Tom Cruise is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars he has been nominated for three Academy Awards and has won three Golden Globe Awards. Cruise began his career at age 19, appearing in Endless Love, and has gone on to star in hit after hit, including Top Gun, the Mission: Impossible series, and Jerry Maguire. He is also made headlines off screen for his marriages to Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes. To date, Cruise has starred in over 46 movies, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Below are 8 Thrilling Facts about Tom Cruise:
- We Shall Overcome
Cruise didn’t have the best home life: his father was abusive, and constantly uprooted the family while he looked for work. As a result, Cruise was always starting over as the new kid. Cruise was also small for his age, and other children pushed him around. The star to-be eventually learned how to stand up for himself, drawing inspiration and strength from his mother.
- Risky Business
Cruise reportedly refuses to sign onto a movie unless the producers let him do his own stunts. In Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, the star hung off the side of plane in flight and held his breath for nearly six minutes underwater.
- Pearly Whites
Cruise damaged his front teeth playing hockey as a kid, and was so insecure about his teeth that he avoided photo shoots. In 2002, he got adult braces to fix his smile. He wore them for several months, and removed them only to shoot movies. He has also reportedly had various cosmetic dentistry procedures to fix his smile.
- Turned Down Tony Stark
Cruise was originally attached to Marvel’s Iron Man as an actor and producer, but he walked away from the project in 2004. As he later explained “As it was lining up, it just didn’t feel to me like it was gonna work.”
- Magic Number 33
Tom Cruise has been married three times, and he split from each of those wives—Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and Katie Holmes—when they turned 33.
- Five In a Row
Tom Cruise was the first actor to appear in 5 consecutive movies that grossed over $100 million. The films were: A Few Good Men, The Firm, Interview with a Vampire, Mission: Impossible, and Jerry Maguire.
- Quit Playing Games
Cruise refuses to lend his likeness to toys, and has never appeared in a video game or as an action figure. In fact, his character in the Minority Report game was made to look so unlike him that the figure was even drawn with blond hair.
- A New York Minute
When Cruise started his acting career in New York, he only had $500 to his name. He gave himself 10 years to earn success as an actor; luckily, success came much sooner than that.
