Five decades into a stellar career and Tom Cruise shows no signs of stopping. While other stars have faded, Cruise continues to be the face of Hollywood, and will next be seen in Digger, a black comedy directed by Mexican auteur Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
Let's take a look at the five roles that made Cruise the star he is today.
Joel Goodson (Risky Business)
Cruise's breakout role came in this comic dram from writer/director Paul Brickman. Playing an entrepreneurial rich kid who turns his home into a brothel while his parents are away on vacation. The movie introduced the world to Cruise's trademark million dollar smile and is best known for a memorable scene in which Cruise dances in his undies to Bob Seger's 'Old Time Rock and Roll'.
Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Top Gun; Top Gun: Maverick)
The role that transformed Cruise into a fully fledged movie star was that of Pete Mitchell, the hot shot Navy pilot better known by his callsign "Maverick." With its mix of action and romance, 1986's Top Gun was a blockbuster hit. The film was so popular that it inspired many to consider careers as pilots, though most decided to stay at home and enjoy games like the Aviator Game. 2022 brought us a belated sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, which was another massive hit, credited by some as saving Hollywood in the post-pandemic era.
Vincent Lauria (The Color of Money)
Throughout his career, Cruise has made a point of working with cinema's most acclaimed filmmakers. This began in 1986 when he starred in Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money. A sequel to 1961's The Hustler, the film saw screen legend Paul Newman reprise his role of pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson. Cruise plays Vincent Lauria, a cocky young pool shark who Felson takes under his wing. Holding his own opposite Newman, Cruise showed he could excel in more dramatic roles.
Jerry Maguire (Jerry Maguire)
Many agree that Cruise's finest performance came in director Cameron Crowe's romantic drama Jerry Maguire. Cruise plays the title role of a cynical sports agent who comes to reflect on the toxicity of his job while falling for a single mother (Renée Zellweger). The role gave Cruise the chance to combine his comic and dramatic chops to great effect, leading to a Best Actor Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.
Ethan Hunt (the Mission: Impossible series)
The role Cruise has played the most, and which has come to define him in the 21st century is that of IMF agent Ethan Hunt. First appearing in 1996's Mission: Impossible, Hunt was a young agent determined to find out who was responsible for the deaths of his team. Later instalments saw Cruise reinvent himself as a modern day Buster Keaton, performing an increasingly jaw-dropping series of stunts including dangling from the Burj Khalifa, hanging off a plane as it takes off, and riding a motorcycle off a Norwegian cliff.