Tom Cruise

An American actor and filmmaker. He has been nominated for threeAcademy Awardsand has won threeGolden Globe Awards. He started his career at age 19 in the 1981 filmEndless Love. After portraying supporting roles inTaps(1981) andThe Outsiders(1983), his first leading role was inRisky Business, released in August 1983. Cruise became a full-fledged movie star after starring as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell inTop Gun(1986). He has since 1996 been well known for his role as secret agentEthan Huntin theMission: Impossiblefilm series. One of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood,Cruise has starred in many successful films, includingThe Color of Money(1986),Cocktail(1988),Rain Man(1988),Born on the Fourth of July(1989),Far and Away(1992),A Few Good Men(1992),The Firm(1993),Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles(1994),Jerry Maguire(1996),Eyes Wide Shut(1999),Magnolia(1999),Vanilla Sky(2001),Minority Report(2002),The Last Samurai(2003),Collateral(2004),War of the Worlds(2005),Lions for Lambs(2007),Valkyrie(2008),Knight and Day(2010),Jack Reacher(2012),Oblivion(2013), andEdge of Tomorrow(2014). In 2012, Cruise wasHollywood's highest-paid actor.Fifteen of his films grossed over $100 million domestically; twenty-one have grossed in excess of $200 million worldwide. Cruise is known for his support for theChurch of Scientologyand its affiliated social programs.