31 Surprising Facts We Bet You Never Knew Before About Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise, with a career spanning for over four decades comprising over 45 movies, has become an international icon. He is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. He is an almost inhuman awe-inspiring actor, more like a one-man army, when it’s comes to the scale of his epic movie roles. Here are some facts about the American actor:

1. He was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, to Mary Lee Pfeiffer, a special education teacher and Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an Electrical engineer. He has two older sisters, Lee Ann DeVette, Marian Henry, and a younger sister Cass Mapother.
2. He had a difficult upbringing in near-poverty with an abusive father, who often used to beat the young Cruise with the slightest pretext. In 1974, when he was 11, his parents divorced and his mother married a World War II veteran, John ‘Jack’ McLeod South.
3. As a boy, Cruise, was diagnosed with the reading disability dyslexia and was sent to remedial classes. He attended 15 different school in 14 years, before spending a year at a St. Francis seminary in Cincinnati, on a scholarship with an aspiration to become a Catholic priest.
4. He graduated from Glen Ridge High School, New Jersey, in 1980, where he starred in a school’s production of the musical play ‘Guys and Dolls,’ and knew straight away that he wanted to be an actor. He felt comfortable on the stage and enjoyed it.
5. While pursuing an acting career, he spent five months working at a restaurant while auditioning for acting job in Manhattan, NYC. He later moved to Los Angeles and registered with the Creative Artists Agency before bagging a small role in the 1981 film ‘Endless Love’ as a 19 year-old.
6. After being cast in a supporting role in film such as ‘Taps,’ and ‘The Outsider,’ his first big break came as Joel in ‘Risky Business,’ in 1983. The film became an iconic in film history with famous scene like Cruise’s solo rendition of ‘Old Time Rock n’ Roll’ in his tighty whities, and with sex scenes that broke new ground in movies.
7. In 1996, Cruise became the first actor in history to star in five consecutive films that all grossed $100 million domestically. He was the lead lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee in ‘A Few Good Men,’ as Mitch McDeere in ‘The Firm,’ while also appearing in ‘Interview with a Vampire,’ ‘Mission Impossible,’ and ‘Jerry Maguire.’
8. In the 1986 film ‘Top Gun,’ Cruise was cast as United States Naval Aviator Lt. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, flying the F-14A Tomcat, although he had never even ridden a motorcycle until that point. He went to House of Motorcycles in El Cajon, California to learn.
9. In the year 1988, while he had the unique distinction of earning the ‘Razzie Award for Worst Actor,’ nominated for his portrayal of Brian Flanagan in ‘Cocktail,’ he earned the ‘Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award’ for Best Supporting Actor for the film ‘Rain Man.’
10. In 1989, for his portrayal of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic, in the biographical war drama film ‘Born on the Fourth of July,’ he earned a Best Actor Award from ‘Global Globe Award,’ the ‘Chicago Film Critics Association Award,’ and the ‘People’s Choice Award.’ The real Ron Kovic gave Cruise his Bronze Star for his performance.
11. Cruise met his second wife Nicole Kidman on the set of sports action drama film ‘Days of Thunder,’ in 1990, and went on to marry her in December 24, 1990. He went on to star with her in the 1992 film ‘Far and Away.’ The couple adopted two children, Isabella Jane and Connor Antony.
12. Cruise wanted a private set while filming the 1994 horror film, ‘Interview with the Vampire,’ to preserve the secrecy of the vampire’s makeup effects. Tunnels were built to escort the actors to and from the set. He spent three and a half hours every day in the make-up chair.
13. Cruise did most of his own stunts in the 1996 spy film ‘Mission: Impossible.’ While filming the famous scene where he drops from the ceiling hovering inches above the ground, Cruise’s head kept hitting the floor until he got the idea to put coins in his shoes for balance.
14. He was introduced to ‘Church of Scientology,’ and its associated social programs, by his first wife Mimi Rogers, whom he married on May 9, 1987. He was cured of dyslexia as a child by ‘Study Technology,’ a teaching method developed by L.Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.
15. Cruise was romantically linked with actresses Penelope Cruz and Nazanin Boniadi following his divorce with Nicole Kidman, before marring Katie Holmes, on November 18, 2006. They have a daughter named Suri born on April 2006.
16. In 2004, a specially created ‘Scientology Freedom Medal of Valor’ was presented to Cruise, for his promotional activities. He campaigned in Europe for Scientology to be included as a religion and also co-founded Downtown Medical to offer New York City 9/11 rescue workers detoxification therapy based on its teaching.
17. Echoing the position of Scientology in use of psychoactive drugs, Cruise openly criticized actress Brooke Shields for using Paxil drug following postpartum depression. After the medical authorities and Brooke Shields’ herself called Cruise comment’s a disservice to mothers everywhere, he apologized in August 2006.
18. October 10, 2006, is declared as ‘Tom Cruise Day’ in Japan, by the Japan Memorial Day Association, for his love for and close association with Japan. He has visited Japan more than any other Hollywood star in film promotional activities.
19. Cruise won the Golden Globes Best Actor award and Academy Award nomination for his title role as sports agent in the 1996 film ‘Jerry Maguire.’ He cried when he first read the script and said it was a beautiful experience being part of one of the greatest film of all time.
20. His performance as Vincent, a professional hitman in the 2004 crime thriller film ‘Collateral,’ received critical acclaim and was nominated for ‘MTV Movie-Best Villain Award.’ This is the only film where he plays a villain, apart from ‘Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicals,’ and ‘Taps,’ as rogue cadet Sean.
21. Cruise spent almost two years preparing for the 2003 film ‘The Last Samurai,’ as former U.S Army Captain Nathan Algren. He learned swordplay and had Japanese language lessons during this time. He was nominated for the Golden Globe-Best Actor Award in the role.
22. He became a founding Board Member for the Hollywood Education and Literacy Project, which helps students learn to read and succeed. He was awarded the ‘Excellence in Mentoring Award,’ from the ‘National Mentoring Partnership,’ in 2003, for his works with the organization.
23. In April 2018, Cruise became the first actor to receive a ‘Pioneer of the Year Award’ from the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation. The award is given to a member of the motion picture community to honor professional leadership, service, commitment to philanthropy.
24. Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol, became Cruise’s second highest-grossing film, next only to ‘Rogue Nation and Fallout.’ He did most of his stunts in the film including the skyscraper sequences.
25. Cruise spent a great deal of time developing his bad boy persona, enacting the role of Stacee Jaxx, in the 2012 comedy-drama film ‘Rock of Ages.’ He rehearsed for five hours a day for four and a half months to get his voice ready for rock performances, apart from working out his abs and doing push-ups.
26. In “Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation,” Cruise as usual performed his own stunts, including driving, climbing on the outside of a flying airplane without use of visual effects, and he was injured six times during shooting. He also held his breath underwater for six minutes for an underwater scene.
27. For the 2018 film “Mission: Impossible-Fallout,” Cruise trained for an entire year to perform the high altitude opening skydiving sequence in the film. He had a miraculous escape while performing a jump from one building to another by grabbing on to harness.
28. He is considered as one of the most powerful and richest forces in Hollywood and one of the few producers who guarantees success of a billion-dollar film franchise. He has produced around 18 films with four more in pipeline.
29. In November 2009, Cruise, Paula Wagner and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., took over the film studio ‘United Artists,’ with Cruise acts as producer and star.
30. In October 2012, he filed a lawsuit against ‘In Touch and Life & Style magazine for defamation for accusing him of abandoning his six-year old daughter. The suit was ultimately settled.
31. Tom Cruise Net Worth: $550 Million