Tom Cruise

"''"Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise crazy

Just be glad it's him, not you...

If you had Tom Cruise's trouble

You might be Tom Cruise crazy, too.

You'd flash your big white shiny smile,

And buy expensive shoes,

But you'd be the only man on Earth who couldn't enjoy Tom Cruise."''"

- Jonathan Coulton, "Tom Cruise Crazy"

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (pronounced /ˈtɒməs ˈkruːz ˈmeɪpɒθər/; born July 3, 1962), better known by his screen name of Tom Cruise, is an American actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards. His first leading role is in Risky Business. He is known for playing heroic roles, although several of his most memorable turns have been villainous roles, such as the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt in Interview With the Vampire, Vincent in Collateral, and recently foul-mouthed studio boss Les Grossman, which provides the page caption.

More recently known for his... unusual antics such as jumping on the couch on Oprah. Cruise is also known for his controversial support of and adherence to the Church of Scientology, both of which have contributed to his status as a Butt Monkey of modern Pop Culture (...at least until Charlie Sheen went bananas), and cause many people to forget his very real acting talents.

Despite all the crazy, Cruise is a genuinely good actor with some great films under his belt. He was pretty much the top movie star in the world for a good fifteen to twenty years, starting around the time of Top Gun. He opened the 2002 Oscars -- just months after 9/11 -- and gave a memorably appropriate and heartwarming opening speech, as well.

There are some indications that he may be in the process of being Rescued From the Scrappy Heap thanks to the very positive reception to his performance in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

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Notable for:

 * Risky Business - Joel Goodson
 * Legend - Jack (O' The Green)
 * Cocktail - Brian Flanagan
 * Top Gun - Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell
 * Born On the Fourth of July - Ron Kovic
 * Rain Man - Charlie Babbitt
 * A Few Good Men - Lt. Daniel Kaffee
 * Interview With the Vampire - Lestat de Lioncourt
 * Mission: Impossible - Ethan Hunt
 * Jerry Maguire
 * Magnolia - Frank T.J. Mackey
 * Vanilla Sky - David Aames
 * Mission: Impossible II - Ethan Hunt
 * Minority Report - John Anderton
 * The Last Samurai - Nathan Algren
 * Collateral - Vincent
 * War of the Worlds - Ray Ferrier
 * Mission: Impossible III - Ethan Hunt
 * Tropic Thunder - Les Grossman (Yup, that's him)
 * Valkyrie - Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg
 * Knight and Day - Roy Miller
 * Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol - Ethan Hunt
 * Rock of Ages - Stacee Jaxx