American actor and producer Tom Cruise was born 62 years ago as Thomas Cruise Mapother IV in Syracuse, New York is divorced and has 3 children.
In a span of 14 years, Tom attended 15 different schools and spent some childhood years in Canada, returning back to the US after his parents’ divorce. At school, he was interested in drama and after obtaining a Catholic church scholarship, he even considered becoming a Franciscan priest but left after just a year. He graduated from high school in 1980.
At the age of 18, Tom moved to New York to embark on an acting career. He found a job and did auditions for TV roles. In 1981, he made his first acting debut with a small role in the movie ‘Endless Love’ and that same year was offered a major supporting role in the film ‘Taps’. For the rest of the 80s, Tom starred in 10 more movies, becoming a superstar when he interpreted LT Pete Maverick Mitchell in the blockbuster ‘Top Gun’ alongside Val Kilmer and Kelly McGillis. Other significant films include ‘Cocktail’, ‘Rain Man’, ‘The Colour of Money’ and ‘Born on the Fourth of July’.
Now a leading Hollywood star, Cruise continued interpreting numerous characters in movies of different genres and in 1996 produced his first film of the saga ‘Mission Impossible’ as well as starring in it as IMF agent Ethan Hunt. More successful movies he was cast in during these last 3 decades include ‘A Few Good Men’, ‘The Firm’, ‘Interview with the Vampire’, ‘Jerry Maguire’, ‘Magnolia’, ‘Vanilla Sky’, ‘The Last Samurai’, ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. In addition, he reprised his role as Ethan Hunt in all subsequent six ‘Mission Impossible’ films, and is currently filming the 8th one which is expected to be released next year in 2025.
During his career so far, Tom received 132 awards out of 417 nominations. These include 3 Golden Globe, 4 MTV Movie & TV, 2 Saturn, 2 People’s Choice, 2 Empire, 1 David di Donatello and an Honorary Palm D’or, amongst many others. His movies yielded more than $5 billion in North America and over $12 billion in the rest of the world, rendering Tom as one of the box-office highest-grossing actors ever. Cruise is also one of highest-paid actors in the world.
*Image: no infringement intended. Source: InStyle