He and six other boys put on an improvised play to music called IT at the Carleton Elementary School drama festival. He first became involved in drama in fourth grade, under the tutelage of drama teacher George Steinburg. He attended the new Robert Hopkins Public School for his fourth and fifth grade education. When his father took a job as a defense consultant with the Canadian Armed Forces, his family moved in late 1971 to Beacon Hill, Ottawa. Be careful around him.'" Ĭruise spent part of his childhood in Canada. It was a great lesson in my life-how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang! For me, it was like, 'There's something wrong with this guy. He elaborated, " was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. He later described his father as "a merchant of chaos", a "bully", and a "coward" who beat his children. Cruise grew up in near poverty and had a Catholic upbringing. One of his cousins, William Mapother, is also an actor who has appeared alongside Cruise in five films. Cruise has three sisters named Lee Anne, Marian, and Cass. His parents were both from Louisville, Kentucky, and had English, German, and Irish ancestry.
3.2.4 Scientology's purported influence on CruiseĬruise was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, to electrical engineer Thomas Cruise Mapother III (1934–1984) and special education teacher Mary Lee (née Pfeiffer 1936–2017).In the 2000s, he sparked controversy with his Scientology-affiliated criticisms of psychiatry and anti-depressant drugs, his efforts to promote Scientology in Europe, and a leaked video interview of him promoting Scientology. Cruise is an outspoken advocate for the Church of Scientology, which he credits with helping him overcome dyslexia. He has three children, two of whom were adopted during his marriage to Kidman and the other of whom is a biological daughter he had with Holmes. His other notable roles 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), The Mummy (2017), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022).Ĭruise has been married to actresses Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and Katie Holmes. He has played Ethan Hunt in all six of the Mission: Impossible films from 1996 to 2018. Since then, he has largely starred in science fiction and action films, establishing himself as an action star, often performing his own risky stunts. For his role in the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and received his second Academy Award nomination.Ĭruise'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. As a leading Hollywood star in the 1990s, he starred in several 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 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.
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). Ĭruise began acting in the early 1980s and made his breakthrough with leading roles in the comedy film Risky Business (1983) and action film Top Gun (1986). His films have grossed over $4 billion in North America and over $10.1 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing box office stars of all time. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), better known as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer.