Tom Cruise’s Best Roles

For over forty years, Tom Cruise has been the definition of a global movie star. From his breakout roles in the 1980s to his dominance of the modern blockbuster landscape, his name alone has been enough to guarantee an audience. His incredible drive and dedication to his craft have kept him at the very top of the industry, making him one of the most successful and enduring actors in cinematic history.

Cruise is not just a star but also a dedicated showman who is deeply committed to the audience’s experience. This is most evident in his famous insistence on performing his own stunts, often risking his own safety to capture a level of realism and intensity that is unmatched in modern action films. His career is a fascinating blend of iconic franchise roles and complex dramatic performances, showcasing a range that extends far beyond his action-hero persona.

‘The Color of Money’ (1986)

In this film, Tom Cruise plays Vincent Lauria, a young and prodigiously talented pool player with a flashy style and a showboating attitude. He encounters an aging former hustler, ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson, who sees Vincent’s raw potential. Eddie takes the young player under his wing, agreeing to mentor him in the art of the hustle.

The story follows the two as they travel the country, with Eddie teaching Vincent how to make money not just by winning but by strategically losing. Their partnership becomes strained as Vincent’s arrogance and desire for straightforward victory clash with Eddie’s more cunning and psychological approach to the game.

‘Born on the Fourth of July’ (1989)

Cruise portrays the real-life figure Ron Kovic in this powerful biographical drama. The film chronicles Kovic’s life, beginning with his youth as a patriotic, all-American boy who eagerly enlists to serve in the Vietnam War. His tour of duty ends tragically when an injury leaves him paralyzed from the chest down.

Upon returning home, Kovic faces a difficult and painful adjustment to his new life in a wheelchair and becomes disillusioned with the government’s treatment of veterans. This experience transforms him into a fierce and prominent anti-war activist, and the role required Cruise to undergo a significant physical and emotional transformation.

‘Jerry Maguire’ (1996)

Tom Cruise stars in the title role of Jerry Maguire, a slick and highly successful sports agent who seemingly has it all. He has a moment of moral clarity and writes a mission statement calling for his agency to focus on fewer clients and a more personal approach. This action promptly gets him fired from his job.

Stripped of his career and his high-profile clients, Jerry is forced to start from scratch. He launches his own agency with only one employee and a single, loyal but volatile football player as his client, all while navigating a new romantic relationship and trying to prove his new philosophy can succeed.

‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ (2011)

Cruise returns as super-spy Ethan Hunt in this fourth installment of the action franchise. The film begins with the entire Impossible Missions Force being disavowed after being implicated in a bombing. Ethan and a small team of fellow agents are forced to go rogue to clear their organization’s name.

This movie is widely known for one of the most daring stunts in cinematic history. For a key sequence, Cruise’s character must scale the sheer glass exterior of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world. He performed the stunt himself, suspended over 1,700 feet in the air.

‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ (2015)

In this entry, Ethan Hunt finds himself on the run after the IMF is disbanded and absorbed by the CIA. He becomes determined to prove the existence of the Syndicate, a shadowy international network of rogue spies that the government does not believe is real.

To track down this anti-IMF, Ethan must rely on his disavowed team and an elusive British agent who may or may not be on his side. The film’s opening sequence features a remarkable practical stunt where Cruise hangs onto the side of an Airbus A400M military transport plane as it takes off.

‘Interview with the Vampire’ (1994)

Cruise took on the role of the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, a charismatic and decadent creature of the night. The story is told from the perspective of another vampire who recounts his long and tragic life, which began when Lestat transformed him in 18th-century New Orleans.

Lestat is portrayed as a powerful and philosophical being who is both a mentor and a tormentor to his fledgling companion. He embraces the predatory nature of vampirism with flamboyant flair, showing no remorse for his actions and serving as a major figure throughout the centuries-spanning narrative.

‘Collateral’ (2004)

In a rare villainous role, Tom Cruise plays Vincent, a silver-haired and impeccably dressed contract killer. His character is a methodical and ruthless professional who arrives in Los Angeles with a list of five targets to eliminate in a single night.

To carry out his assignment, Vincent hijacks a taxi and forces its driver into becoming his unwilling chauffeur for the evening. The film follows the two men over the course of the night as the taxi driver tries to survive and thwart the plans of his sophisticated and dangerously focused passenger.

‘A Few Good Men’ (1992)

Cruise plays Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, a gifted but unmotivated Navy lawyer who specializes in negotiating plea bargains instead of taking cases to trial. His casual approach is challenged when he is assigned to defend two U.S. Marines accused of murdering a fellow soldier at Guantanamo Bay.

Kaffee believes the case is straightforward, but a determined fellow officer convinces him there is a conspiracy at play. He is forced to risk his career by challenging a powerful and intimidating base commander in a dramatic courtroom showdown.

‘Minority Report’ (2002)

In this science fiction thriller, Cruise stars as John Anderton, the chief of the Precrime police department in Washington D.C. in the year 2054. This specialized unit uses three psychic humans called ‘Precogs’ to foresee murders before they happen, allowing police to arrest the future perpetrators.

Anderton is a firm believer in the flawless system until the Precogs predict that he himself will commit a murder in the near future. Forced to become a fugitive from his own unit, he must uncover the truth behind the prediction to prove his innocence.

‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ (2018)

Ethan Hunt and his IMF team race against time after a mission to secure stolen plutonium goes wrong. Hunt is forced to work with a CIA assassin to track down the missing material before an extremist group can build nuclear weapons and carry out a devastating attack.

The film is celebrated for its incredible and ambitious action sequences, which Cruise once again performed himself. These stunts included a high-altitude, low-opening parachute jump from 25,000 feet, a high-speed motorcycle chase through Paris, and piloting a helicopter during a climactic aerial chase.

‘The Last Samurai’ (2003)

Cruise plays Captain Nathan Algren, a decorated but alcoholic U.S. Army veteran haunted by his actions during the American Indian Wars. In the 1870s, he accepts a lucrative offer to travel to Japan to help train the Emperor’s new conscript army in modern warfare.

During a battle, Algren is captured by a clan of traditionalist samurai warriors who oppose the Westernization of Japan. As a prisoner in their village, he begins to learn about their culture and code of honor, eventually joining their cause and finding a new sense of purpose.

‘Edge of Tomorrow’ (2014)

In this sci-fi action film, Cruise stars as Major William Cage, a public relations officer for the military who has no combat experience. He is unwillingly sent to the front lines of a war against a powerful alien race that is conquering Europe. He is killed within minutes of his first battle.

However, he awakens to find himself caught in a time loop, forced to relive the same brutal day over and over again. With each reset, he becomes a more skilled soldier, training with a celebrated war hero to use his unique situation to find a way to defeat the enemy.

‘Magnolia’ (1999)

In a dramatic turn, Cruise portrays Frank T.J. Mackey, a charismatic and intensely confident self-help guru. His character is the star of a popular seminar series for men where he preaches a philosophy of toxic masculinity and seduction.

This performance was a significant departure from Cruise’s typical roles, allowing him to explore a much darker and more complex character. Behind his aggressive public persona, Mackey is revealed to be a deeply wounded man who is forced to confront the estranged, dying father he abandoned years ago.

‘Rain Man’ (1988)

Cruise plays Charlie Babbitt, a self-centered and abrasive Los Angeles car dealer. When his estranged father passes away, he learns that the bulk of the multi-million dollar estate has been left to an older brother he never knew existed, an autistic savant named Raymond who lives in an institution.

In an attempt to get what he believes is his share of the inheritance, Charlie takes Raymond out of the institution and embarks on a cross-country road trip. The journey fundamentally changes Charlie’s character as he gets to know his brother and develops a genuine, protective bond with him.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)

Tom Cruise reprises his legendary role as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, more than three decades after the original film. Now a highly decorated but rebellious Navy Captain, Maverick works as a test pilot, pushing the limits of modern aircraft while avoiding promotions that would ground him.

He is ordered back to the Top Gun flight school to train a new generation of elite aviators for a perilous mission. The assignment forces him to confront his past, particularly his relationship with the son of his late friend and wingman, Goose, who is one of the pilots he must prepare for the dangerous task.

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