Connor Cruise

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards. His films have grossed over in North America and over worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing box-office stars of all time.

Cruise began acting in the early 1980s and made his breakthrough with leading roles in the comedy film ''Risky Business'' (1983) and action film ''Top Gun'' (1986). Critical acclaim came with his roles in the dramas ''The Color of Money'' (1986), ''Rain Man'' (1988), and ''Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989). For his portrayal of Ron Kovic in the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. As a leading Hollywood star in the 1990s, he starred in several commercially successful films, including the drama ''A Few Good Men'' (1992), the thriller ''The Firm'' (1993), the horror film ''Interview with the Vampire'' (1994), and the romance ''Jerry Maguire'' (1996). For the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and received his second Academy Award nomination. Cruise's performance as a motivational speaker in the drama ''Magnolia'' (1999) earned him another Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Since then, Cruise has largely starred in science fiction and action films, establishing himself as an action star, often performing his own risky stunts. He has played Ethan Hunt in all six of the ''Mission: Impossible'' films from 1996 to 2018. His other notable roles in the genre include ''Vanilla Sky'' (2001), ''Minority Report'' (2002), ''The Last Samurai'' (2003), ''Collateral'' (2004), ''War of the Worlds'' (2005), ''Knight and Day'' (2010), ''Jack Reacher'' (2012), ''Oblivion'' (2013), ''Edge of Tomorrow'' (2014), and '' Top Gun: Maverick'' (2022), with ''Maverick'' being his highest-grossing film.

Cruise has been married to actresses Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and Katie Holmes. He has three children, two of whom were adopted during his marriage to Kidman and the other of whom is a biological daughter he had with Holmes. Cruise is an outspoken advocate for the Church of Scientology, which he credits with helping him overcome dyslexia. In the 2000s, he sparked controversy with his criticisms of psychiatry and anti-depressant drugs, his efforts to promote Scientology in Europe, and a leaked video interview of him promoting Scientology.

Early life and education

Cruise was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, to electrical engineer Thomas Cruise Mapother III (1934–1984) and special education teacher Mary Lee (née Pfeiffer; 1936–2017). His parents were both from Louisville, Kentucky, and had English, German, and Irish ancestry. Cruise has three sisters named Lee Anne, Marian, and Cass. One of his cousins, William Mapother, is also an actor who has appeared alongside Cruise in five films. Cruise grew up in near poverty and had a Catholic upbringing. He later described his father as "a merchant of chaos", a "bully", and a "coward" who beat his children. He elaborated, " y fatherwas the kind of 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! For me, it was like, 'There's something wrong with this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him.

In total, Cruise attended 15 schools in 14 years. Cruise spent part of his childhood in Canada; when his father took a job as a defense consultant with the Canadian Armed Forces, his family moved in late 1971 to Beacon Hill, Ottawa. He attended the new Robert Hopkins Public School for his fourth and fifth grade education. He first became involved in drama in fourth grade, under drama teacher George Steinburg. He and six other boys put on an improvised play to music called ''IT'' at the Carleton Elementary School drama festival. Drama organizer Val Wright was in the audience and later said that "the movement and improvisation were excellent ... a classic ensemble piece." In sixth grade, Cruise went to Henry Munro Middle School in Ottawa. That year, his mother left his father, taking Cruise and his sisters back to the United States. In 1978, she married Jack South. Cruise's biological father died of cancer in 1984. Cruise briefly took a Catholic Church scholarship and attended the St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio; he aspired to become a Franciscan priest before being expelled from the seminary for drinking. This led to his becoming interested in acting. In his senior year of high school, he played football for the varsity team as a linebacker, but was cut from the squad after getting caught drinking beer before a game. He went on to star in the school's production of ''Guys and Dolls''. In 1980, he graduated from Glen Ridge High School in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.

Acting career

1980s

At age 18, with the blessing of his mother and stepfather, Cruise moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. After working as a busboy in New York, he went to Los Angeles to try out for television roles. He signed with CAA and began acting in films. He first appeared in a bit part in the 1981 film '' Endless Love'', followed by a major supporting role as a crazed military academy student in '' Taps'' later that year. In 1983, Cruise was part of the ensemble cast of '' The Outsiders''. That same year he appeared in '' All the Right Moves'' and ''Risky Business'', which has been described as "A Generation X classic, and a career maker for Tom Cruise." He also played the male lead in the Ridley Scott film ''Legend'', released in 1985. By 1986's ''Top Gun'', his status as a superstar had been cemented.

Cruise followed up ''Top Gun'' with Martin Scorsese's ''The Color of Money'' (1986), which came out the same year, and which paired him with Paul Newman. Their chemistry won praise among critics with ''The Washington Post'' writing, "One of the subtle achievements of both Cruise's and Newman's performances is that you feel that both of them are genuinely top-notch pool hustlers". In 1988, Cruise starred in ''Cocktail'', a film that was a box office success but failed with critics. His performance earned him a nomination for the Razzie Award for Worst Actor. Later that year he starred with Dustin Hoffman in Barry Levinson's ''Rain Man'', which won the Academy Award for Best Film and Cruise the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In 1989, Cruise portrayed real-life paralyzed Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone's war epic ''Born on the Fourth of July''. Film critic Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' wrote, "Nothing Cruise has done will prepare you for what he does in ''Born on the Fourth of July'' ... His performance is so good that the movie lives through it. Stone is able to make his statement with Cruise's face and voice and doesn't need to put everything into the dialogue." The performance earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Actor, a nomination for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Cruise's first Best Actor Academy Award nomination.

1990s

Cruise's next films were ''Days of Thunder'' (1990) and ''Far and Away'' (1992), both of which co-starred then-wife Nicole Kidman as his love interest, followed by the legal thriller ''The Firm'', which was a critical and commercial success. In 1994, Cruise starred along with Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Christian Slater in Neil Jordan's ''Interview with the Vampire'', a gothic drama/horror film that was based on Anne Rice's best-selling novel. The film was well-received, although Rice was initially quite outspoken in her criticism of Cruise having been cast in the film, as Julian Sands was her first choice. Upon seeing the film, however, she paid $7,740 for a two-page ad in ''Daily Variety'' praising his performance and apologizing for her previous doubts about him.

In 1996, Cruise appeared as superspy Ethan Hunt in the reboot of '' Mission: Impossible'', which he produced. The film was directed by Brian De Palma and was a box office success, although it received criticism regarding the Jim Phelps character being a villain despite being a protagonist of the original television series. Film critic Stephen Holden of ''The New York Times'' praised Cruise's performance, declaring "Tom Cruise has found the perfect superhero character on which to graft his breathlessly gung-ho screen personality." In the same year, Cruise took on the title role in Cameron Crowe's sports drama ''Jerry Maguire'' playing a sports agent in search of love. He stars opposite Renee Zellweger, and Cuba Gooding Jr. The film was a massive financial success with Cruise earning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and his second nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

In 1999, Cruise costarred with Kidman in Stanley Kubrick's erotic and psychological drama film ''Eyes Wide Shut''. Peter Bradshaw of ''The Guardian'' praised both Cruise and Kidman on their performances writing, "Cruise in particular lays himself open in that fiercely committed way that he tries everything as an actor". That same year he took a rare supporting role, as a motivational speaker, Frank T.J. Mackey, in Paul Thomas Anderson's ''Magnolia'' (1999). ''Rolling Stone'' film critic Peter Travers heaped praise on Cruise writing, "Cruise is a revelation, fully deserving of the shower of superlatives coming his way ... Cruise seethes with the chaotic energy of a wounded animal – he's devastating." For his performance he received another Golden Globe and nomination for an Academy Award.

2000s

In 2000, Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in the second installment of the ''Mission Impossible'' films, '' Mission: Impossible 2''. The film was helmed by Hong Kong director John Woo and branded with his gun fu style; it continued the series' success at the box office, taking in $547 million worldwide. Like its predecessor, it was the highest-grossing film of the year and had a mixed critical reception. Cruise received an MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance for the film.

His next five films were major critical and commercial successes. The following year, Cruise starred in the romantic thriller ''Vanilla Sky'' (2001) with Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz. In 2002, Cruise starred in the dystopian science fiction action film ''Minority Report'', which was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick.

In 2003, he starred in Edward Zwick's period action drama ''The Last Samurai'', for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for best actor. In 2004, Cruise received critical acclaim for his performance as Vincent in ''Collateral''. The critical consensus states that "Driven by director Michael Mann's trademark visuals and a lean, villainous performance from Tom Cruise, ''Collateral'' is a stylish and compelling noir thriller." In 2005, Cruise worked again with Steven Spielberg in ''War of the Worlds'', a loose adaptation of the H. G. Wells