Tom Cruise is the definition of a star, never ceasing to amaze fans. But he’s
had his share of controversies and complications in his life.
Remember the couch jumping incident? Keep watching for a look at Cruise from childhood to today.
Born in Syracuse, New York on July 3, 1962, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV had a rough start
to life. The family moved often, noted Syracuse.com, spending time in Ontario,
Ohio, and New Jersey before he graduated high school. His mother, Mary Lee,
eventually left his electrical engineer father, and his parents divorced when Tom Cruise was 12.
Cruise's father does not hold a special place in his heart, and the two had presumably been
estranged for a decade when the elder Mapother died in 1984. Cruise said of his father to Parade,
"He was a bully and a coward –- the person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you.
It was a great lesson in my life, how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang!"
After the separation, the family struggled to make ends meet,
and young Cruise did what he could to support his mom and three siblings, telling Playboy,
"I've had paying jobs since I was about 8 years old — cutting grass, raking leaves, paper routes,
selling Easter cards and Christmas cards."
While Tom Cruise's parents were still married,
his father got a job with the Canadian military and the family moved to Ottawa
in 1971. It was there that the would-be superstar got his first taste of acting.
Just a year after the move, Cruise represented his school,
Robert Hopkins, at a local drama festival. Drama teacher George
Steinburg recalled in Andrew Morton's book "Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography,"
"He had good raw energy that had to be channeled. You could tell there was some talent."
Cruise appeared in multiple roles during his time there, which spanned from age 8 to 11, and made a
memorable impression with each one. Teacher Wendy Santo shared with the Ottawa Citizen,
"He played the Sun. [...] I do remember that when that child got up on the stage,
there was something in his presentation and the way he posed. You knew he was different."
“WOOOO!”
By the summer of 1983, Tom Cruise had appeared in four movies, but he was
about to be catapulted into superstardom. In "Risky Business," Cruise played Joel Goodsen,
a teen who starts to run a brothel out of his home while his parents are away.
But before those shenanigans start, he drinks a Chivas Regal and Coke,
attempts to eat a frozen TV dinner ... and then performs one of cinema's most
famous dance routines. Wearing a button-down shirt, tighty-whities, and basic gym socks,
he lip-synced to Bob Seger’s "Old Time Rock & Roll" — and an icon was born. Rolling Stone said,
“[It was a] sequence of sexy air-guitar
strutting and mock-macho hilarity that endeared Cruise to film audiences."
The film made a significant $65 million at the box office and allowed Cruise to start demanding
$1 million per film. Co-star Curtis Armstrong wrote in his memoir "Revenge of the Nerd,"
"I think I'm safe in saying that 'Risky Business' was the last time he was just 'Tom.'"
“Fair enough.”
Second to being a movie star, Tom Cruise is famous for his devotion to Scientology.
He was introduced to the controversial religion by his first wife, Mimi Rogers,
and over the decades, he has become its most high-profile follower. He told ITV,
"It's something that has helped me incredibly in my life.
I've been a Scientologist for over 30 years. ... Without it, I wouldn't be where I am."
He called it a, quote, "beautiful religion," noting that he is incredibly proud of his
faith. Hard as it is to believe, Cruise was once a devout Christian who was raised Roman Catholic.
This shift is one of his most shocking transformations. He was
even on the track to potential priesthood, attending St. Francis Seminary in Ohio,
Newsweek reported. Classmate Shane Dempler told the New York Daily News,
"He had a very strong Catholic faith. We went to Mass,
spent time in the chapel and enjoyed hearing stories from the priests.
We thought the priests had a great lifestyle and we were really interested in priesthood."
A life in the church was clearly not to be, however,
as Tom Cruise seemed to have partying more than priesthood on his mind. Dempler claims the two
were asked not to return to the school after they stole alcohol from some of the friars!
“We live in a cynical world. A cynical world.”
Tom Cruise roared into the 1990s with "Days of Thunder," a film about stock car racing he
conceived of and starred in. The production was fraught with problems and delays, but it still
went on to find success. As the deadline to wrap approached, he told Rolling Stone,
"We always felt the pressure from the beginning, in August.
It's been pedal to the floor from that point on."
The same can be said of his career. After the movie's release, there was no catching Tom Cruise,
as he went on to be the hottest star of the decade. His string of successful films spanned
genres, including drama "A Few Good Men", romantic comedy "Jerry Maguire",
action flick "Mission: Impossible", and erotic thriller "Eyes Wide Shut".
The films were box office successes — all the more remarkable because, as Forbes pointed out,
the majority were rated R. Several of the movies were also critically applauded, with Tom Cruise
earning his three Academy Award nominations for work released between 1989 and 1999.
While filming "Days of Thunder," Tom Cruise fell in love with his co-star,
a then up-and-coming Australian actress named Nicole Kidman. He told Vanity Fair,
"It was that special connection when you recognize your soul mate.
She is a person who understands. It was as if a whole new life had started for me."
The two married in 1990. It was her first and his second, as he'd previously married and
divorced first wife Mimi Rogers. The couple adopted two children, Isabella and Connor,
and acted together twice more in 1992's "Far and Away" and 1999's "Eyes Wide Shut," the final film
by legendary director Stanley Kubrick. That last movie, about a couple's indiscretions,
was plagued by rumors, the Independent reported, including those of troubles
within their marriage. But years later, Kidman brushed them aside, telling The New York Times,
"We were happily married through that. We would go
go-kart racing after those scenes. ... I don't know what else to say."
Eventually though, the real-life couple would crumble,
with Tom Cruise filing for divorce in 2001.
When the CGI blockbusters rose to prominence in the 1990s,
Tom Cruise didn't jump on the trend. Instead he jumped off things — becoming even more famous for
performing the majority of his own stunts. He explained on "The Graham Norton Show,"
"It has to do with storytelling. ... It allows
us to put cameras in places that you're not normally able to do."
Over the years, he has hung off a flying jet plane, held his breath
underwater for more than six minutes, and more. Director Christopher McQuarrie told
The New York Times that he considers the helicopter chase in "Mission:
Impossible — Fallout" to be Tom Cruise's hairiest stunt. He explained, saying,
"Tom is weaving in and out of canyons and gullies. There was one where his rotor blades were just
a few feet away from the rock walls on either side. It was like flying through a broom closet."
Ironically the star broke his ankle while performing what he told Jimmy Fallon was
an "easy" jump during filming. For Cruise, it's all in good fun. He told Graham Norton,
"The first time of any stunt is nerve wracking but it [is] also exhilarating.
I have been told a few times during shooting a stunt to stop smiling."
"TomKat," as the couple was known in the tabloids,
began in April 2005 when Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were seen together in Rome.
The relationship raised eyebrows from the get-go. For starters, the actress,
who had kept a fairly low profile after starring in the teen TV drama "Dawson's Creek," was 26,
notably younger than Cruise. According to Vulture, it was a whirlwind romance worthy of a "Bachelor"
episode, complete with first-day motorcycle rides, spontaneous trips to Italy and, ultimately, a
proposal at the Eiffel Tower. Before they tied the knot in 2006, she gave birth to their daughter,
Suri. After her arrival, things settled down a bit. Tom Cruise later told Oprah Winfrey,
"Saturday night we have dinner, and then it's games. We play Quick Scrabble,
and then it's usually movie night."
Still, despite all the public displays of affection and talk of domestic bliss,
the marriage was not built to last. In 2012, the actress filed for divorce.
The actor's Scientology religion was said to have played a role in her leaving, according to The
Hollywood Reporter, but both parties have remained tight-lipped about what really happened.
In 2005, Tom Cruise was in love with actress Katie Holmes and, according to many,
out of his mind. First, there was the couch jump seen around the world in May. Appearing
on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Tom Cruise pumped his fists in the air, knelt down and, of course,
hopped onto the sofa multiple times. He signed, "I'm in love," as Oprah Winfrey kept repeating,
"I've never seen you like this."
Eventually her astonished response was simply, quote, "You're gone." And that's how it felt
for people watching at home. Subsequent interviews didn't help dispel that idea.
In June, he chatted with Matt Lauer on the "Today" show and doubled-down on comments he had
made criticizing actress Brooke Shields' use of antidepressants after she gave birth. Cruise said.
"There's misinformation, and she doesn't understand the history of psychiatry."
“Psychiatry is a pseudoscience."
He also got short with a "60 Minutes Australia" reporter over personal questions,
telling him to, "put [his] manners back."
The actor's image was quickly being tarnished. As The Guardian reported,
Paramount even considered stopping work on the third "Mission: Impossible" movie.
Ultimately, Cruise bounced back — but his star never shone quite so brightly.
After his reputation took a hit, Tom Cruise seemed willing to take some risks to win back audiences.
And to that end, he said yes to two outrageous roles that let him show off his not-so-serious
and downright goofy side. First up was the part of Les Grossman in the action comedy
"Tropic Thunder." The character was a loud, unattractive, disgusting movie studio executive.
It was a small role, not the kind such a superstar would normally take on.
But, as the Observer noted, it got people talking — in a good way.
Then, in 2012, Cruise appeared in, of all things, a musical. He played Stacee Jaxx, a womanizing
hair-metal singer in "Rock of Ages." Cruise said at the movie's premiere, as reported by MTV News,
"It was so different. I'm always looking for different things to do
and to work with [director Adam] Shankman on a musical, he just really knows these musicals."
The performance was ridiculous and over the top, but that was the point. SFGate raved,
"Tom Cruise as a bandanna-headed Axl Rose type will hit you as the purest
bit of genius in the man's entire film career."
Tom Cruise's latest projects are all highly anticipated, but also seem rather familiar.
Up first is "Top Gun: Maverick," a sequel to the 1986 hit "Top Gun."
Teasing the cool stunts being filmed for the movie, the actor told Empire,
"There's never been an aerial sequence shot this
way. I don't know if there ever will be again, to be honest."
Then appearing next on his IMDb page are the seventh and eighth installments of the
ever-popular "Mission: Impossible" franchise. There are also rumors of a sequel for his 2014
sci-fi flick "Edge of Tomorrow." Director Doug Liman told Collider in early 2021,
"It's one of these things where if Tom, Emily and I were to say, 'We're ready to
pull the trigger on this script,' it's Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, the film gets made."
Then again, if we've learned anything about Cruise's lifestyle, he's never been one to
rest on his laurels. In May 2020, it was confirmed that the star will work in conjunction with NASA
to film a movie aboard the International Space Station. Elon Musk's Space X program
is also involved, CNET reported. The big question now is: Can he run in outer space?
“It’s one of life’s mysteries, sir.”
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