Family Lineage
Tom Cruise is of Irish, English, and German descent, with his Irish heritage even dating back 840 years! His lineage includes a long line of knights, barons, and even rebels. Funnily enough, he’s probably played some of these roles in films. He even attempted an Irish accent in the movie Far and Away, but most were not convinced by this.
Family Lineage
Alternate Career Path
Cruise grew up in a strict Catholic home and was even a Franciscan Seminary student while he was a teenager. He was even pursuing a career as a priest, when he decided to mage a huge U-turn and become an actor instead. He could not have chosen a more different path!
Alternate Career Path
A Rough Childhood
Growing up, Cruise’s family faced poverty and he was subjected to an abusive father that kept moving and uprooting the family. Since Cruise was always small for his age, he was a target for bullies. Who would have thought that one day he would become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood?
A Rough Childhood
Dedicated To The Role
When Tom Cruise commits to a role, he truly commits to a role. Perhaps this one of the traits that sets him apart from others in the industry. For example, when he starred in The Last Samurai, he learned his Japanese lines in three months. He has been to Japan so many times that there’s a dedicated “Tom Cruise Day” observed on October 10th.
Dedicated To The Role
Doing His Own Stunts
Reportedly, Cruise will refuse to sign onto a movie without getting a green light from producers to do his own stunts. He hung off the side of the plane and held his breath for 6 whole minutes while filming Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Even to this day he insists on doing his own stunts.
Doing His Own Stunts
The Turn Of Events
You might be wondering how a seminary students ends up being one of the most famous actors of all time? While he was at school, he was on the wrestling team, and a knee injury caused him to have to leave the team. With his free time, he tried out acting, discovering a new passion. When he was just 19, he landed his first acting role in Endless Love.
The Turn Of Events
Self Conscious
When Cruise was a child, he damaged his front teeth during a hockey game, and it caused his to be so self-conscious, he avoided doing photoshoots because of it. In 2002, he decided to get braces as an adult to fix his teeth once and for all, having them removed only to while working on films. Of course, his smile is one of his signature features, so it was all worth it in the end.
Self Conscious
Passing Up Iron Man
Did you know that Cruise could have been the face of the Iron Man franchise? He was initially signed on as both the main role and producer, but he ultimately stepped away from both in 2004. He said: “As it was lining up, it just didn’t feel to me like it was gonna work.” We wonder if he regrets the decision, seeing as the films as super popular.
Passing Up Iron Man
Totally Fearless
In 2010, we got another glimpse at how fearless Tom Cruise really is when he appeared on Top Gear. He actually accomplished the fastest lap on the celebrity leaderboard. He even almost flipped his car over. Race car driver Ben Collins said Cruise was his favorite celebrity contestant, saying that seeing Cruise drive was “the highlight of his career.”
Totally Fearless
Old Friends
Long before they were both in the limelight, Tom Cruise and Emilio Estevez were friends. They even auditioned for The Outsiders together, landing their respective roles. Many other famous names were attached to this film, including Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, and Patrick Swayze.
Old Friends
Something About 33
Cruise has been married three times: first to Mimi Rogers, then Nicole Kidman, and last to Katie Holmes. Interestingly, he divorced all three women after they turned 33. Perhaps this is indicative of some sort of issue Cruise has with aging women or it could be a total coincidence.
Something About 33
Born A Daredevil
Cruise was always a daredevil thrill seeker, so it makes perfect sense that he became an action movie star. When he was just 10 years old, he saved up his money to get a Yamaha motorcycle. He fixed it up but ended up crashing it, however, it didn’t stop him from riding many more motorcycles in the future.
Born A Daredevil
Look A Like
When Cruise took the role of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg in WWII drama Valkyrie, it was because upon seeing a photograph of the real life Stauffenbreg, Cruise thought that he actually resembled him. For this role, Cruise was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor.
Look A Like
Treating His Dyslexia
When he was a child, Cruise struggled with dyslexia, and he claims he was functionally illiterate up until he was taught the Hubbard Study Technology learning method through Scientology. He is a devoted member of the Church of Scientology and has credited the teaching methods with helping him overcome his struggles.
Treating His Dyslexia
Five In A Row
Cruise became such a bankable star that he was the first movie star to be featured in 5 consecutive films that earned over $100 million. These movies were A Few Good Men, The Firm, Interview With a Vampire, Mission: Impossible, and Jerry Maguire.
Five In A Row
Best Of Times, Worst Of Times
In the year 1988, Cruise once again made history as an actor. He became the first actor to be featured in both the film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Rain Man and the Razzie Award winner for Worst Picture for the movie Cocktail.
Best Of Times, Worst Of Times
No Action Figures
Even though it is quite common for action movie characters to be turned into dolls, action figures, and video game characters, Cruise has refused to lend his likeness for any of these. The character he played in Minority Report was turned into a character that looks so different than Cruise and was turned into blonde character in the video game version.
No Action Figures
A Declaration Of Love
In 2005, Cruise appeared in an interview with Oprah that would become one of his most famous interview moments and one of the most parodied interview appearances of all time. He enthusiastically jumped up onto the couch in order to proclaim his love for Katie Holmes. It’s no wonder it was voted the #1 Most Surprising Moment of TV in 2005.
A Declaration Of Love
Improvised Moves
Cruise is not only a talented actor who insists on doing his own stunts, he even improvised his famous dance moves from Risky Business. These unplanned and hilarious dance moves ended up being one of the most memorable scenes of the entire film.
Improvised Moves
Hasty Pudding Club “Man of the Year”
In 1994, Cruise was given the Hasty Pudding Club “Man of the Year” award at Harvard University. The club is known for putting on productions featuring men dressed in drag, and Cruise went along with the bit, collecting his award while wearing an oversized bra and heels.
Hasty Pudding Club “Man Of The Year”
Making Ends Meet
Way before he was raking in millions, Cruise started out like many other up and coming actors. While he was hoping to become a star, he worked off jobs that included being a busboy and a porter. His hard work and perseverance ended up paying off, big time.
Making Ends Meet
Nine Times A Soldier
Many actors who have a specific breakout role end up being typecast, but luckily for Cruise, this didn’t happen, even though he did play a soldier in nine films. He played a member of the military in Taps, Top Fun, The Last Samurai, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and many more.
Nine Times A Soldier
Always A Bridesmaid, Never A Bride
It is undeniable that Tom Cruise has had an incredible career and is considered to be one of the best actors of all time. Nine of his co-stars have received nominations for Oscars, as well as four of his films being nominated for Best Picture, and yet, he has never won an Academy Award himself.
Always A Bridesmaid, Never A Bride
Monkey Sidekick
Once he became a bonafide movie star, Cruise was able to have more pull and creative decisions in his role. In fact, when he starred as Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages, he told director Adam Shankman that he wanted to have a monkey as a sidekick. He also decided that the monkey’s name in the film would be “Hey Man.”
Monkey Sidekick
First Acting Experience
It was clear early on in Cruise’s life that he would become a star. A high school teacher encouraged him to audition for the school play, which was “Guys and Dolls.” He got the lead role of Nathan Detroit. It was after this experience that he knew he wanted to become an actor.
First Acting Experience
Humble Beginnings
Having come from a family that didn’t have much, Cruise was taking a big leap of faith in order to pursue acting. When he was in New York as a struggling actor, he had just $500 to his name, but nothing deterred him. It wouldn’t take long before he would become one of the most successful actors of all time.
Humble Beginnings
Animation Inspiration
If you’ve seen Disney’s animated film Aladdin and you thought the main character looked eerily familiar, that’s because the animators actually used Cruise’s face as a model for Aladdin. It makes sense that Aladdin has the same flowing hair and big smile that Cruise is known for.
Animation Inspiration
His Pilot License
Knowing that Cruise insists on doing his own stunts and has a history of being a daredevil, it won’t come as much of a surprise that he also got his pilot’s license after his experience filming Top Gun. He has both a commercial and private license and flies his own private jets.
His Pilot License
A Stunt Gone Wrong
While he was filming the sixth installment of Mission: Impossible, while doing a stunt involving jumping from a rigging onto a building, he missed the landing, completely breaking his ankle. He took seven weeks off of filming to heal, but when he was back, he still continued doing his own stunts.
A Stunt Gone Wrong
Total Dedication
Once again, another example of Cruise’s dedication to a role came when he was working on Rock of Ages. He rehearsed five hours a day, and since it was his first musical role, he admitted that he was intimidated by all the singing and dancing he had to do. He took it as a personal challenge to overcome.
Total Dedication
His Net Worth
Cruise has always been open about growing up in poverty, but thanks to all of his successful films, he never really has to worry about that again. In 2020, his net worth was estimated to be about $570 million. We bet he never imagined that this would be his future when he was young.
His Net Worth
Good Samaritan
In 1996, Cruise saw a woman being hit by a car, and he decided to help her out and even accompany her to the hospital and make sure she was okay. He later found out that she did not have any insurance, so he paid her $7000 medical bill. Movie star action figure turns into real life hero.
Good Samaritan
Nearly Fatal Accident
While he was filming The Last Samurai, Cruise was almost involved in a life-threatening injury when a sword came way too close to swinging by his neck, luckily being about an inch away from causing horrific damage. His co-star Hiroyuki Sanada managed to stop the sword in time.
Nearly Fatal Accident
Impressing The Director
While filming Taps, Cruise was meant to be a background character. However, he impressed director Harold Becker so much that he decided to offer Cruise to play David Shawn. This change helped launch his incredible career and showed his ability to stand out.
Impressing The Director
See Cruise Crash Again
When he was filming Days of Thunder, Cruise discovered just how much he loved to Race. His race instructor Roger French claimed that Cruise ignored the proper technique and flouted safety precautions in order to just drive fast. This earned him the nickname “See Cruise Crash Again.”
Nicole Kidman And Tom Cruise In ‘Days Of Thunder’
Popularizing Sunglasses
Cruises’s character in Risky Business is seen wearing a specific style of Ray-Ban sunglasses, which ended up becoming so popular it helped make these sunglasses become wildly popular, with Ray-Ban seeing an increase in sales of those featured sunglasses by 40% in 1983, the year the movie was released.
Popularizing Sunglasses
Questionable Casting Choice?
When Cruise was cast as Lestat in Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice, who is the author of the book the film is based on, was very unhappy with the casting choice. She later rescinded her initial negative reaction after seeing him play the role, and she even bought a two page ad in Daily Variety to publish an apology to him.
Questionable Casting Choice?
Working With His Sister
Cruise has three sisters, and his sister Lee Anne DeVette became his publicist in 2004 after parting ways with his previous publicist Pat Kingsley. She was his publicist for a year before being replaced by Paul Bloch of Rogers and Cowan.
Working With His Sister
High Profile Scientologist
Even though Cruise was brought up in a devout Catholic home, he has since become one of, if not the most, high profile Scientologists in the world. His first wife, Mimi Rogers, introduced him to the Church and since then he has become a vocal supporter and advocate. David Micavige, the head of the Church of Scientology, was even his best man at his wedding to Katie Holmes.
High Profile Scientologist
His Kids
When Cruise was married to Nicole Kidman, they adopted two children together, Isabella Jane who was born in 1992, Connor Antony who was born in 1995. After he was linked to Katie Holmes, it was announced that they had a daughter, named Suri, who was born in 2006.
His Kids
