THE Movie Star -- Tom Cruise (Year 6 Finale)

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and producer. He is considered a Hollywood icon and has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Golden Globe Awards, along with nominations for four Academy Awards. His films have grossed over $12 billion worldwide, placing him among the highest-grossing actors of all time. He is considered one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and is consistently one of the highest-paid actors in the world. Cruise began his acting career in the early 1980s and gained recognition with leading roles in *Risky Business* (1983) and *Top Gun* (1986). He received critical acclaim for his performances in the dramas *The Color of Money* (1986), *Rain Man* (1988), and *Born on the Fourth of July* (1989). For his portrayal of Ron Kovic in *Born on the Fourth of July*, he won a Golden Globe Award and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. As a leading 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). He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for the latter. Cruise's performance in *Magnolia* (1999) earned him another Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He later established himself as a star of science fiction and action films, often performing his own stunts. Cruise has portrayed the fictional agent Ethan Hunt in the *Mission: Impossible* film series since 1996. Other films in this 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), and *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022). Cruise holds the Guinness World Record for the most consecutive $100-million-grossing movies, a record achieved between 2012 and 2018. In December 2024, he was awarded the U.S. Navy's highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Award, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the military through his screen roles. Forbes ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006. He was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 1990 and received the distinction of "Most Beautiful People" in 1997. Outside of his film career, Cruise has been an outspoken advocate for the Church of Scientology.