchanging Appearance: The collective online sleuths poke and prod at his immortal visage, wondering how Father Time got tricked.
• Youthful Roles: He continues to dive into roles that actors half his age might pant just reading about.

The Secret Behind Tom Cruise’s Perennial Youth

Rumors swirl like capes in a gothic novel—what elixir does he consume? What sorcery is at play? We’ve peeked behind the curtain to find the truth isn’t magic; it’s grit, sweat, and likely a dash of good genes.

• Fitness Regimen: The man scales skyscrapers and leaps out of planes; his workout routine isn’t for the faint of heart.
• Medical or Cosmetic Procedures: Speculation is rife—a nip here, a tuck there? Only his inner circle knows for sure.
• Holistic Approaches: Perhaps it’s the zen of a distant Joshua Tree hotel retreat, a whisper of Hollywood secret shenanigans.

Tom Cruise Through the Decades: A Timeless Journey in Film

From the heartthrob of the ’80s to the powerhouse of 2024, Cruise’s filmography reads like a guidebook to box office gold, yet his visage defies the decades.

• Career Milestones: Each film, from “Risky Business” to the latest sci-fi flick, serves to remind us of his unwavering charm.
• Evolution of Film Roles: The roles changed, matured, but that devil-may-care grin stayed put.
• Longevity in Hollywood: Cruise has been quoted as treating acting like an Olympic sport—always striving, never settling.

Scientific Perspectives: Can We Really Tell How Old Tom Cruise Is?

Let’s put on our lab coats and approach this with the sterility of science. Is it possible that Tom Cruise is a marvel of modern genetics?

• Expert Opinions on Aging: Some wizards in white coats might attribute his youthfulness to a cocktail of favorable DNA.
• The Science of Aging: It’s a complicated affair, a blend of biology, environment, and, quite possibly, a touch of luck.
• Rarity of Cruise’s Aging Process: In a sea of studies, Cruise could well be a fascinating case study onto himself.

The Age of Tom Cruise: Fan Theories and Cultural Impact

Dive into the rabbit hole of online forums, and you’ll find theories wilder than a Toyota Sequoia 2023 carving through uncharted forests. His age sparks dialogue, debates, and dissertations in the halls of pop culture.

• Fan Theories: Is he an ageless vampire? A benefactor of an alien pact? The musings are endless.
• Cultural Talking Point: Cruise’s agelessness shifts the celebrity aging conversation from quiet whispers to open admiration.
• Impact on Societal Perceptions: His eternal youth, bathed in the spotlight, nudges us to rethink our own approach to aging.

Behind the Scenes: Insights from Those Who Work with Tom Cruise

They say to truly know a man, look at how he works. We’ve scoured the backlots and soundstages for tales of the eternal leading man.

• Anecdotes from Co-stars and Crew: Hard as nails, soft as silk—Hollywood folk speak of him in tones reserved for legends.
• Cruise’s Work Ethic: Renowned for an energy that outpaces the sprightliest of newcomers.
• Effect on Casting and Filming: Directors must scratch their heads—how does one cast age against a timeless star?

Contrasting Other Stars: How Tom Cruise’s Age Stands Out in Hollywood

In a town where every second counts, Cruise’s timeless appeal is a stark contrast to peers who bear the years like medals of honor.

• Comparison with Contemporaries: Side-by-side with his generation, Cruise seems to sail a different sea.
• Pressure to Stay Young: Hollywood’s unforgiving glare could wilt the heartiest rose, but not Tom’s.
• Industry Norms: Where stars align with botox and diets, Cruise strides with the confidence of the naturally favored.

The Phenomenon of Agelessness: A Broader Look Beyond Tom Cruise

There’s Cruise, and then there’s the cadre of age-defiers; those who, like the man himself, challenge Father Time to a duel and come out unscathed.

• Other Ageless Celebrities: They walk among us, defying the natural laws with poise and aplomb.
• Psychological and Social Implications: We see in them what we wish to see in ourselves—a defiance against the inevitable.
• Influence of Media Portrayals: The media paints a picture of eternal spring; we can’t help but gaze, squint, and hope.

The Future of Tom Cruise: Defying Age in Upcoming Projects

Tom Cruise does not walk towards the future; he sprints, jumps, and flies towards it with a ferocity that belies his calendar age.

• Planned Films and Roles: The horizon is lined with potential box office behemoths, just waiting for his Midas touch.
• Age and Career Choices: Will he take the mantle of the elder statesman, or continue to race against 20-somethings?
• Embracing Real Age: Perhaps there’s a day when he’ll look at his reflection and nod to the passage of time, but that day isn’t today.

Eternal Youth in the Spotlight: What Tom Cruise Teaches Us About Age in Modern Society

From the conquest of youth to the casual flipping of the bird to old age, Tom Cruise crafts a narrative of vitality that’s more than skin deep. Here, in the twilight glow of our exploration, we find a man whose greatest role might just be himself.

• Key Insights on Cruise’s Age and Appearance: He’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, then packed in an action blockbuster.
• Society’s Perception of Aging: Cruise nudges the needle, slowly turning perceptions from dread to admiration.
• Sustainability of an Ageless Image: In a race against time, he’s a reminder of the joys of the journey, rather than the destination.

In the tempest of sequels, remakes, and endless red carpets, Tom Cruise stands as a beacon of age defiance—an emblem of youth in a world obsessed with the next young thing. As twisted as a Wikipedia page on Andrew Tate , as bold as Alexis Fawx challenging industry norms, and as daring as a high-risk merchant highriskpay.com in a sea of safe bets, Cruise sails onward. Through the kaleidoscopic lens of our alternative fashion world, we tilt our hat to the man who asks not “how old,” but rather, “how young can you feel?” For in the end, is that not the true measure of time?

Tom Cruise, as eternal as the starlight, as enigmatic as a twisted tale, offers us more than just box office thrills; he invites us to ponder the ticking of our own clocks and consider what it means to live not just by years, but by moments that take our breath away. How old is Tom Cruise ? He’s as old as we believe, and perhaps, as young as we dare to dream.

Eternal Hollywood Maverick: Tom Cruise

Ah, Tom Cruise—the epitome of the age-defying superstar. While he leaps from buildings and sprints into action without breaking a sweat, the rest of us are left scratching our heads. Just how old is this guy?

Cruise-ing Through the Years

Alright, let’s cut to the chase. Born on July 3, 1962, this silver screen juggernaut has been defying Father Time in a way that’d make you wonder if he’s discovered the fountain of youth. Today, he’s flashing that iconic grin and doing his own stunts at an age where some might be eyeing retirement. But Tommy boy? No way! He’s hitting the ground running, literally, without a sign of slowing down. Seems almost as if the more candles on his cake, the more determined he gets!

Professionally Ageless

Now, you’d think with all those years under his belt, you’d find his life story carved into some ancient stone tablet. But don’t you worry, on the digital Shelves Of The Ever-updating Wikipedia ,( Tom Cruise’s saga is as fresh and fascinating as ever. From his early breakout roles to his latest gravity-defying feats—the man’s biography is a true testament to his enduring spirit.

Top-Tier Staying Power

But hang on, it’s not all about being a vampire of youth—this guy’s resilience in Hollywood’s risky business is something. Speaking of risk, navigating the volatile waters of showbiz fans utmost respect, sorta like those brave Souls who venture Into high-risk merchant waters .( Just as they tackle the perils head-on, so does Cruise surpass every expectation, powering through an industry where stars tend to flicker out faster than a bad movie sequel.

The Secret Sauce?

Alright, here’s the million-dollar question: what’s the man’s secret? If there’s a secluded retreat where A-listers sip from an elixir of youth, you’d expect it to be tucked away near some exquisite Joshua tree Hotels ,( wouldn’t you? God knows the desert’s got its fair share of mysteries. But nope, no mystical desert retreats for Mr. Cruise—he’s more of the gym-and-sensible-diet kinda immortal.

So, the next time you catch a Tom Cruise flick and find yourself wondering how this guy’s kept the clock from ticking, remember—it’s Tom freakin’ Cruise. Age is just a number, and he’s living proof that some stars burn too fiercely to even think about dimming down.

Who is Tom Cruise current wife?

Well, hold your horses! As of my last update, Tom Cruise is officially flying solo – he doesn’t have a current wife. The dude’s been married thrice, but now, he’s riding the bachelor wave, Top Gun style!

What is Tom Cruise’s real name?

Tom Cruise wasn’t always ‘Tom Cruise’ – get this, his real name’s Thomas Cruise Mapother IV. Pretty fancy, huh? But let’s be honest, “Tom Cruise” has a way better ring to it for a mega movie star.

How old was Tom Cruise in Top Gun?

Back in ’86 when “Top Gun” first took our breath away, Tom Cruise was a young Maverick at just 24. Seems like just yesterday, right? Time sure does fly!

How tall and heavy is Tom Cruise?

As for Tom Cruise’s stature, don’t let his height fool ya – he packs a punch at 5 feet 7 inches and weighs in around 148 pounds. The man’s practically an action figure!

Did Nicole Kidman ever have a child?

Kidman alert! While Nicole Kidman adopted two kids with Tom Cruise – Isabella and Connor – she did eventually have biological children with her country crooner hubby, Keith Urban.

Who is Tom Cruise’s son?

Connor Cruise – that’s Tom’s son! He followed in his old man’s footsteps into the world of entertainment. Seems like the apple doesn’t fall far from the celebrity tree, doesn’t it?

Does Tom Cruise have contact with any of his kids?

Yup, Tom Cruise is reportedly in touch with his kids, though rumors swirl about how much. Let’s just say family dynamics can be a bit of a Mission Impossible scenario.

Who does Tom Cruise’s daughter live with?

Isabella Cruise, Tom’s daughter, is living large in London – more specifically, with her hubby Max Parker. They’re keeping things low-key across the pond, away from the Hollywood glare.

Does Tom Cruise have a college degree?

College degree? Nah, Tom Cruise zoomed from high school straight to the silver screen. Who needs a dorm when you’ve got a blockbuster set, am I right?

Can Tom Cruise fly a jet?

Jet-setting in real life, Tom Cruise actually learned to pilot a plane! Although he’s not flying fighter jets solo, he’s got enough airborne skills to impress any Top Gun instructor.

How old was Meg Ryan during Top Gun?

When Meg Ryan appeared in “Top Gun,” she was every bit the ingenue at 24 years young. She definitely had that girl-next-door charm on lock!

Why was Kelly McGillis not in Top Gun 2?

Ah, Kelly McGillis wasn’t asked back for “Top Gun: Maverick,” and that stirred some feathers. Kelly chalks it up to aging naturally versus Hollywood’s fountain of youth – you know, the reality vs. illusion thing.

Is Tom Cruise physically fit?

Tom Cruise is in arguably wicked shape for his age – or any age, to be fair. The man practically moonlights as a stuntman with all the running, jumping, and hanging off planes he does!

How much does Tom Cruise weight?

Tipping the scales, Tom Cruise keeps it consistent, weighing in at around 148 pounds. His secret? Probably all that action-star cardio!

How rich is Tom Cruise?

Rich doesn’t even cut it when talking about Tom Cruise and his bank account. In Hollywood, he’s solid gold, with a net worth sky-high enough to rival some small countries!

Does Tom Cruise have a relationship with Suri?

Suri Cruise, Tom’s daughter with Katie Holmes, seems to be more in the picture with her mom these days. Paparazzi rarely catch a glimpse of her with Tom. It’s a touchy subject, for sure.

Well, the scoop is Tom Cruise keeps in contact with his kiddos, even if it’s not always front-page news. Like I said, family stuff can be as tangled as headphone wires in your pocket.

Is Tom Cruise still with Hayley Atwell?

Is Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell a thing? As the rumor mill churns, these two have been on-again, off-again more times than a light switch. But currently, it seems the romance chapter has closed. On to the next scene!

Does Tom Cruise have any biological children?

Biological children, you ask? Suri Cruise, that cute-as-a-button kid, is his only biological child. The rest of his clan, Isabella and Connor, were adopted during his marriage to Nicole Kidman.

• Twisted Magazine
• November 29, 2023
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TOM CRUISE is a global cultural icon who has made an immeasurable impact on cinema by creating some of the most memorable characters of all time. Having achieved extraordinary success as an actor, producer and philanthropist in a career spanning over three decades, Cruise is a three-time Oscar® nominee and three-time Golden Globe Award® winner whose films have earned over $10 billion in worldwide box office—an incomparable accomplishment. Eighteen of Cruise’s films have grossed over $100 million domestically, and a record 23 have made more than $200 million globally. His latest film, Mission: Impossible – Fallout has made over $775 million worldwide becoming Cruise’s most successful film to date.

Cruise has starred in numerous legendary films such as Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, Risky Business, Minority Report, Interview with the Vampire, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Rain Man, Collateral, The Last Samurai, Edge of Tomorrow, The Color of Money and the Mission: Impossible series, among many others. Combined, the Mission: Impossible franchise has brought in over $3.5 billion since Cruise conceived the idea for a film adaptation of the classic television series and produced the first in 1996. He is currently in production on the long-awaited sequel to Top Gun.

A consummate filmmaker involved in all aspects of production, Cruise has proven his versatility with the films and roles he chooses. He has made 43 films, contributing in a producing role on many of them, and collaborated with a remarkable list of celebrated film directors including Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Martin Scorsese, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Ron Howard, Rob Reiner, Sydney Pollack, Neil Jordan, Brian De Palma, Cameron Crowe, Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ed Zwick, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, J.J. Abrams, Robert Redford, Brad Bird, Doug Liman and Christopher McQuarrie.

Cruise received Academy Award® nominations for Best Actor for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire. He was a Best Supporting Actor nominee for Magnolia and won Golden Globes (Best Actor) for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, in addition to a Best Supporting Actor prize for Magnolia. He also received Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Risky Business, A Few Good Men and The Last Samurai. Cruise has earned acting nominations and awards from BAFTA, the Screen Actors Guild, the Chicago Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review.

Cruise’s previous few films include the critically acclaimed American Made, The Mummy, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Oblivion and the suspense thriller Jack Reacher, which earned $218 million worldwide. Prior to that, he made a memorable appearance in Ben Stiller’s comedy smash Tropic Thunder, as the foul-mouthed Hollywood movie mogul Les Grossman. This performance, based on a character Cruise created, earned him praise from critics and audiences as well as his seventh Golden Globe nomination.

Cruise has been honored with tributes ranging from Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Man of the Year Award to the John Huston Award from the Artists Rights Foundation and the American Cinematheque Award for Distinguished Achievement in Film. In addition to his artistic contributions, Cruise has used his professional success as a vehicle for positive change, becoming an international advocate, activist and philanthropist in the fields of health, education and human rights. He has been honored by the Mentor LA organization for his work on behalf of the children of Los Angeles and around the world. In 2011 Cruise received the Simon Wiesenthal Humanitarian Award and the following year he received the Entertainment Icon Award from the Friars Club for his outstanding accomplishments in the entertainment industry and in the humanities. He is the fourth person to receive this honor after Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra. Empire magazine awarded Cruise its Legend of Our Lifetime Award in 2014. Most recently, Cruise was the first actor to receive The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation’s Pioneer of the Year Award in 2018.

• Top Gun: Maverick (2021)
• Mission: Impossible Fallout (2018)
• American Made (2017)
• The Mummy (2017)
• Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)
• Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation (2015)
• Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
• Oblivion (2013)
• Jack Reacher (2012)
• Rock of Ages (2012)
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
• Knight and Day (2010)
• Valkyrie (2008)
• Tropic Thunder (2008)
• Lions for Lambs (2007)
• Mission: Impossible 3 (2006)
• War of the Worlds (2005)
• Collateral (2004)
• The Last Samurai (2003)
• Minority Report (2002)
• Vanilla Sky (2002)
• Mission: Impossible 2 (2001)
• Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
• Magnolia (1999)
• Jerry Maguire (1996)
• Mission: Impossible (1996)
• Interview with the Vampire (1994)
• The Firm (1993)
• A Few Good Men (1992)
• Far and Away (1992)
• Days of Thunder (1990)
• Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
• Rain Man (1988)
• Cocktail (1988)
• The Color of Money (1986)
• Top Gun (1986)
• Legend (1985)
• Risky Business (1983)
• All the Right Moves (1983)
• The Outsiders (1983)
• Losin’ It (1983)
• Taps (1981)
• Endless Love (1981)

Tom Cruise Through the Years

By Apryl Lovera

4:48 PM PDT, July 2, 2022

Tom Cruise, one of the world's highest-paid actors, has a storied acting career that includes various accolades and iconic roles. Take a look back at the star's most memorable moments.

Tom Cruise poses for a portrait.

Tom Cruise stars as Cadet Captain David Shawn in the film  Taps .

Tom Cruise laughs in a scene from the film  Risky Business.

Tom Cruise as Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun .

Tom Cruise married Mimi Rogers in May 1987. They divorced in February 1990.

Rain Man  producer Mark Johnson, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise and director Barry Levinson at the 61 st  Annual Academy Awards Show on March 29 in Los Angeles, California. Johnson (Best Picture), Hoffman (Best Actor) and Levinson (Best Director) took home Oscars that year.

Tom Cruise in a scene from  Born on the Fourth of July .

Tom Cruise met Nicole Kidman on the set of Days of Thunder . The pair tied the knot in December 1990. He filed for divorce in February 2001.

Actor Tom Cruise attends the 47th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 20 and takes home the Best Actor prize he won for   Born on the Fourth of July .

Tom Cruise's Hand and Footprint Ceremony at Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 28.

Tom Cruise as Lestat in  The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles .

Tom Cruise stars in his legendary role as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible .

Tom Cruise talks on a phone in a scene from the film  Jerry Maguire .

Actor Tom Cruise attends the 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 19 and takes home the Best Actor award for  Jerry Maguire .

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise hit the red carpet for the  Eyes Wide Shut  premiere on September 9 in Los Angeles, California.

Tom Cruise attends the 6th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on March 12 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.

Tom Cruise dated his  Vanilla Sky  co-star Penelope Cruz from 2001 to 2004.

Tom Cruise enters Dodgers Stadium with the Olympic torch during the torch relay on June 16 in Los Angeles, California.

Tom Cruise began dating Katie Holmes in April 2005.

Tom Cruise married Katie Holmes in Rome, Italy on November 18, 2006. The actress filed for divorce in June 2012.

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz during the shooting of the film  Knight and Day  on December 9 in Seville, Spain.

Tom Cruise and Jennifer Lopez perform onstage at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards at Gibson Amphitheatre on June 6 in Universal City, California.

Tom Cruise stars in  Edge of Tomorrow  and the film premiered on March 14, 2014.

Tom Cruise speaks onstage at the Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures preview of  Edge of Tomorrow  film during Comic-Con International at San Diego Convention Center on July 20.

Tom Cruise signs autographs for fans as he arrives in South Korea to attend  Jack Reacher: Never Go Back  Seoul premiere on November 7.

Tom Cruise is seen on the set of  Mission: Impossible 6  on May 4 in Paris, France.

Tom Cruise poses at the global premiere of  Mission: Impossible - Fallout  at Palais de Chaillot on July 12 in Paris, France.

Tom Cruise wears a face mask during the filming of the movie  Mission: Impossible Lybra  on October 9.

Tom Cruise attends the men's final of Wimbledon in England on July 11.

Tom Cruise arrives in a helicopter to the world premiere of  Top Gun: Maverick  aboard the USS Midway in San Diego, California on May 4.

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The hollowness of Tom Cruise

How Tom Cruise went from superstar to laughingstock and back again.

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Tom Cruise has spent this year flying high, literally.

At CinemaCon in April, when Mission: Impossible 7 screened its first trailer for theater owners, Cruise sent along a video intro that he’d filmed while standing on top of a biplane flying over a canyon in South Africa. It ended with him launching into a barrel roll. When he arrived at the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick in San Diego in May, he flew there in a helicopter he piloted himself , emblazoned with his own name and the title of his film.

He’s also flying high on a metaphorical level. Cruise turned 60 on July 3, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Top Gun: Maverick has made over $1 billion since it came out in May , the first film of Cruise’s career to do so and just the second film to manage the feat since the pandemic began in 2020. (The first was Spider-Man: No Way Home .)

In the pandemic era, a lot of movies are making only the most cursory appearance in theaters before they hit streaming, if they make it to theaters at all. Not Tom Cruise movies. The idea of Top Gun: Maverick premiering on streaming instead of in theaters? “Never going to happen,” Cruise said at Cannes in May , even though the completed film languished for two years before seeing the light of day. When Paramount told Cruise that Mission: Impossible 7 would play in theaters for only 45 days instead of the three months Cruise was used to, Cruise hired a lawyer .

For his efforts, Cruise is being hailed as the savior of the cinematic experience.

“Can Tom Cruise save the old-fashioned blockbuster?” asked the Telegraph .

Empire magazine described Cruise’s fight as “the battle to save cinema,” with “the biggest movie star in the world” at the vanguard.

“Cruise is here to remind us that the industry will not die on his watch. Not if he can help it,” said the LA Times . “And honestly, who among us won’t be thrilled if Cruise triumphs in life as in the movies?”

It seems clear that Cruise sincerely sees himself as the savior of the big screen, and all the jobs that depend on it. (Or at the very least, he sees himself as the savior of Tom Cruise movies appearing on the big screen.) During the pandemic, he told audiences at Cannes, he called up theater owners to say , “Please, I know what you’re going through. Just know we are making Mission: Impossible , and Top Gun is coming out.” In December 2020, leaked audio footage from the set of Mission: Impossible 7 showed Cruise upbraiding crew members who violated Covid social distancing policies.

“They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us,” Cruise can be heard to shout on the footage . “Because they believe in us and what we’re doing. I’m on the phone with every fucking studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies. We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherfuckers.”

“That’s what I sleep with every night,” Cruise concluded: “the future of this fucking industry!”

By now we should know: Tom Cruise is the hero of a movie that never ends. It’s one where he always, always saves the day.

That wasn’t always the case. Cruise’s stock plummeted in the 2000s after Oprah’s couch and Brooke Shields’ antidepressants . Yet today, Cruise is once again considered a bankable and iconic star. He is no longer a publicity liability for a movie studio.

There’s only one thing that Cruise might not be able to save. That’s the nagging, persistent sense that if the movie were ever to stop, when the lights came up, there would be nothing left of Tom Cruise at all.

“Cruise’s own laugh,” concluded Alex Pappademas in the New Yorker this May, “is the best Tom Cruise impression you’ve ever heard.”

But who says the movie ever has to stop?

Tom Cruise saves chivalry

“I like treating a woman the way that she deserves to be treated.” Tom Cruise to Oprah Winfrey, 2005 .

Here’s an oddity in the latest spree of killer Tom Cruise publicity: For once, the press is really into the way he’s interacting with women.

Over the course of his Top Gun press tour, Tom Cruise has been handed one positive headline after another for his chivalrous habit of taking charge of all ladies present, from Kate Middleton to his co-stars. If there is a woman in the same space as he is, Cruise will escort her up and down stairs and through doorways, present her to the camera, and make sure she is taken care of. It makes for incredible press. In her coverage of Cannes, gossip maven Elaine Lui remarked on how carefully Cruise looked after Top Gun co-star Jennifer Connelly. “I’m told he was never not attentive,” Lui wrote , “always focused on making sure she was looked after, never not ready with a hand to guide her from one place to another, never missing an opportunity to talk about how spectacular she looked, seemingly enthralled by her so that the cameras would pick up on his eyeline and transfer their focus to her.”

This display of “chivalry,” Lui concluded, was “very Tom Cruise.”

Chivalry is part of the old-fashioned action-hero masculinity Tom Cruise has long represented: the hero with the square jaw and faultless manners, kind and attentive to everyone around him. It’s also been central to Tom Cruise’s personal mythology for a long time, in both good ways and bad.

On the good side, Cruise used to be in the press on a regular basis for rescuing regular people: saving a family from a burning sailboat; getting the victim of a hit-and-run to the hospital and then paying her medical bills. Every actor who’s ever worked with him seems to have a Tom Cruise story about him making them some impossibly thoughtful gesture or gift .

On the bad side, quoth Elaine Lui , “Remember how he used to ‘present’ Katie Holmes?”

Cruise’s 2005 marriage to Katie Holmes was marked by its public displays of affection. Cruise was constantly presenting Holmes to the camera, cuddling up to her in public, proclaiming his love for her in ever more enthusiastic ways. Even before he jumped up and down on Oprah’s couch and sent his career into a precipitous downslide, he told Oprah that he covered a hotel room in rose petals for Holmes, and that he took her on a motorcycle ride on the beach.

“I’m a romantic, okay?” Cruise said at the time. “I like treating a woman the way that she deserves to be treated.”

Romantic or not, that marriage also represented a low point in Cruise’s professional life. In the wake of his couch moment with Oprah, Cruise’s popularity plummeted, his reputation took a hit, and he almost lost the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Then came the enormous and damaging wave of publicity in 2012, when Katie Holmes divorced Cruise. Stories rolled out by the day: that Holmes had planned the divorce for two years in order to make sure she would retain custody of the couple’s daughter, Suri; that she had to orchestrate the whole thing with burner phones and secret laptops and lawyers in multiple states ; that she had done it all — developed this whole two-year master plan — because that was how badly she wanted full custody of Suri . Specifically, the story went, Holmes wanted to save Suri from Scientology.

Cruise has since worked diligently to move past the so-called TomKat years. He’s been so effective that all his gentlemanly gestures on his current press tour tend to read as charming, not creepy. But there’s a clear and strong connection between Cruise’s love of chivalry then and his love of chivalry now. They are part and parcel of what appears to be a driving force behind Tom Cruise’s quest to be a hero, win the girl, and save the world: Scientology.

Tom Cruise saves mankind (from thetans)

“That’s what drives me: is that I know we have an opportunity to really help, for the first time, effectively change people’s lives. And I am dedicated to that. I am absolutely, uncompromisingly dedicated to that.” Tom Cruise, Scientology recruitment video, 2004 .

The controversial Church of Scientology, founded by the science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953, appeals to the sort of worldview Cruise embodies. The world is under attack from evil forces, Scientology teaches, and all that stops them is one good man who’s not going to let petty rules get in his way.

Scientology is also, despite the number of celebrities it boasts among its ranks, a publicity liability. It’s widely suspected of being a pyramid scheme at best and at worse alleged to be an abusive cult profiting from forced labor and human trafficking , according to lawsuits and reports from former members. Its central cosmology, which teaches that human beings are plagued by immortal alien souls called thetans brought to Earth by the galactic emperor Xenu billions of years ago, is ripe for mockery.

The reporting that exists on Cruise’s connection to the church is both lengthy and damning. In September 2012, Vanity Fair published an exposé by Maureen Orth on the way Cruise outsourced management of his romantic life to the church. Tony Ortega, the closest thing there is to a beat reporter on Scientology, has a dedicated Tom Cruise tab on his website. In 2013, celebrated New Yorker reporter Lawrence Wright expanded his existing Scientology reporting into the book Going Clear , which prominently delved into Cruise’s status in the church. In 2015, Going Clear was adapted into an Emmy-winning HBO documentary by the director Alex Gibney, again featuring plenty of Cruise stories. The story they told is dramatic, and it plays heavily on Cruise’s apparent understanding of himself as a savior figure. (The Church of Scientology has strongly denied all these accounts , describing them as lies from disgruntled former members and journalists with grudges.)

Cruise joined the Church of Scientology during his first marriage to Scientologist Mimi Rogers, after Top Gun had already made him a star. According to now-defected former church officials, allegedly he began to drift away from active practice during the ’90s and his marriage to Nicole Kidman, only to drift back as that marriage foundered in the late ’90s. The clincher came, those former Scientologists say in Going Clear , when Cruise said he wanted to tap Kidman’s phone , and the Church of Scientology obliged.

Keeping Cruise happy apparently became a priority for the Church of Scientology. When Cruise needed a new love interest, the church reportedly recruited a young member for the job , gave her a makeover to Cruise’s specifications, and then broke up with her for him after he tired of her. When the woman told a friend what had happened to her, the church reportedly sentenced her to months of menial labor in punishment.

Around the same time that Cruise was making his grand return to the church, he fired his longtime Hollywood publicist, allegedly because she told him to stop talking about Scientology so much when he was on the publicity trail for The Last Samurai . He brought on his Scientologist sister to manage his image instead.

As Cruise was becoming more and more committed to the church, the tabloid industry was beginning to go rabid . By 2004, Us Weekly had gone from monthly trade magazine to weekly gossip rag, pitting itself against People magazine. In Touch Weekly, Life & Style Weekly, and OK! had all emerged. These magazines thrived on an endless diet of outrageous celebrity soundbites, and as Tom Cruise made the publicity rounds for The War of the Worlds , he kept offering them up, one after another.

“Some people, well, if they don’t like Scientology, well, then, fuck you,” he told Rolling Stone . “Really. Fuck you. Period.”

Citing Scientology’s distrust of psychiatry, Cruise criticized Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants to treat her postpartum depression, and then told Matt Lauer he was being “glib” when Lauer suggested he might have overstepped his bounds.

Cruise’s public behavior became more and more erratic. On the same War of the Worlds publicity tour, Cruise infamously jumped up and down on Oprah’s couch, enthusiastically declaring his love for Katie Holmes.

Holmes seemed to be getting caught up in the Scientology swirl herself. A W magazine profile of Holmes saw her conduct an interview with a “Scientology chaperone,” who prompted Holmes with phrases about how much she adored Cruise when she seemed to fumble for words.

The spree of outré quotes took their toll. In 2006, one report found that between the spring and summer of 2005, Cruise fell from 11th most-liked celebrity in the US to 197th .

Fox News predicted the end of Cruise’s career. “It will be all but impossible now for a new generation of film fans to see past his erratic public behavior, the Oprah couch shenanigans, the decrying of psychiatry and now the rejection of Catholicism for a religion invented by a science-fiction writer,” they opined .

Cruise, seeing the writing on the wall, veered away from talking about his religion during his movie publicity tours. But for the next 10 years, Scientology would continue to haunt his public image.

In 2008, a video leaked to the press that was reportedly a Scientology conversion effort, filmed in 2004 . It featured Cruise glassy-eyed and grinning in a black turtleneck, talking about all the ways Scientology has changed his life. “Being a Scientologist, when you drive past an accident, it’s not like anybody else,” he explains. “You know you have to do something about it.”

“Let me put it this way,” said Gawker, which broke the news of the video : “if Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch was an 8 on the scale of scary, this is a 10.”

In 2012, the Cruise-Holmes divorce cracked open the door of Tom Cruise Scientology stories. A host more came pouring out — and not just in the tabloids, but in legacy print magazines and prestige cable shows: Vanity Fair, the New Yorker, the Village Voice, HBO.

According to former Scientology officials, the Church has continued to manage Cruise’s life. Reportedly, it’s granted him the full benefits of its more unsavory enterprises, including the Church’s alleged use of slave labor .

Former Scientologist John Brousseau says the church has custom-built luxury vehicles and sound systems for Cruise and provides the staff who manage his many homes. Because this labor is provided by the Church, it’s done through Sea Org, the Scientologist association that’s been accused of human trafficking and forced labor . ( The Church has described these claims as “both scurrilous and ridiculous.”) According to Ortega , Sea Org members who worked on Cruise’s property “were paid only about $50 a week by the church, even though their hours could reach 100 a week.” Cruise has a net worth estimated at $600 million .

The picture painted of Cruise by former members of the church is not flattering. They tend to describe Cruise as a well-meaning man who, fundamentally, is not curious, and who is happy to have beautiful things handed to him without looking at their cost. Scientology is attractive to Cruise, in this account, because it makes his life easier while simultaneously flattering his ego with the belief that he is a hero.

But as damning as those stories are, they have largely faded out of public memory. In the 10 years since his divorce from Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise has been working hard to change the narrative.

Can Tom Cruise save Tom Cruise?

“People can create their own lives. … I decided that I’m going to create, for myself, who I am, not what other people say I should be. I’m entitled to that.” Parade, 2006 .

Cruise is currently experiencing a late-career renaissance. Cannes Film Festival feted him in May , awarding him an honorary Palme d’Or and marking the occasion with a red carpet air show. The press loves him again. Top Gun: Maverick is a major success, and the next slew of Mission: Impossible films are bound to be as well.

He’s even rumored to have a new girlfriend. If, as the tabloids claim, Cruise actually is (or was) dating his Mission: Impossible co-star Hayley Atwell , she would be his first public girlfriend since his divorce from Holmes 10 years ago.

So did he do it? How did Tom Cruise go from America’s 197th favorite celebrity to a bankable superstar once again?

The answer seems to be deceptively simple: He kept working, and he stopped talking — about Scientology, and about almost everything else too.

Cruise’s PR nadir came during a period of oversharing. Since then, he’s become known for his intense desire for privacy. “When was the last time paparazzi captured Tom Cruise on the street or anywhere but a film set or premiere?” wondered the New York Post in May 2022 . He heavily restricts the questions journalists are allowed to ask him before he agrees to an interview, and both his religion and his family life tend to be off-limits.

Meanwhile, Cruise has kept making movies. Tropic Thunder in 2008 and Rock of Ages in 2012 together proved he had a sense of humor. Edge of Tomorrow in 2014, which saw Cruise ceding much of the spotlight to co-star Emily Blunt, proved he knew how to share the screen with another star. And the Mission: Impossible franchise has churned out hit after reliable hit. “I can attest that I am alarmed at the extent to which I suddenly love Tom Cruise,” admitted GQ entertainment editor Ashley Fetters in 2015 , as Cruise publicized Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation .

Cruise has also benefited from the current cultural shame surrounding the tabloid culture of the 2000s. As the world agrees that tabloid targets like Britney Spears were hard done by in the heady, tacky days of Y2K, everything from the era has been painted with the same shade of remorse. Vilifying Tom Cruise for jumping on Oprah’s couch can feel like the same toxic impulse that led to a decade of mocking Spears for having her mental breakdown in public, even though what Cruise has been accused of abetting within the Church of Scientology is far worse than anything Spears has ever been accused of.

In most ways, this strategy has been successful. The tabloid spectacle of Tom Cruise, Scientologist has been covered over by four decades of hard work from Tom Cruise, one of the last great movie stars .

But it’s not clear that Cruise can ever again reach the heights of public adoration he enjoyed in 2003. There’s a persistent strangeness around Tom Cruise’s image that has never quite resolved itself, a sort of falseness that he’s never been entirely able to weed out. It’s a falseness that’s rooted not in his Scientology but in his movie star core. From the beginning, the world has refused to believe Tom Cruise when he breaks out his giant movie star smile. It especially refuses to believe him when he laughs.

In an early pan of 1983’s Risky Business , Cruise’s breakout film, New York magazine took aim at the young star’s mannerisms. “Cruise has a slight, undeveloped voice and a nervous smile, which he relies on whenever the script reveals one of its innumerable holes,” the review ran .

In HBO’s Going Clear , footage of Tom Cruise laughing in his Scientology recruitment video plays while one ex-Scientologist declares, “Scientologists are all full of shit.”

A 2004 Rolling Stone profile devoted paragraph after paragraph to the oddness of “the famous Tom Cruise laugh.”

“It comes on just fine, a regular laugh by any standards. You will be laughing too,” wrote Neil Strauss . “But then, when the humor subsides, you will stop laughing. At this point, however, Cruise’s laugh will just be crescendoing. And he will be making eye contact with you.”

It’s as though there’s a hollowness at the center of Cruise’s image, some sort of vacancy that he is forever restlessly seeking to fill. As though if he can only save enough people, enough industries, enough worlds — maybe then, at last, he can finally be whole. But can anyone, even Tom Cruise, do that much saving?

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Where Does Tom Cruise Live And How Big Is His House?

With a  net worth of $600 million , Tom Cruise and the word "movie star" are practically synonymous. Given his impressive resume, spanning from his breakout 1983 role in "Risky Business" to his ever-more-momentous "Mission Impossible" blockbuster franchise, the actor has not stopped making the big bucks for both himself and everyone around him — with his films earning hundreds of upon hundreds in the three decades he's been a star.

Like many of Hollywood's biggest stars, Cruise's life story was as close to rags-to-riches as they come. "For years, all I had were a bed, a desk and a chair," Tom Cruise told Roger Ebert in 1986. "When I was making a movie, they put me in hotel rooms. Between jobs, I moved back into my apartment, and my lifestyle dropped considerably." Coming from an underprivileged childhood, Cruise quickly learned the value of hard work no matter one's net worth.  "It's a strange thing, being handed so much power," Cruise also related to Ebert.  "My point of view and my values haven't changed. Everybody wants to push and pull me, but I refuse to change my lifestyle."

Nonetheless, Cruise's lifestyle has changed on the surface at least. Given that he has no doubt ditched that scarcely decorated apartment for cushier digs since, let's explore just where and what type of home Cruise inhabits these days!

Tom Cruise's penthouse is cool — even for Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise has called Florida his home base since 2018. Per Architectural Digest , Cruise fetched a pretty $55 million when he sold his Los Angeles and New York properties in 2016, moving into a multimillion-dollar penthouse in Clearwater, Florida. Planned by a wealthy Scientologist — Cruise is controversially tied to the religion — the 10-story SkyView condominium is one block from the Church of Scientology, per People . With Cruise reportedly close friends with church leader David Miscavige, a source told the outlet that the movie star was "very relaxed when he's here." 

In addition to occupying the entire top two floors, according to AD, Cruise's pad packs amenities like a roof deck, a nearly 40-foot pool, a bar, and more.What sets the pad apart from other celebrity dig, however, is the passageway that leads to a private, smaller condo on the second floor (which houses a flight simulator, for one). Additionally, there is a nine-car garage and private car elevator (what a cool phrase to say). Now that's  on par with expectations for the "Mission Impossible" star.

Tom Cruise sold his vacation home in Colorado for millions

Although Clearwater, Florida, might be Tom Cruise's personal headquarters, he also owns property in West Sussex, England — for one. Per The Sun , the estate was purchased by Cruise in 2006 for a reported $4.2 million. Bearing the regal title of "Rede Place," the property is located in Dormans Park, East Grinstead, which is reportedly close to the British headquarters of the Church of Scientology. Boasting 14 acres of land and an 11,331-square-foot interior, per insider , the manor was constructed in 2003, meaning Cruise would likely be one of its very first owners.

Cruise parted ways with his longtime 320-acre Telluride, Colo. ranch, which was reportedly a vacation refuge frequented by Cruise with ex-wife Katie Holmes and his children. Putting the ranch on sale for $39.5 million in March, per Forbes , the home sold without a hitch two months later for the asking price . Ardent followers of Cruise's career might remember this was the shooting location for a follow-up to his infamous 2005 interview with Oprah Winfrey , as noted by  Town & Country . However, Cruise's Telluride ranch's main draw, aside from being a ski haven known for its celebrity denizens, is the cozy seclusion it provides for the uber-famous. No wonder it sold so fast! 

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Tom Cruise’s kids: Meet his 3 children including 16-year-old daughter Suri

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Tom Cruise may keep quiet about his kids, but the “Top Gun: Maverick” actor is a father of three.

The Golden Globe winner became a parent while married to Nicole Kidman from 1990 to 2001.

After struggling to conceive, the former couple adopted daughter Isabella and son Connor in 1992 and 1995, respectively.

Amid their divorce, the “Big Little Lies” alum suffered an ectopic pregnancy . After splitting from Cruise and moving on with Keith Urban , Kidman later welcomed daughters Sunday and Faith via surrogate.

As for Cruise, he moved on with Katie Holmes in 2005. The duo welcomed their daughter, Suri, in April 2006, seven months before tying the knot in Italy.

Holmes filed for divorce from the Oscar nominee in June 2012, and their divorce was settled the following month. Keep scrolling to meet Cruise’s kids.

Isabella Jane Cruise

Kidman and Cruise adopted Isabella shortly after she was born in 1992, and their daughter has followed in the “Mission: Impossible” star’s Scientologist footsteps.

In a March 2019 newsletter for the organization, Isabella thanked her dad “for everything.”

Although Kidman keeps quiet about her relationship with Isabella, she did speak about her adult children in a November 2018 Who interview .

“They are adults,” the Emmy winner said of Isabella and Connor at the time. “They are able to make their own decisions.

“ They have made choices to be Scientologists and as a mother, it’s my job to love them,” she continued.

“I know 150 percent that I would give up my life for my children because it’s what my purpose is.”

Connor Anthony Kidman Cruise

Connor was also raised in the Church of Scientology after being adopted in 1995.

Cruise and Kidman’s adult son is active on social media and has documented his fishing trips, his new buzzcut hairstyle and more.

Over the years, Connor and his dad have been photographed on rare outings.

The duo watched basketball games together in Connor’s younger years, and have more recently been spotted boarding a helicopter and hanging out on the “Jack Reacher” set.

Suri Cruise

Holmes gave birth to Suri in 2006 and has maintained a close bond with her daughter.

The “Dawson’s Creek” alum told Town & Country in 2017 that she provides the little one with a “stable and innocent” childhood .

Cruise, however, still has “no part” of his youngest child’s life , a source exclusively told Page Six in March 2022.

In a 2012 defamation lawsuit against Bauer Media, the “Jerry Maguire” star said he didn’t see Suri for three months after his and Holmes’ breakup.

“Listen, when there is a divorce … things change,” Cruise said. “It’s not an ideal situation.”

Ex-Scientologist Leah Remini has asserted that Cruise “can’t be connected” to Suri because Holmes is considered a “suppressive person” or “enemy” in the religion.

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