Top 10 Unbelieveable Facts about Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise (48364274442).jpg Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Tom Cruise

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV was born on July 3, 1962. He is an American actor and producer, he is one of the world’s highest-paid actors. Tom has received various accolades including an Honorary Palme d’Or and three Golden Globe Awards in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards. All of his films have grossed over $4 billion in North America and over $11.1 billion worldwide, this makes him one of the highest-grossing box-office stars of all time.

His acting career took off in the early 1980s when he made his breakthrough with leading roles in the comedy film Risky Business in 1983 and the action film Top Gun in 1986. This was followed by more films like The Color of Money in 1986, Rain Man in 1988, and Born of the Forth of July in 1989. His portrayal of Ron Kovic in the latter gained him a Golden Globe Award and he received a nomination for the Academy for Best Actor.

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1. His Life Before Fame

Tom Cruise (34797298526).jpg Photo by Eva Rinaldi from Sydney Australia – Wikimedia Commons

When Tom was young, he attended a total of 15 schools in 14 years. He spent part of his childhood in Canada when his father took a job as a defense consultant with the Canadian Armed Forces. During his time in Canada, he attended the new Robert Hopkins Public School for his fourth and fifth-grade education. Tom became involved in drama in fourth grade, he and six other boys put on an improvised play to music called IT at the Carleton Elementary School drama festival.

In sixth grade, Tom went to Henry Munro Middle School in Ottawa. In the same year, his mother decided to leave his father and go back to the United States with  Tom and his sisters. In the States, Tom briefly took a Catholic Church scholarship and attended the St. Francis Seminary. He aspired to become a Franciscan priest before being expelled from the seminary for drinking. 

In his senior year of high school, he played football for the varsity team as a linebacker. However, he was cut from the team when he was caught drinking beer before a game. This led him to pursue acting, he even starred in the school’s production of Guys and Dolls. In 1980, Tom graduated from Glen Ridge High School in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.

2. His Early Acting Career 

When Tom turned 18, he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. During his time in New York, he worked as a busboy to enable him to move to Los Angeles. Tom was able to get signed with CAA and began acting in films, his first appearance was in the 1981 film Endless Love. In 1983, Tom was part of the ensemble cast of The Outsiders, in the same year, he appeared in All the Right Moves and Risky Business. 

Tom also played the male lead in the Ridley Scott film Legend which was released in 1985. In the following year, he starred in the film Top Gun. In the same year, he appeared in Martin Scorsese’s The Color Of Money. The film paired him with Paul Newman, their chemistry was praised as a subtle achievement of Tom and Paul.

In 1988, Tom starred in Cocktail, his performance earned him a nomination for the Razzie Award for Worst Actor. In the same year, he started in Barry Levinson’s Rain Man, his performance redeemed him. The film won the Academy Award for Best Film and Tom won the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor.

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3. His Production Company

Paula Wagner.jpg Photo by Studio photographer commissioned by Paula Wagner – Wikimedia Commons

In 1993, Tom partnered with his former talent agent Paula Wagner to form Cruise/Wagner Productions. The company has since co-produced several of Tom’s films including Mission: Impossible in 1996 which was also Tom’s first project as a producer. Tom is repeatedly noted for having negotiated some of the most lucrative film deals in Hollywood.

The company is said to be developed a screenplay based on Erik Larson’s New York Times bestseller The Devil in the White City, H.H. Holmes, at Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition. Through the company, Tom has been able to produce several films in which he appeared. The films include Mission: Impossible, Without Limits, Mission: Impossible 2, The Others, Vanilla Sky, and many others.

4. The End of An Era 

In 2006, Paramount Pictures announced it was ending its 14-year relationship with Tom. The chairman of Viacom, the Paramount Parent company, Summer Redstone cited the economic damage to Tom’s value as an actor and producer from his controversial public behavior and views.

The Cruise/Wagner Production responded that Paramount’s announcement was a face-saving move after the production company had successfully sought alternative financing from private equity firms. Edward Jay Epstein commented that the real reason for the split was most likely due to Paramount’s discontent over Cruise/Wagner’s exceptionally large share of DVD sales.

5. United Production Companies 

Tom Cruise avp 2014 2.jpg Photo by Georges Biard – Wikimedia Commons

Tom and Paula Announced that they had taken over the film studio United Artist in November 2006. Tom acts as a producer and stars in films for United Artists, while Paula serves as UA’s chief executive. In the year 2007, the production of Valkyrie began on July 20, 1944. In 2007, Tom signed to play Claus von Stauffenberg in the film. The project marked the second production to be greenlighted since Tom and Paula took control of United Artists.

The first film was its inaugural film, Lions for Lambs which was released on November 9, 2007. In 2008, Paula decided to step down from her position at United Artists, she still retains her stake in UA. It is combined with Tom’s share amounts to 30 percent o the studio.

6. His Relationships

Me with Tom Cruise & Mimi Rogers.jpg Photo by Alan Light – Wikimedia Commons

At the beginning of his career in the 1980s, he had relationships with Melissa Gilbert, Rebecca De Mornay, Patti Scialfa, and Cher. However, Tom settled down on May 9, 1987, with actress Mimi Rogers. They met when Tom became one of her clients in Scientology. The couple split ways on February 4, 1990, and Mimi blamed its leader for the break-up of their marriage.

Tom and his second wife Nicole Kidman met on the set of their film Days of Thunder. They got married on December 24, 1990, when they adopted two children Isabella Jane and Conor Antony. In February 2001, Tom filed for divorce from Kidman while she was unknowingly pregnant. The pregnancy, unfortunately, ended in a miscarriage. 

In 2005, Tom began dating actress Katie Holmes. Their first public appearance together was in Rome. In May of the same year, Tom publicly declared his love for Katie on The Oprah Winfrey Show. On October 6, 2005, the couple announced they were expecting a child. In April 2006, their daughter Suri was born.

In the same year, the couple decided to get married at the 15th-century Odescalvhi Castle in Bracciano. Their marriage was a Scientologist ceremony that was attended by many Hollywood stars. On June 29, 2012, Katie filed for divorce from Tom.

7. His Involvement in Scientology

Tom was converted to Scientology by his first wife Mimi Rogers in 1986. He became an outspoken advocate for the Church of Scientology in the 2000s. Seven years after he started studying Scientology, the organization’s leaders promised to share Scientology secrets such as prophet Xenu. This freaked out Tom and he decided to take a step back from the church and work on the film Eyes Wide Shut until 1999. 

Tom went back to the church and continued his training which led to him becoming a full-on zealot after a couple of years. Tom is friends with Scientology Chairman David Miscavige, he said that through Scientology he was able to overcome his struggles with dyslexia.

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8. The YouTube Video Scandal

In 2008, there was a video produced by the Church of Scientology that featured an interview with Tom was posted on YouTube by the Anonymous group. The video showed Tom discussing what being a Scientologist means to him. The video was taken down on claims of it being prated and edited.

However, the video was reinstated on the site after much investigation showed that the video didn’t breach copyright law. As of June 2020, the video has achieved over 15 million views. YouTube has declined to remove it again due to the popularity of the video and changes to the copyright policy of the website.

9. His Awards and Legacy

In 2006, Tom was ranked as Holloywood’s most powerful actor by Premiere. He was number 13 on the magazine’s 2006 Power List being the highest-ranked actor. October 10, 2006, was declared Tom Cruise Day in Japan, the memorial day association said that he was awarded a special day because of his love for close association with Japan.

In 2016, CinemaScore cited Tom and Leonardo DiCaprio as the two stars whose films didn’t need to be good to make a good box office pull. Critic Roger Ebert noted the similarities between several of Tom’s 1980s films and the Tom Cruise Picture. He stated that there are nine key ingredients that make up the Tom Cruise Picture, the Cruise Character, the mentor, the superior woman, the craft he must hone, the arena it takes place in, the arcana or knowledge he must learn, the trail or journey, the proto enemy, and the eventual enemy of the character.

10. His Advocacy for Scientology

Tom has campaigned for Scientology to be afforded the status of a religion in Europe. In 2005, the Council of Paris revealed that Tom had lobbied French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and Senate President Jean-Claude Gaudin. He was described as a militant spokesman for Scientology and barred any further dealing with him.

In the United States, Tom convinced Bush administration officials Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Vice Presidential Chief of Staff Scooter Libby to oppose the non-recognition of Scientology in Germany in 2003. In the following year, Tom met Secretary of Education Rod Paige about endorsing Scientologist education methods as part of No Child Left Behind.

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