Tom Cruise
ALL ABOUT TOM CRUISE
Full Name: Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
Date of Birth: 3 July 1962
Place of Birth: Syracuse, New York, USA
Spouse:
Katie Holmes (18 November 2006 - present) 1 child
Nicole Kidman (24 December 1990 - 8 August 2001) (divorced) 2 (adopted) children
Mimi Rogers (9 May 1987 - 4 February 1990) (divorced)
Family: Tom’s father, Thomas Cruise Mapother III was an electrical engineer employed by General Electric. His Mother is the former Mary Lee Pfeiffer, a retired teacher. Tom’s parents married in Louisville, Kentucky in 1957 after meeting at the University of Kentucky. The Mapother’s are a prominent family of Attorney’s in the Louisville area. They divorced in 1975, and Mary Lee moved the family from Ottawa, Canada, back to their home town of Louisville. She remarried Jack South in 1978, and together, the new family moved to Washington Street in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Tom’s father passed away from cancer in Louisville on January 9, 1984, at the age of 49, never having seen any of Tom’s movies. Tom has 3 sisters: LeeAnne (1959), his publicist, Marian (1961), a teacher, and Cass (1963) a former restaurateur. He has many Nieces and Nephews. Tom also has 2 children, adopted during his marriage to Nicole Kidman. Isabella Jane Cruise was born on December 22, 1992, and Conor Antony Cruise was born on January 17, 1995. Tom is of Irish and Welsh descent.
Fan Mail:
Tom Cruise
c/o Staff Member
Cruise/Wagner Productions (C/W)
5555 Melrose Ave
Bldg 200
Los Angeles, CA 90038
USA
C/O Creative Artists Agency
9830 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
USA
Salary:
War of the Worlds (2005) (20% profit participation)
The Last Samurai (2003) $25,000,000 + % of profits
Minority Report (2002) $25,000,000+
Vanilla Sky (2001) $20,000,000 + 30% of Profits
Mission: Impossible II (2000) $75,000,000 (gross participation)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) $20,000,000
Jerry Maguire (1996) $20,000,000 against 15%
Mission: Impossible (1996) $70,000,000 (gross participation)
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) $15,000,000
Far and Away (1992) $13,000,000
Rain Man (1988) $3,000,000+% of gross
Top Gun (1986) $2,000,000
Risky Business (1983) $75,000
Bio:
In 1975, if you had told 13 year old Tommy Mapother who was living on Taylorville Road in Louisville, Kentucky and attending Sacred Heart School, that in the not too distant future he would be considered 3th of the top movie stars of all time, he would have thought you were crazy. Nonetheless, this young man born in Syracuse, New York in 1962 was destined to become Tom Cruise, one of the highest paid and most sought after actors in screen history. Because of his father’s job, Tom had a nomadic childhood and by the time he was 14, he had attended 15 different schools in the United States and Canada. He was diagnosed as dyslexic and was not particularly successful in school. In 1976, he spent one year (his Freshman year in High School) at St. Francis Seminary, a Franciscan school in Cincinnati at the behest of his Grandfather who offered to pay for his education. Contrary to rumors, Tom never considered becoming a priest ! He simply attended St. Francis because it provided him with the opportunity for a better education. Because his Grandfather refused to pay for his sisters to attend school as well, Tom left St. Francis after 1 year, and returned to Louisville where he spent his Sophomore year of High School at St. Xaviar High School. His Mom, Mary Lee remarried in 1978 and the new family moved to a big house on Washington Street in Glen Ridge, New Jersey where Tom attended Glen Ridge High School for his Junior and Senior years. He played soccer and was on the wrestling team, but because of a knee injury suffered when he slipped down a flight of stairs at home, he was unable to participate in sports later in his Senior year, and became interested in acting when a teacher suggested he try out for the school play. He did, and he got the part of Nathan Detroit in the school production of “Guys and Dolls”. In addition, in the spring and summer of 1980, he performed in a dinner theater production of “Godspell”. After graduation in June of 1980, Tom borrowed $800 from his stepdad Jack, loaded up his old Pinto and moved to New York to become an actor. He found an apartment, worked as a busboy at Mortimer’s restaurant, and acted as the Assistant Superintendent for a building on Amsterdam Avenue in order to make ends meet while attending acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse and auditioning for television and movie roles. He landed his first role, a small part in the 1981 film “Endless Love”. He found out he had the part, when he hitchhiked home to New Jersey after his car wouldn’t start, and found that the producers called his Mother’s house to tell him he had the role. He had given them her phone number because he couldn’t afford a phone ! The next years are the stuff of legends and from the very outset, he exhibited an undeniable box office appeal to both male and female audiences.
Though only 5’9” tall and not “movie star handsome” in the traditional sense, within 5 years Tom Cruise starred in some of the top grossing films of the 1980’s including “Top Gun” (1986), “The Color of Money” (1986), “Rainman” (1988), and “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989). By the 1990’s, he was one of the highest paid actors in the world, averaging close to 20 million dollars a film in such blockbuster hits “The Firm” (1993), “Interview with the Vampire” (1994), “Mission: Impossible” (1996), and “Jerry Maguire” (1996) for which he received his first Academy Award Nomination in the category of Best Actor. In 1999, Tom co-starred in the ensemble drama, “Magnolia”, and received his third Academy Award nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category. His next films, “Missin: Impossible 2″ (2000), “Vanilla Sky” (2001), “Minority Report” (2002), “The Last Samurai” (2003), and “Collateral” (2004), were also huge successes earning more than 100 million dollars in the US Box office alone. In 2005, Tom will star in the Steven Spielberg film, War of the Worlds, which is also being co-produced by his company C/W Productions.
In May of 1987, Tom married Mimi Rogers, and in the late 80’s he became a member of The Church of Scientology. He used their study technology to overcome his difficulty with reading and comprehension which had plagued him all his life, and came to realize that he had been misdiagnosed as dyslexic. He remains a devout Scientologist. He and Mimi went their separate ways in January of 1990 and Tom met and married Nicole Kidman in December of 1990. In 1993, he formed the extremely successful C/W Productions on the Paramount Lot with his former agent, Paula Wagner, and is now represented by Paula’s husband, Rick Nicita at CAA. A kind a thoughtful man, Tom is well known for his compassion and generosity and is also one of the most well liked actors in the movie industry. In addition to C/W Productions, Tom owns 2 other companies. He does not believe in allowing others to manage his affairs. He is responsible for the day to day operations of all 3 companies. Tom earned his Commercial pilots license in 1994 and is an instrument rated pilot. He owns 4 planes, including a Pitts S-2B Aerobatic Bi-Plane called “Sweet Bella”, a Vintage World War II Mustang P-51K called “Montana Miss” (it’s original WW II name), a Beech F90, and a Gulfstream 4SP. During the late 80’s, he raced for Newman/Haas SCCA racing team, although since the birth of his children, he’s given up racing on a regular basis. He enjoys scuba diving, sky diving, rock climbing, mountain biking, and many other sports, and is an avid sports fan as well. He supports the New York Yankee’s baseball team and the New York Giants football team. He also has a keen interest in Aviation History. Tom resides in Beverly Hills, California, but also owns an apartment in New York City and a mountain top home in Telluride, Colorado. The boy formerly known as Thomas Cruise Mapother IV has indeed come a long way from the lonely wanderings of his youth.
Trivia:
Tom started wearing braces in 2002. He removes them during filming.
When he was 7, he was diagnosed as dyslexic. He claims Scientology helped him overcome it.
According to RadarMagazine.com, before Cruise started dating Katie Holmes, he invited actress Scarlett Johansson to a Scientology center where he showed her literature about the church. “After two hours of proselytizing,” according to the website, “Cruise opened a door to reveal a second room full of upper-level Scientologists who had been waiting to dine with the pair, at which point the cool-headed ingénue politely excused herself.”
In 1997, Cruise and other big time Hollywood entertainers took out an international newspaper ad denouncing Germany for resorting to the same totalitarian tactics against Scientologists that the country used against the Jews under Hitler during the 1930s.
If Cruise and Katie Holmes wed, each of his wives will have been eleven years younger than the last. (Mimi Rogers, b. 1956; Nicole Kidman, b. 1967; Katie Holmes, b. 1978)
He took up acting after losing his place on a high school wrestling team, due to a knee injury;
He and Nicole Kidman had two adopted children, Isabella and Connor;
Is right handed when writing, but does most things left handed;
Enjoys skydiving, scuba diving, and piloting his Pitts Special S-2B stunt plane;
Has three sisters: Marian, Lee Anne and Cass;
At age 14, he enrolled in a seminary to become a priest… he dropped out after one year;
Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1990, 1991 and 1997;
Chosen as People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1990;
Stopped to help a hit and run victim and paid her hospital bills. The victim was aspiring Brazilian actress Heloisa Vinhas;
Voted Best Dressed Male Movie Star;
Ranked 3 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” list in 1997;
Cruise and Nicole Kidman donated to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign for a seat in the U.S. Senate representing New York;
Cousin of actor William Mapother;
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (41) in 1995;
Caused a stir in the medical community when he claimed, in an interview, that Scientology cured him of his dyslexia;
While he was working with Paul Newman in the Color of Money, The (1986), he engaged in much conversation with the politically active actor. The resulting conscious raising changed him from an actor who ignored the jingoistic tone of Top Gun (1986) to a performer who chose a film with a strong anti-war tone, Born on the Fourth of July (1989) to counter his contribution to the former film;
Has three sisters: Marian, Lee Anne and Cass;
Graduated from Glen Ridge High School in June 1980;
Recently restored an older home in the township of Biltmore Forest, a town within the city limits of Asheville North Carolina;
Received the John Huston Award for Artists Rights in 1998;
Was considered for the lead in Matrix, The ;
Cruise earned roughly $75 million for Mission: Impossible II (2000). He did this by turning down any upfront salary, for instead taking a back-end deal that landed him 30% of the film’s gross for both his producing and acting duties;
Attended Packanack School in Wayne, New Jersey from first through third grade;
Dated Melissa Gilbert;
Filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Michael Davis, a man who allegedly offered to sell videotapes of himself having sex with the actor. The lawsuit accuses Davis of making the statements “in order to hurt the plaintiff and gain widespread publicity for himself.” [May 2001];
Filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against porn star Kyle Bradford, who claimed he had a homosexual affair with Tom, although Bradford later claimed that he never said such a thing to the French magazine, “Actustar”, that supposedly quoted him. [2 May 2001];
Dated “Vanilla Sky” co-star Penélope Cruz. [2001-January 2004];
Conor Antony (adopted son) born January 17, 1995;
sabella Jane (adopted daughter) born December 22, 1992;
Instead of his affair with Penélope Cruz damaging both their careers, it only boosted it.
Suffers from dyslexia.
Earned his pilot’s license in Toronto in 1994;
He didn’t stay for the remainder of the 2002 Academy Awards after opening them because it was his turn to look after his and ex-wife Nicole Kidman’s children. He reportedly left the Kodak Theatre by a back door after opening proceedings and dashed home to watch the rest of the event on TV with his adopted kids Connor and Isabella;
For 1988, he became the first actor to have the distinction of starring in both the year’s Oscar winner for Best Picture, Rain Man (1988) and the year’s Razzie “winner” for Worst Picture, Cocktail (1988);
Ranked 14 in Premiere’s 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked 16 in 2002;
Ranked 4 in Star TV’s Top 10 Box Office Stars of the 1990s (2003);
Father, Thomas Mapother III (15 October 1934 - January 1984), was an electrical engineer;
Has two dogs called Basil and Murray and a cat called Harvey;
First actor in history to star in five consecutive films that grossed $100 million in the USA: Few Good Men, A (1992), Firm, The (1993), Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), Mission: Impossible (1996), Jerry Maguire (1996);
Briefly attended St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky and was a paperboy for the Louisville Courier-Journal;
Wore braces on his flashy, million-dollar smile in 2002 to correct a misaligned bite;
Announced that his relationship with Penélope Cruz had ended in January 2004.
Has appeared in films opposite five directors who have also directed his films. Sydney Pollack, who directed The Firm, appeared in Eyes Wide Shut. Stanley Kubrick, who directed Eyes Wide Shut, makes a cameo appearance in all of his films. Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed Magnolia, appeared as an extra in Minority Report. Minority Report director Steven Spielberg appeared in Vanilla Sky and Austin Power in Goldmember. Cameron Crowe, who directed Jerry Maguire and Vanilla Sky, appeared in Minority Report;
Will not allow his likeness to be used in video games or for action figures;
While filming “Days of Thunder” at Daytona International Speedway, he enjoyed playing football with the truck drivers. He was the receiver - he loved going deep to catch a pass;
While filming “Days of Thunder” at Daytona International Speedway, he drove one of the Hendricks Motorsports R&D cars around the track. The best time recorded was a lap at 205 MPH.
Quotes:
“I’m usually nervous to meet people that I admire because what if they’re not cool or something?”
“I just want to help people.”
“I’m passionate about learning. I’m passionate about life.”
“I can be a quite excitable person.”
“Hey, I do my work. I live my life. My personal life has never affected anything before, but what does it matter? I can’t control what people are going to say and do. It’s never going to change how I live my life.”
“It doesn’t matter to me. I was someone who went to many different schools growing up. I learned very early on I didn’t have the right pair of shoes, didn’t have the right accent … and there’s just a point where you go, there are just those people in the world ad you should never worry about that.”
“When you look at life, it could be a lot better. It’s not good enough for me to just do well.”
“I have cooked turkeys in my day but when Mom’s around I let her do it.”
“I was 18 when I saw Akira Kurosawa’s Shichinin no samurai (1954). After about 30 seconds, I realized that this was not just a cultural thing, it was universal. Years later, I read Bushido. It talked about many things that I strive for in my own life: loyalty, compassion, responsibility, the idea of looking back on your life and taking responsibility for everything you’ve ever done. I’m fascinated by the samurai and the samurai code - it’s one of the main reasons I wanted to make The Last Samurai (2003)”.
“Awards are wonderful. I’ve been nominated many times and I’ve won many awards. But my journey is not towards that. If it happens it will be a blast. If it doesn’t, it’s still been a blast.”
“I believe in life. I know that life comes in at your heart and it doesn’t matter if you’re an actor, a filmmaker or a gentleman on the street, it comes at you. What Scientology gives me is the tools to deal with that, to better enjoy my life and to be able to contribute more.”
[On his role as the hit man in Collateral (2004) ] “I’ve never played a character like this before. Vincent interested me because he is such an anti-social personality, bringing destruction and chaos with him wherever he goes. He’s a force of nature”.
“I remember getting through high school and thinking, ‘Boy, I’m glad I got that behind me!’ Then, when I was 19, I got Risky Business (1983), and I realized, ‘Ah, so this is life - it’s a little bigger than I thought!”
“As a young actor, people were trying to define who I was before I really knew that for myself. But I still remember thinking, ‘This is what I love doing, and I hope I’m going to be able to do it forever.”
“I’ve had a very interesting life. There are ways of handling the complexities. I’m willing to take on responsibilities as a father, as a producer, as an actor - and I enjoy that. I’ve always been changing and evolving and growing. There’s no pinnacle of power where you can sit back and rest.”
“Because I grew up in so many different places, I was used to rumors [about me]. You know, I didn’t have the right shoes, I didn’t have the right clothes. I even had the wrong accent.”
“Nic and I don’t talk publicly about custody but, definitely, both of us share the kids back and forth. They’re amazing kids.”
“I would live with all of my sisters if I could. We’ve always been very close, my sisters and me.”
“The important thing with a child is that you love them, you protect them and you help them to grow and find out who they are. And as a parent, it’s my responsibility to help them to become independent and get all the knowledge and a broad view of the world and life. I know that Nic absolutely agrees with that. And that’s what’s important: being there.”
“I’d like to be with a woman who goes [he switches into a woman's voice], “I’ve reviewed your schedule, and I’m going to set up this motorcycle trip for you, because you’ve been working really hard. And I’m going to go with you. We’re going to go riding together. And I’ve already been working on it for a couple days so it can be special.”
“I don’t really keep counsel with others. I’m the kind of person who will think about something, and if I know it’s right I’m not going to ask anybody. I don’t go, “Boy, what do you think about this?” I’ve made every decision for myself - in my career, in my life.”
“SAT (exam) scores have gone right down the toilet. The parents are blaming the teachers, the teachers are blaming the parents and the psychs are putting everyone on drugs.”
“[Women] smell good. They look pretty. I love women. I do.”
“I like treating a woman the way that she deserves to be treated”
Filmography:
Tom Cruise Filmography as an Actor:
2009 The Hardy Men
2008 Valkyrie
2008 Tropic Thunder
2007 Lions for Lambs
2006 Mission: Impossible III
2005 War of the Worlds
2004 Collateral
2003 The Last Samurai
2002 Space Station
2002 Minority Report
2001 Vanilla Sky
2001 Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures
2001 America: A Tribute to Heroes
2000 Mission: Impossible II
1999 The Last Movie: Stanley Kubrick & “Eyes Wide Shut”
1999 Magnolia
1999 Eyes Wide Shut
1996 Jerry Maguire
1996 Mission: Impossible
1994 Interview With the Vampire
1993 The Firm
1992 Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS and You
1992 Far and Away
1992 A Few Good Men
1990 Days of Thunder
1989 Born on the Fourth of July
1988 Rain Man
1988 Cocktail
1986 Top Gun
1986 The Color of Money
1985 Legend
1983 All the Right Moves
1983 Risky Business
1983 The Outsiders
1982 Losin’ It
1981 Taps
1981 Endless Love
Tom Cruise Filmography as a Director:
1993 Fallen Angels, Vol. 1
Tom Cruise Filmography as an Executive Producer:
2003 Shattered Glass
2001 The Others
Tom Cruise Filmography as a Producer:
2008 Death Race
2008 The Eye
2006 Ask the Dust
2006 Mission: Impossible III
2005 Elizabethtown
2003 The Last Samurai
2001 Vanilla Sky
2000 Mission: Impossible II
1998 Without Limits
1996 Mission: Impossible
Tom Cruise Filmography as a Screenwriter:
1990 Days of Thunder
Tom Cruise Awards:
Academy
1999 Best Supporting Actor Magnolia
1996 Best Actor Jerry Maguire
1989 Best Actor Born On The Fourth Of July
Chicago Film Critics Association
1999 Best Supporting Actor Magnolia
Golden Globe
2003 Best Actor - Drama The Last Samurai
1999 Best Supporting Actor (Motion Picture) Magnolia
1996 Best Actor - Comedy or Musical Jerry Maguire
1992 Best Actor (Drama) Few Good Men
1989 Best Actor (Drama) Born on the Fourth of July
1983 Best Actor - Musical or Comedy Risky Business
National Board of Review
1996 Best Actor Jerry Maguire
Producers Guild of America
2003 Producer of the Year The Last Samurai
Screen Actors Guild
1999 Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role Magnolia
1996 Best Actor Jerry Maguire
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