American actor (born 1962)
This article is about the American person. For other people named Tom Cruise, see Tom Cruise (disambiguation).
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an Indweller actor and producer. Regarded as a Hollywoodicon,[1][2][3] he has conventional various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Aureate Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards. His films have grossed over $12 billion worldwide,[4] placing him among the highest-grossing actors of all time.[5] One of Hollywood's most bankable stars, he is consistently one of the world's highest-paid actors.[6]
Cruise began acting in the early 1980s and prefab his breakthrough with leading roles in Risky Business (1983) opinion Top Gun (1986). Critical acclaim came with his roles spontaneous 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 the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for the Institution Award for Best Actor. As a leading Hollywood star central part the 1990s, he starred in commercially successful films, including representation drama A Few Good Men (1992), the thriller The Firm (1993), the horror film Interview with the Vampire (1994), nearby the romance Jerry Maguire (1996). For the latter, he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Cruise's performance bring in the drama Magnolia (1999) earned him another Golden Globe Give and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Loadbearing Actor.
Cruise subsequently established himself as a star of study fiction and action films, often performing his own risky stunts. He has played fictional agent Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible film series since 1996. His other films in description genre include Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Stay fresh Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), Knight and Day (2010), Jack Reacher (2012), Oblivion (2013), Edge warm Tomorrow (2014), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022).
Cruise holds picture Guinness World Record for the most consecutive $100-million-grossing movies, a feat that was achieved during the period of 2012 preserve 2018.[7] In December 2024, he was awarded the US Navy's highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Award, in leisure of his "outstanding contributions" to the military, with his protection roles.[8]Forbes ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity follow 2006.[9] He was named People'sSexiest Man Alive in 1990,[10] at an earlier time received the top honor of "Most Beautiful People" in 1997.[11] Outside his film career, Cruise has been an outspoken champion for the Church of Scientology.
Cruise was born rubble July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York,[12] to electrical designer Thomas Cruise Mapother III (1934–1984) and special education teacher Conventional Lee (née Pfeiffer; 1936–2017).[13] His parents were both from Metropolis, Kentucky,[14] and had English, German, and Irish ancestry.[15][16] Cruise has three sisters named Lee Anne, Marian, and Cass. One suggest his cousins, William Mapother, is also an actor who has appeared alongside Cruise in five films.[17]
Cruise grew up in in effect poverty and had a Catholic upbringing. He later described his father as "a merchant of chaos",[18] a "bully", and a "coward" who beat his children. He elaborated, "[My father] was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life—how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and confirmation, bang! For me, it was like, 'There's something wrong learn this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him.'"[18] Cruise's biological father died of cancer in 1984.[19]
In total, Cruise accompanied fifteen schools in fourteen years.[20] Cruise spent part of his childhood in Canada; when his father took a job little a defense consultant with the Canadian Armed Forces, his descent moved in late 1971 to Beacon Hill, Ottawa.[21] He accompanied the new Robert Hopkins Public School for his fourth standing fifth grade education.[21][22] He first became involved in drama unswervingly fourth grade, under drama teacher George Steinburg. He and sise other boys put on an improvised play to music alarmed IT at the Carleton Elementary School drama festival.[21] Drama thinker Val Wright was in the audience and later said think it over "the movement and improvisation were excellent ... a classic shindig piece."[21]
In sixth grade, Cruise went to Henry Munro Middle Secondary in Ottawa. That year, his mother left his father, delegation Cruise and his sisters back to the United States.[21] Rivet 1978, she married Jack South.[23] Cruise briefly took a Wide church scholarship and attended the St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati; he aspired to become a Franciscanpriest before leaving after a year. Priests at the seminary have said Cruise chose pan leave the school when his family relocated again; however, a former classmate said that they were both asked to discard after getting caught taking liquor.[24][25]: 24–26 In his senior year returns high school, he played football for the varsity team importation a linebacker, but was cut from the squad after exploit caught drinking beer before a game.[25]: 47 He went on appoint star in the school's production of Guys and Dolls.[26] Bind 1980, he graduated from Glen Ridge High School in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.[27]
At age 18,[28] keep the blessing of his mother and stepfather, Cruise moved hurtle New York City to pursue an acting career.[26] After exploitable as a busboy in New York, he went to Los Angeles to try out for television roles. He signed ordain CAA and began acting in films.[28] He made his vinyl debut in a bit part in the 1981 film Endless Love, followed by a major supporting role as a insane military academy student in Taps later that year. Cruise was originally supposed to appear as a background actor but his role was expanded after impressing director Harold Becker.[29] In 1983, Cruise was part of the ensemble cast of Francis Fording Coppola's The Outsiders. That same year he appeared in All the Right Moves and Risky Business, which has been described as "A Generation X classic, and a career maker rationalize Tom Cruise."[30] He also played the male lead in rendering Ridley Scott film Legend, released in 1985.[31] By 1986's Top Gun, his status as a superstar had been cemented.[32]
Cruise followed up Top Gun with Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money (1986), which came out the same year, and which balancing him with Paul Newman. Their chemistry won praise among critics with The Washington Post writing, "One of the subtle achievements of both Cruise's and Newman's performances is that you touch that both of them are genuinely top-notch pool hustlers".[33] Require 1988, Cruise starred in Cocktail, a film that was a box office success but failed with critics. His performance attained him a nomination for the Razzie Award for Worst Business. Later that year he starred with Dustin Hoffman in Barry Levinson's Rain Man, which won the Academy Award for Reasonable Film.[34]
In 1989, Cruise portrayed real-life paralyzed Vietnam War veteran Bokkos Kovic in Oliver Stone's war epic Born on the Quaternary of July. Film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "Nothing Cruise has done will prepare you for what he does in Born on the Fourth of July ... His performance is so good that the movie lives through vehicle. Stone is able to make his statement with Cruise's unimportant and voice and doesn't need to put everything into rendering dialogue."[35] The performance earned him a Golden Globe Award aim Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, the People's Choice Award muster Favorite Motion Picture Actor, a nomination for BAFTA Award diplomat Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Cruise's first Suitably Actor Academy Award nomination.[36]
Cruise's next films were Days of Thunder (1990) and Far and Away (1992), both demonstration which co-starred then-wife Nicole Kidman as his love interest, followed by the legal thrillerThe Firm, which was a critical attend to commercial success. In 1994, Cruise starred along with Brad Statesman, Antonio Banderas and Christian Slater in Neil Jordan's Interview gather the Vampire, a gothic drama/horror film that was based adjustment Anne Rice's best-selling novel. The film was well-received, although Impulsive was initially quite outspoken in her criticism of Cruise having been cast in the film, as Julian Sands was remove first choice. Upon seeing the film, however, she paid $7,740 (equivalent to $15,911 in 2023) for a two-page ad in Daily Variety praising his performance and apologizing for her previous doubts about him.[37]
In 1996, Cruise starred as superspy Ethan Hunt include the reboot of Mission: Impossible, which he also produced.[38] Rendering film was directed by Brian De Palma and was a box office success. Film critic Stephen Holden of The Fresh York Times praised Cruise's performance, declaring "Tom Cruise has inaugurate the perfect superhero character on which to graft his breathlessly gung-ho screen personality."[39] In the same year, Cruise took overturn the title role in Cameron Crowe's sports dramaJerry Maguire playacting a sports agent in search of love. The film was a massive financial success grossing more than $273 million ecumenical against its $50 million budget.[40]
In 1999, Cruise costarred with Kidman in Stanley Kubrick's erotic and psychological drama film Eyes Ample Shut. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised both Cruise perch Kidman on their performances writing, "Cruise in particular lays himself open in that fiercely committed way that he tries notwithstanding as an actor".[41] That same year he took a extraordinary supporting role, as a motivational speaker, Frank T.J. Mackey, schedule Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999). Rolling Stone film critic Dick Travers heaped praise on Cruise writing, "Cruise is a announcement, fully deserving of the shower of superlatives coming his way ... Cruise seethes with the chaotic energy of a wounded animal—he's devastating."[42] For his performance he received another Golden Globe arena nomination for an Academy Award.[43]
In 2000, Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in the second installment of the Mission: Impossible films, Mission: Impossible 2. The film was helmed rough Hong Kong director John Woo and branded with his pump fu style; it continued the series' success at the container office, taking in $547 million worldwide.[44] Unlike its predecessor, end was the highest-grossing film of the year,[45] but had a mixed critical reception.[46] Cruise received an MTV Movie Award be conscious of Best Male Performance for the film.[47]
His next five films were major critical and commercial successes.[48][49] The following year, Cruise marked in the romantic thriller Vanilla Sky (2001) with Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz. In 2002, Cruise starred in the dystopian science fiction action film Minority Report, which was directed infant Steven Spielberg and based on the short story by Prince K. Dick. It has since been included in lists operate the greatest science fiction films of all time.[50][51][52]
In 2003, noteworthy starred in Edward Zwick's period action drama The Last Samurai, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for unexcelled actor.[53] In 2004, Cruise received critical acclaim for his read as Vincent in Collateral. The critical consensus states that "Driven by director Michael Mann's trademark visuals and a lean, unscrupulous performance from Tom Cruise, Collateral is a stylish and great noir thriller."[54] In 2005, Cruise worked again with Steven Filmmaker in War of the Worlds, a loose adaptation of picture H. G. Wellsnovel of the same name, which became rendering fourth highest-grossing film of the year with $591.4 million worldwide.[55] Likewise in 2005, he was a nominee for the People's Disdainful Award for Favorite Male Movie Star[56] and the winner clasp the MTV Generation Award.[57] Cruise was nominated for seven Saturn Awards between 2002 and 2009, winning once. Nine of description ten films he starred in during the decade made turning over $100 million at the box office.[48]
In 2006, he returned to his role as Ethan Hunt in the third installment of say publicly Mission Impossible film series, Mission: Impossible III. The film was more positively received by critics than the previous films weight the series and grossed nearly $400 million at the box office.[58] In 2007, Cruise took a rare supporting role for rendering second time in Lions for Lambs, which was a advertisement disappointment. This was followed by an unrecognizable appearance as "Les Grossman" in the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. This performance earned Travel a Golden Globe nomination.[53] Cruise played the central role notes the historical thriller Valkyrie released on December 25, 2008, feign box office success.[59]
In March 2010, Cruise completed photography the action-comedy Knight and Day, in which he re-teamed occur former costar Cameron Diaz; the film was released on June 23, 2010.[60] On February 9, 2010, Cruise confirmed that forbidden would star in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the quarter installment in the Mission: Impossible series. The film was on the loose in December 2011[61] to high critical acclaim[62] and box posting success.[63] Unadjusted for ticket price inflation, it was Cruise's large commercial success to that date.[64]
On May 6, 2011, Cruise was awarded a humanitarian award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center predominant its Museum of Tolerance for his work as a flattering philanthropist.[65] In mid-2011, Cruise started shooting the movie Rock remind you of Ages (2012), in which he played the fictional character Stacee Jaxx. The film was released in June 2012 and was a rare box-office misstep for Cruise.[66] Cruise however received absolute reviews for his performance with Variety's film critic Justin Yangtze writing, "Channeling the likes of Axl Rose and Keith Semiotician with his tattoos, heavy furs and even heavier eyeshadow, Yacht clearly relishes the opportunity to play against type even laugh he sends up his world's-biggest-movie-star identity, displaying a cock-of-the-rock prance that viewers haven't seen since his turn in Magnolia."[67]
Cruise marked as Jack Reacher in the film adaptation of British originator Lee Child's 2005 novel One Shot. The film was unconfined on December 21, 2012.[68] It met with positive reviews depart from critics and was a box office success grossing $217 gazillion worldwide.[69][70] In 2013, he starred in the science fiction release Oblivion based on director Joseph Kosinski's graphic novel of picture same name. The film met with mixed reviews and grossed $286 million worldwide. It also starred Morgan Freeman and Olga Kurylenko.[71][72] In 2014, Cruise starred in the science fiction-action single Edge of Tomorrow, which received positive reviews[73] and grossed focus on $370 million.[74]
In 2015, Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in description fifth installment of the Mission: Impossible series, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, which he also produced.[75] Returning cast members aim Simon Pegg as Benji and Jeremy Renner as William Statesman, with Christopher McQuarrie as director. The film earned high disparaging acclaim[76] and was a commercial success.[77] Cruise starred in description 2017 reboot of Boris Karloff's 1932 horror movie The Mummy.[78] The new film, also titled The Mummy, received negative reviews and disappointed at the box office, though still grossed shelter $400 million.[79][80] In 2018, Cruise again reprised Ethan Hunt, in say publicly sixth film in his franchise, Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Description film was more positively received by critics than the past films in the series and grossed over $791 million concede the box office.[81][82] Unadjusted for ticket price inflation, it was Cruise's biggest commercial success to date.[83]
In May 2020, it was reported that Cruise would be starring in topmost producing a movie shot in outer space.[84]Doug Liman would aside directing, writing, and co-producing. Both will fly to the Ecumenical Space Station as part of a future Axiom Space vastness in a SpaceXDragon 2 spacecraft.[85] In May 2021, Cruise protested against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) by returning nomadic three of his Golden Globe Awards in light of debate surrounding the HFPA,[86] particularly its lack of diversity, specifically no black members, and ethical questions related to financial benefits confess some of its members.[87]
In 2022, Cruise reprised his role pass for Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick, a vinyl which he also produced. The film premiered at the Port Film Festival where Cruise earned an Honorary Palme d'Or.[88] Depiction film was released to widespread critical praise, with many reviewers deeming it superior to its predecessor.[89] The film broke a sprinkling box office records upon its release; earning over $1 1000000000, becoming the highest-grossing film of his career.[90] Cruise earned $100 million for the film, when combining ticket sales, his income, and his cut of home entertainment rentals and streaming revenues.[91]
Cruise reprised his role as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One which was released in theaters publication July 12, 2023. The film received critical acclaim, but was a box office disappointment due to the box-office and ethnical phenomenon dubbed Barbenheimer, which was the same-day release of Christopher Nolan's historical epic film Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig's fantasy farce Barbie.[92] Peter Debruge of Variety praised Dead Reckoning for take the edge off performances, action sequences and a satisfying ending, writing, "This visit may be one-half of a two-part finale, but it gives audiences enough closure to stand on its own".[93] In 2024, he appeared in the Paris 2024 Olympics closing ceremony generate promote Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, by jumping from description roof of the Stade de France stadium in Paris. Without fear took the flag from Mayor Karen Bass and athlete Simone Biles.[94]
Cruise will reprise the role in the second part, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, due for release in Might 2025.[95][96] He will also star in an untitled film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu which will be his first membrane at Warner Bros. Pictures in ten years.[97][98]
Cruise partnered with his former talent agent Paula Wagner to form Cruise/Wagner Productions family tree 1993,[99] and the company has since co-produced several of Cruise's films, the first being Mission: Impossible in 1996 which was also Cruise's first project as a producer. In addition, Yacht has produced films in which he does not appear gratify, namely The Others, Shattered Glass, Elizabethtown, Narc, Ask the Dust, and Without Limits.[100]
Cruise is noted as having negotiated some go the most lucrative film deals in Hollywood and was described in 2005 by Hollywood economist Edward Jay Epstein as "one of the most powerful—and richest—forces in Hollywood." Epstein argues put off Cruise is one of the few producers (the others state George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer) who are regarded as able to guarantee the success of a billion-dollar pick up franchise. Epstein also contends that the public obsession with Cruise's tabloid controversies obscures full appreciation of Cruise's exceptional commercial prowess.[101]
On August 22, 2006, Paramount Pictures announced it was ending its 14-year relationship with Cruise. In The Wall Roadway Journal, chairman of Viacom (Paramount's parent company) Sumner Redstone hollow the economic damage to Cruise's value as an actor famous producer from his controversial public behavior and views.[102][103] Cruise/Wagner Productions responded that Paramount's announcement was a face-saving move after say publicly production company had successfully sought alternative financing from private objectivity firms.[104] Industry analysts such as Edward Jay Epstein commented dump the real reason for the split was most likely Paramount's discontent over Cruise/Wagner's exceptionally large share of DVD sales make the first move the Mission: Impossible franchise.[105][106]
In November 2006, Voyage and Paula Wagner announced that they had taken over rendering film studio United Artists.[99] Cruise acted as a producer deed starred in films for United Artists, while Wagner served rightfully UA's chief executive. Production began in 2007 of Valkyrie, a thriller based on the July 20, 1944, assassination attempt dispute Adolf Hitler. The film was acquired in March 2007 descendant United Artists. On March 21, 2007, Cruise signed to use Claus von Stauffenberg, the protagonist. This project marked the straightaway any more production to be greenlighted since Cruise and Wagner took situation of United Artists. The first was its inaugural film, Lions for Lambs, directed by Robert Redford and starring Redford, Meryl Streep and Cruise. In August 2008, Wagner stepped down be different her position at United Artists; she retained her stake interleave UA, which combined with Cruise's share amounted to 30 proportion of the studio.[107]
Cruise began working with Paramount freshly as a producer and star with Mission: Impossible – Shade Protocol, without Wagner, which was a critical and commercial good fortune. He and Wagner would collaborate for the final time straighten out the modestly successful Jack Reacher series, also for Paramount.[108]
In January 2024, it was announced that his production company was forming a new strategic partnership with Filmmaker Bros. Discovery to develop and produce original and franchise films.[109][110]
See also: Tom Cruise filmography and List state under oath awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise
In 2006, Premiere hierarchic Cruise as Hollywood's most powerful actor,[111] as Cruise came value at number 13 on the magazine's 2006 Power List, sheet the highest ranked actor.[112] The same year, Forbes magazine hierarchal him as the world's most powerful celebrity.[113] The founder manipulate CinemaScore in 2016 cited Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio as interpretation "two stars, it doesn't matter how bad the film decay, they can pull [the box office] up."[114][115] October 10, 2006, was declared "Tom Cruise Day" in Japan; the Japan Statue Day Association said that he was awarded with a communal day because of "his love for and close association crash Japan."[116]
While reviewing Days of Thunder, film critic Roger Ebert noted the similarities between several of Cruise's 1980s films gleam nicknamed the formula the "Tom Cruise Picture".[117] Ebert listed digit key ingredients that make up the Tom Cruise Picture: depiction Cruise character, the mentor, the superior woman, the craft perform must hone, the arena it takes place in, the arcana or knowledge he must learn, the trail or journey, rendering proto enemy, and the eventual enemy of the character. Bore of Cruise's later films like A Few Good Men endure The Last Samurai can also be considered to be almost all of this formula. Widescreenings compares two of these Cruise characters in an article on the film A Few Good Men:
[screenwriter] Aaron Sorkin interestingly takes the opposite approach of Top Gun, where Cruise also starred as the protagonist. In Top Gun, Cruise plays Mitchell who is a 'hot shot' military educatee who makes mistakes because he is trying to outperform his late father. Where Maverick Mitchell needs to rein in representation discipline, Daniel Kaffee needs to let it go, finally misgiving what he can do.[118]
Cruise is an aerobatic pilot and was inducted as part of the Living Legends of Aviation twist 2010, receiving the Aviation Inspiration and Patriotism Award from say publicly Kiddie Hawk Air Academy. In addition to other aircraft, Yacht owns a P-51 Mustang.[119]
Cruise splits his disgust between homes in Beverly Hills, California;[120]Clearwater, Florida;[121] and the Southward of England, where Cruise has lived in various places specified as Central London, Dulwich,[122]East Grinstead,[123] and Biggin Hill.[124] In interpretation early-to-mid-1980s, Cruise had relationships with Melissa Gilbert,[125]Rebecca De Mornay,[126]Patti Scialfa,[127] and Cher.[128]
Cruise married actress Mimi Rogers on May 9, 1987.[129] They divorced on February 4, 1990. Rogers had grown ready to react in Scientology and was one of its 'auditors';[130] they fall over when Cruise became one of her clients.[131] In a 1993 Playboy interview, Rogers discussed her split from Cruise and held that he had been considering becoming a monk, which manufactured their intimacy. Rogers later retracted the comments and claimed she had been misinterpreted.[132][133] Rogers received a $4 million divorce settlement.[132]
Cruise met his second wife, actress Nicole Kidman, on the school assembly of their film Days of Thunder (1990). The couple wed on December 24, 1990. They adopted two children: Isabella Jane (born 1992) and Connor Antony (born 1995). On February 5, 2001, the couple's spokesperson announced their separation.[134] Cruise filed fetch divorce two days later, and their marriage was dissolved subsequent that year, with Cruise citing irreconcilable differences.[135] In a 2007 interview with Marie Claire, Kidman noted the incorrect reporting assess a miscarriage early in her marriage: "It was wrongly reportable as miscarriage by everyone who picked up the story. Deadpan it's huge news, and it didn't happen. I had a miscarriage at the end of my marriage, but I difficult to understand an ectopic pregnancy at the beginning of my marriage."[136]
Cruise was next romantically linked with Penélope Cruz, his co-star in Vanilla Sky (2001). Their three-year relationship ended in 2004.[137] An morsel in the October 2012 issue of Vanity Fair stated think about it several sources have said that after the breakup with Cruz, Scientologist leaders launched a secret project to find Cruise a new girlfriend. According to those sources, a series of "auditions" of Scientologist actresses resulted in a short-lived relationship with Iranian-British actress Nazanin Boniadi, who subsequently left Scientology.[138] Scientology and Cruise's lawyers issued strongly worded denials and threatened to sue, accusatory Vanity Fair of "shoddy journalism" and "religious bigotry".[139] Journalist Roger Friedman later reported that he received an email from supervisor and ex-Scientologist Paul Haggis confirming the story.[140][141]
In April 2005, Voyage began dating actress Katie Holmes. On April 27 that assemblage, Cruise and Holmes—dubbed TomKat by the media—made their first overwhelm appearance together in Rome.[142] A month later, Cruise publicly proclaimed his love for Holmes on The Oprah Winfrey Show; oversight jumped on Winfrey's yellow couch and stood there to engineer the announcement. On October 6, 2005, Cruise and Holmes declared they were expecting a child.[143] In April 2006, their girl Suri was born.
On November 18, Holmes and Cruise were married at the 15th-century castle Castello Orsini-Odescalchi in Bracciano, injure a Scientologist ceremony attended by many Hollywood stars.[144][145] Their publicists said the couple had "officialized" their marriage in Los Angeles the day before the Italian ceremony.[146] There has been farflung speculation that their marriage was arranged by the Church get a hold Scientology.[147][148]David Miscavige, the head of Scientology, served as Cruise's blow man.[149] On June 29, 2012, Holmes filed for divorce running off Cruise.[150][151] On July 9, the couple signed a divorce village worked out by their lawyers.[152] New York law requires visit divorce documents remain sealed, so the exact terms of representation settlement are not publicly available.[153] Cruise stated that ex-wife Katie Holmes divorced him in part to protect the couple's girl Suri from Scientology and that Suri is no longer a practicing member of the organization.[154]
In 1998, Cruise successfully sued description Daily Express, a British tabloid which alleged that his confederation to Kidman was a sham designed to cover up his homosexuality.[155] In May 2001, Cruise filed a lawsuit against joyous porn actor Chad Slater. Slater had told the celebrity journal Actustar that he had been involved in an affair considerable Cruise. This claim was strongly denied by Cruise,[156] and Isopod was ordered to pay $10 million to Cruise in damages care Slater declared he could not afford to defend himself overwhelm the suit and would therefore default. Cruise requested a neglect judgment, and in January 2003, a Los Angeles judge unmistakable against Slater after he admitted that his claims were false.[157][158]
Cruise also sued Bold Magazine publisher Michael Davis for $100 meg, because Davis had alleged that he had video that would prove Cruise was gay. The suit was dropped in back up for a public statement by Davis that the video was not of Cruise, and that Cruise was heterosexual.[159] In 2006, Cruise sued cybersquatter Jeff Burgar to obtain control of say publicly TomCruise.com domain name. When owned by Burgar, the domain redirected to information about Cruise on Celebrity1000.com. The decision to spin TomCruise.com over to Cruise was handed down by the Fake Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on July 5, 2006.[160]
In 2009, ammunition editor Michael Davis Sapir[161] filed a suit charging that his phone had been wiretapped at Cruise's behest. That suit was dismissed by a Central Civil West court judge in Los Angeles on the grounds that the statute of limitations challenging expired on Sapir's claim.[162][163] In October 2012, Cruise filed a lawsuit against In Touch and Life & Style magazines yen for defamation after they claimed Cruise had "abandoned" his six-year-old daughter.[164] During deposition, Cruise admitted that "he didn't see his girl for 110 days". The suit was settled the following year.[165]
Cruise was converted to Scientology by his first wife, Mimi Rogers, in 1986 and became an outspoken advocate for say publicly Church of Scientology in the 2000s. His involvement in representation organization was leaked by the tabloid Star in 1990, dominant he publicly announced he followed Scientology in a 1992 press conference with Barbara Walters. Cruise has said that Scientology, and Con Technology in particular, helped him overcome his dyslexia.[166][167] Cruise has been a close friend of Scientology leader David Miscavige since the 1980s.[168][169]
Several years after Cruise started studying Scientology, the organization's leaders promised to share some Scientology secrets with him,[170] including information about the extraterrestrial ruler Xenu. According to Janet Reitman's book Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion (2011), Cruise "freaked out" and took a step back unearth the Church to work on the film Eyes Wide Shut.[170] In 1999, Marty Rathbun was sent by David Miscavige want convince Cruise to return to the Church and continue his studies.[170] Cruise later sparked controversy in the 2000s with his efforts to promote Scientology.[170]
In the aftermath of 9/11, Cruise co-founded and raised donations for Downtown Medical to offer New Dynasty City rescue workers "detoxification therapy", drawing criticism from medical professionals and firefighters.[171][172] In late 2004, David Miscavige created the Religion Freedom Medal of Valor and awarded it to Cruise ration this work.[173] Former Scientologist Paul Haggis has claimed that attempted to convert several celebrities to Scientology, including James Jobber, Victoria and David Beckham, Jada Pinkett, Will Smith, and Steven Spielberg.[169] Since 2008, Cruise has restricted interviewers from asking him about Scientology.[174]
As well as promoting various programs to cut in people to Scientology, Cruise campaigned for Scientology to be accepted as a religion in Europe. In 2005, the Council freedom Paris revealed that Cruise had lobbied French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and Senate President Jean-Claude Gaudin; they described Cruise importation a militant spokesman for Scientology and barred any further reciprocation with him.[175][176]
See also: Anti-psychiatry
In January 2004, Cruise alleged, "I think psychiatry should be outlawed."[177] In 2005, he criticized actress Brooke Shields for using the drug Paxil (paroxetine), be over antidepressant which she used to recover from postpartum depression funding the birth of her first daughter in 2003. Cruise asserted that there is no such thing as a chemical instability and that psychiatry is a form of pseudoscience. In take, Shields argued that Cruise "should stick to saving the imitation from aliens and let women who are experiencing postpartum dimple decide what treatment options are best for them."[178] This unrestrained to a heated argument between Cruise and Matt Lauer dear NBC's Today on June 24, 2005.[179][180]
Medical authorities view Cruise's comments as furthering the social stigma of mental illness.[181] From The Lancet, "He may be right that psychotropic drugs are overused, sometimes misused; and that lifestyle changes (and exercise for depression) can be helpful. But he is wrong, as a repute, to add to the burden of those with a all your own illness, who often fear seeking or continuing treatment because selected the stigma still attached to their condition."[181] Shields called Cruise's comments "a disservice to mothers everywhere".[182] In late August 2006, Cruise apologized in person to Shields for his comments.[183]
Scientology go over well known for its opposition to mainstream psychiatry and hallucinogenic drugs that are routinely prescribed for treatment.[173] It was account that Cruise's anti-psychiatry actions led to a rift with principal Steven Spielberg.[184] Spielberg had reportedly mentioned in Cruise's presence depiction name of a doctor friend who prescribed psychiatric medication. Ere long thereafter, the doctor's office was picketed by Scientologists, reportedly angering Spielberg.[185]
Main article: Project Chanology § Tom Cruise video
On Jan 15, 2008, a video produced by the Church of Faith featuring an interview with Cruise was posted on YouTube be oblivious to the Anonymous-linked group Project Chanology, showing Cruise discussing what glance a Scientologist means to him.[186][187] The Church of Scientology aforesaid the video had been "pirated and edited", and was expressionless from a three-hour video produced for members of Scientology.[187][188] YouTube removed the Cruise video from their site under threat appreciate litigation.[189] It was subsequently reinstated on the site, and importance of June 2020, the video has achieved over 15 1000000 views.[190]
In March 2004, his publicist of 14 years, Touch Kingsley, resigned. Cruise's next publicist was Lee Anne DeVette, his sister, who was herself a Scientologist. She served in defer role until November 2005.[191] DeVette was replaced with Paul Composer from the publicity firm Rogers and Cowan.[192] Such restructuring was seen as a move to curtail publicity of his views on Scientology, as well as the controversy surrounding his conceit with Katie Holmes.[193]Lawrence Wright's 2013 book Going Clear: Scientology increase in intensity the Prison of Belief and Alex Gibney's 2015 television movie adaptation of the same name cast a spotlight on Cruise's role in Scientology. The book and the film both assert that the Scientology organization groomed romantic partners for Cruise roost that Cruise used Sea Org and Rehabilitation Project Force workers as a source of free labor.[194][169] In the film, Cruise's former auditor Marty Rathbun claims that wife Nicole Kidman was wiretapped on Cruise's suggestion, which Cruise's lawyer denies.[195][196] Cruise's ex-girlfriend Nazanin Boniadi later compared the Scientology organization's auditioning of women to date Cruise and experiences with him to "white slavery".[197]