Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and producer. Regarded as a Hollywood icon, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or, four Academy Awards, four BAFTAs and five Golden Globe Awards. His films have grossed over $16 billion in North America and over $25 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing box-office stars of all time. He is consistently one of the world's highest-paid actors.
Cruise began acting in the early 1980s and made his breakthrough with leading roles in the comedy film Risky Business (1983) and the 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 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 a 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 established himself as an action star acting in science fiction and action films, often performing his own risky stunts. He has played Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible film series since 1996. His other notable films 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), Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016), The Mummy (2017), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022), with the last of these being his highest-grossing film.
Cruise made headlines when he starred in Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S., a sequel to 2016's Shin Godzilla and 2027's Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster, becoming one of the few major Hollywood actors to star in a foreign film. He would star in three of the Justice for the World film series; Brothers in Arms (2036), End of Times (2038) and The Final Fate (2039).
Selected filmography[]
- This section will focus specifically on select roles that is well-known only. For the full list, click here.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Top Gun | Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell | |
| 1989 | Born on the Fourth of July | Ron Kovic | |
| 1996 | Mission: Impossible | Ethan Hunt | Also producer |
| Jerry Maguire | Jerry Maguire | ||
| 1999 | Magnolia | Frank T.J. Mackey | |
| 2002 | Minority Report | Chief John Anderton | |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Nathan Algren | |
| 2004 | Collateral | Vincent | |
| 2005 | War of the Worlds | Ray Ferrier | |
| 2006 | Mission: Impossible III | Ethan Hunt | |
| 2008 | Tropic Thunder | Les Grossman | |
| Valkyrie | Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg | ||
| 2011 | Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol | Ethan Hunt | Also producer |
| 2012 | Jack Reacher | Jack Reacher | |
| 2013 | Oblivion | Jack | |
| 2014 | Edge of Tomorrow | Major William "Bill" Cage | |
| 2015 | Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation | Ethan Hunt | Also producer |
| 2016 | Jack Reacher: Never Go Back | Jack Reacher | |
| 2017 | The Mummy | Sgt. Nick Morton | |
| American Made | Barry Seal | ||
| 2018 | Mission: Impossible – Fallout | Ethan Hunt | Also producer |
| 2022 | Top Gun: Maverick | Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell | |
| 2023 | Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning | Ethan Hunt | |
| 2025 | Mission: Impossible – Guerrilla Warfare | ||
| 2027 | Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster | Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell | |
| 2029 | Edge of Tomorrow: Live, Die, Repeat Again | Major William "Bill" Cage | |
| Cruising Altitude | Capt. Daniel Franklin | ||
| 2030 | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell | Also producer |
| 2031 | Mission: Impossible – Agent 9 | Ethan Hunt | |
| 2032 | Mission: Impossible X – Operation Finale | ||
| 2034 | Top Gun: Viet Warfare | Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell | Cameo |
| 2035 | A View from Orbit | Astronaut Neil Logan | Also producer |
| 2036 | Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms | Capt. Elliot Peterson | |
| 2038 | Justice for the World: End of Times | ||
| 2039 | Justice for the World: The Final Fate | ||
| 2044 | Mission: Impossible - Legacy | Ethan Hunt | Cameo, also executive producer |
Notable awards and nominations[]
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||
| 1990 | Best Actor | Born on the Fourth of July | Nominated |
| 1997 | Jerry Maguire | Nominated | |
| 2000 | Best Supporting Actor | Magnolia | Nominated |
| 2023 | Best Picture | Top Gun: Maverick | Nominated |
| 2028 | Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster | Nominated | |
| 2030 | Best Actor | Cruising Altitude | Won |
| Academy Honorary Award | Honored | ||
| 2031 | Best Picture | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Nominated |
| 2036 | A View from Orbit | Won | |
| Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| 2039 | Best Picture | Justice for the World: End of Times | Nominated |
| 2040 | Justice for the World: The Final Fate | Nominated | |
| Best Actor | Won | ||
| BAFTA Awards | |||
| 1991 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Born on the Fourth of July | Nominated |
| 2005 | Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film | Excellence in Film | Won |
| 2030 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Cruising Altitude | Won |
| 2031 | Best Film Not in the English Language | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Nominated |
| 2036 | Best Film | A View from Orbit | Won |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Won | ||
| 2040 | Best Film | Justice for the World: The Final Fate | Nominated |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | |||
| 1984 | Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Risky Business | Nominated |
| 1990 | Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama | Born on the Fourth of July | Won |
| 1993 | A Few Good Men | Nominated | |
| 1997 | Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Jerry Maguire | Won |
| 2000 | Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture | Magnolia | Won |
| 2004 | Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama | The Last Samurai | Nominated |
| 2009 | Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture | Tropic Thunder | Nominated |
| 2023 | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Top Gun: Maverick | Nominated |
| 2028 | Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster | Nominated | |
| 2030 | Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama | Cruising Altitude | Won |
| 2036 | Best Motion Picture – Drama | A View from Orbit | Nominated |
| Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama | Nominated | ||
| 2040 | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Justice for the World: The Final Fate | Nominated |
| Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama | Won | ||