When Thomas Cruise Mapother IV was born July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, NY no one expected that six decades later he’d be a superstar with a new film that’s done over $1B globally.
Fate definitely stepped in to turn TCM IV into Tom Cruise and to turn his TOP GUN: MAVERICK, from Paramount & Skydance Media, into a boxoffice mega-hit for his 60th birthday. Actually, fate began intervening on Tom’s behalf at age 14 when he was a Franciscan seminary student hoping to become a priest. After moving to New Jersey with his mother & new stepfather, Tom got interested in acting and headed to NY at 18 to pursue his dream. Looking for TV work brought him to L.A., where he signed with CAA when the agency was only about five years old.
Tom’s movie career began in 1981 with a bit part in Franco Zeffirelli’s ENDLESS LOVE & a supporting role in TAPS. In 1983, Francis Ford Coppola cast him in his ensemble film THE OUTSIDERS & Tom got his first starring role in ALL THE RIGHT MOVES. But it was 1983’s RISKY BUSINESS that really put him on the map. Made for $6.2M, the teen sex comedy-drama grossed $63.5M.
Three years later, Tom catapulted to superstardom with Tony Scott’s TOP GUN. It cost $15M and grossed a then enormous $357.3M.
These are just a few of Tom’s many top movies since TOP GUN, with their filmmakers, budgets & worldwide cumes:
-Barry Levinson’s RAIN MAN (1988) won Oscars for best picture, directing & actor (Dustin Hoffman). Made for $25M, it did $354.8M.
-Oliver Stone’s BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY (1989) won the directing Oscar and brought Tom a best actor nomination. It cost $14M and did $161M.
-Rob Reiner’s A FEW GOOD MEN (1992), opposite Jack Nicholson, had a $41M budget and made $243.2M.
-Neil Jordan’s INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES (1994) was produced for $60M and did $223.7M.
-Brian De Palma’s original MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (1996) cost $80M and grossed $457.7M.
-Cameron Crowe’s JERRY MAGUIRE brought Tom a best actor Oscar nom. It cost $50M and did $273.6M.
-Stanley Kubrick’s EYES WIDE SHUT (1999), co-starring Tom’s then-wife Nicole Kidman, was produced for $65M and did $162.2M.
-Paul Thomas Anderson’s MAGNOLIA (1999) brought Tom a supporting actor Oscar nom. It cost $37M and did $48.5M.
-Steven Spielberg’s WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005) was made for $132M and grossed $603.9M.
Just matching this shortlist of Tom’s movies would be a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE for anybody else. With TOP GUN: MAVERICK now enjoying jet-propelled boxoffice success, it’s a safe bet Tom’s enjoying a very happy 60th birthday!
“Listen, I go to the cinema, and those people there, that are serving the popcorn and are making these theatres and I was calling them saying, ‘Please, I know what you are going through, just know, we are making MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, TOP GUN is coming out. I promise you, when I’m making a movie, I’m trying to use all of this skill and everything that I know, [to support] the beauty of cinema, it’s an incredible experience”. – Tom Cruise Interview at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival