Tom Cruise in portrait: Privately controversial, as a cinema star one of the greatest
Tom Cruise is still one of the biggest movie stars in the world - after almost 40 years in the spotlight. His films have grossed around 10 billion dollars, but he himself is not undisputed as a person.
Tom Cruise has been in the film business since the early 80s, had his breakthrough with "Top Gun" and established his own super successful franchise with "Mission: Impossible", which has grossed more than 3 billion dollars worldwide. All of the Cruise films put together even generate revenues of around $ 10 billion.
Because of his Scientology membership, the actor and producer is repeatedly criticized. A star portrait with the most important highlights of life, successes, life partners and beauty styles of the 57-year-old actor.
How 2020 will be for Tom Cruise is still in the stars. "Top Gun: Maverick" is scheduled to hit American cinemas in June, but everything is at a standstill in Hollywood at the moment - the film industry is also feeling the drastic effects of the corona crisis. The shooting of “Mission: Impossible 7” had already been canceled at the end of February and the set is now to be recreated in England. If you look at the current situation in Great Britain, it can be assumed that it will not be easier there either - Cruise and his team are facing difficult times.
That was not always the case - the American actor can look back on a lifelong, steep career that may even be unique for Hollywood. The 57-year-old, born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, was born in Syracuse in 1962 and has been at the forefront of the international film industry for more than three decades. In the 80s he had his breakthrough with "Top Gun" and "Rain Man", nowadays he is still one of the best paid actors in the world with his "Mission: Impossible" series. (Also read: From super sports cars to SUVs - this is Tom Cruise's fleet)
Tom Cruise Biography: A Boy from Syracuse
Tom Cruise is born in Syracuse, New York State, a trading city south of Lake Ontario. His parents, Mary Lee and Thomas Cruise Mapother III and his three sisters did not have permanent residence for a long time. For this reason, Tom attends more than 15 different schools in Canada and the United States. After his parents divorced, he moved to New Jersey with his mother, dropped out of high school and made his way to New York at the age of 18. There he begins training as an actor at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater. (Also interesting: Tom Cruise causes quite a stir in Rome in his BMW M5)
Cruise made his screen debut in 1981. The 19-year-old got his first supporting role in the US production "Endless Love", a drama by Franco Zefirelli in which Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt play the leading roles. In the same year he also starred in "Die Kadetten von Bunker Hill", a military drama by Harold Becker in which the teenage Sean Penn can also be seen. Two years later, the actor can be seen in "The Outsider" by the legendary director Francis Ford Coppola ("The Godfather"), alongside Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze and Emilio Estevez.
Breakthrough with "Top Gun" and "Rain Man"
It will take a few more years, but in 1986 Cruise, who is now 24, finally made his international breakthrough with “Top Gun”. Tom Cruise plays a United States Navy fighter pilot who is known for particularly daring flight maneuvers. The action film, which grossed more than $ 350 million worldwide, made Cruise one of the most famous actors of its time.
“Top Gun” advanced to a cult film in the 80s, which was certainly also due to Harold Faltermeyer's soundtrack and stars like Kelly McGillis. The track "Take My Breath Away", written by Giorgio Moroder, won an Oscar for "Best Song" and a Golden Globe in the same category. American film critic Roger Ebert said films like "Top Gun" were difficult to judge because "his good scenes are very good and his bad scenes are ruthlessly bad".
In 1986, Cruise was selected by Barry Levinson to star in the road movie "Rain Man". The main characters of the film are the two brothers Charlie (Tom Cruise) and Raymond Babbit (Dustin Hoffman), who know nothing of each other into adulthood and only get to know each other better during a long drive through the United States. Because Raymond is autistic and it is difficult for him to develop deeper relationships with other people. "Rain Man" was nominated for eight Academy Awards in 1989 and received the trophy in the categories of "Best Picture", "Best Actor" (Dustin Hoffman), "Best Director" and "Best Original Screenplay". (Also Read: Justin Bieber Challenges Tom Cruise To A Fight)
Filmography: The most important films with Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise has starred in more than 40 films and has worked with famous film directors including Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Ron Howard, Sydney Pollack, Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann and JJ Abrams.
At the beginning of the 1990s, Cruise's international success went through the roof: he shot “A Question of Honor” (with Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore), “The Company” (with Jeanne Tripplehorn), “Interview with a Vampire” (Brad Pitt, Kisten Dunst) and "Jerry Maguire" (Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger). Cruise becomes one of the most successful actors in the world. In 1996 the first part of "Mission: Impossible" comes on the market, followed by another five sequels by 2018. "Mission: Impossible" 7 has already been announced for next year.
The American was also used as a performer in films that are artistically more demanding, for example in the indie masterpiece “Magnolia” by Paul Thomas Anderson or in the controversial Kubrick drama “Eyes Wide Shut”, a film adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's “Dream Novel” ". After the film project “Operation Walküre”, which tells of a failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, “Knight and Day” is followed by a financial failure in the USA, and the musical film “Rock of Ages” receives mostly negative reviews. This is followed by the science fiction films “Oblivion” and “Edge of Tomorrow”. The latter again received mostly good reviews. (Also interesting: Tom Cruise is the style king of the shearling jacket - this is how you style the Top Gun look)
Other films with Tom Cruise in excerpts:
- 1999: Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- 1999: Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
- 2002: Minority Report (Steven Spielberg)
- 2004: Collateral (Michael Mann)
- 2005: War of the Worlds (Steven Spielberg)
- 2008: Operation Walküre - The Stauffenberg Assassination (Bryan Singer)
- 2012: Jack Reacher (Christopher McQuarrie)
- 2013: Oblivion (Joseph Kosinski)
- 2017: The Mummy (Alex Kurtzman)
- 2017: Barry Seal: Only in America (Doug Liman)
- 2018: Mission: Impossible - Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)
Private life with girlfriends, spouses and children
When it comes to women, Mr Cruise doesn't seem so lucky: In 1987, at the age of 25, the actor married actress Mimi Rogers. Only three years later, the young couple got divorced.
Then he met his future wife Nicole Kidman. The couple adopt two children and play together in “Days of Thunder”, “In a Distant Land” and “Eyes Wide Shut”. After the divorce from the Australian actress, Cruise has a relationship with the Spaniard Penélope Cruz. In 2006 he married Katie Holmes - the couple had daughter Suri and were divorced in 2012.
Scientology - a dark chapter
Tom Cruise is a Scientology supporter and was therefore repeatedly criticized in the past, especially in Germany. In recent years, however, there has been less headlines surrounding Tom's membership in founder L. Ron Hubbard's sect.
The superstar last hit the headlines at the beginning of 2008 because the controversial British bestselling author Andrew Morton featured him in his book “Tom Cruise. The Star and the Scientology Conspiracy ”as one of the leaders of the sect.
Katie Holmes and Cruise were married for six years - Scientology is said to have been a reason for the couple's separation. Holmes allegedly tried to protect her daughter from the influence of the international organization. The star's adopted children, Isabella and Connor, are also said to be members of the movement, according to various media reports.
Awards and nominations.....
Tom Cruise's film awards were a long time ago. He received Oscar nominations for "Best Actor" for "Born July 4th and" Jerry Maguire - Game of Life "in 1990 and 1997. In 2000, he had a nomination for" Best Supporting Actor "in" Magnolia ". He has also received multiple Golden Globe nominations and three wins, Best Actor for Born July 4th and Jerry Maguire, and Best Supporting Actor for Magnolia.
Cruise has also received nominations and awards from BAFTA, the Screen Actors Guild, the Chicago Film Critics Association, and the National Board of Review. However, the actor was repeatedly nominated for the “Golden Raspberry” as the “worst main actor” - he won the “Anti-Oscar” for “Interview with a Vampire” and “The Mummy”.
Social media: Tom Cruise keeps a low profile
Cruise isn't very active on social media - the actor has kept his private life pretty covered for decades. The star has been on Instagram after all, but only since 2018. He has four million followers and is reluctant to post - just 43 posts were published on the account.
The posts often show Cruise doing his hair-raising stunts, most of which he is known to do himself. There are also pictures of film premieres and recordings with his fans. The last entries focus on "Top Gun - Maverick". Probably only Tom's marketing team posts on this Insta account - personal photos of the Hollywood star cannot be found.
Beauty & looks: Tom's smile is legendary
Tom Cruise's smile is legendary - and it is astonishing how little the 57-year-old has changed to this day, even if the "Botox alarm" was occasionally triggered. The actor keeps fit and has only changed his look occasionally since the 1990s. Whether it's a trendy short hairstyle or a longer hairstyle, Cruise always embodies its own authentic style. Beards don't seem to be his thing, Tom is mostly clean-shaven.
The actor maintains a timeless masculine look, whether jeans combined with a shirt and leather jacket or with a suit and tie, Tom Cruise always looks good.
German voice actor for Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise did not have a permanent voice actor at the beginning of his career. From the mid-1980s to 1996 he was spoken by Stephan Schwartz, and Patrick Winczewski has been the voice of the world-famous actor since “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999).
