Related
Ranking the bestTom Cruisecharacters in cinema is a nearly insufferable endeavor . Tom Cruise is a rare worker whose leading man looks are surpassed not just by his acting power but also by his willingness to go above and beyond what each part entails . From blockbusters with lead characters that are practically seamster - made for Cruise to movies that prove more of a challenge against preconceived opinion about the actor , he always rise to the occasion .
Indeed , if thebest Tom Cruise charactershave one thing in common , they all pose the bar high for A - list actors . aside from doing his own stunts and delivering great performances every chance he get , Cruise is also known for deep involving himself in the filmmaking process , which often results in noted improvements . combine with Cruise ’s dedication to the craft , the histrion ’s natural comedic timing and affected self-assurance have convincingly catch one’s breath life into some of the most memorable characters from almost all movie genre . For viewers looking for the good Tom Cruise characters of all clip , here are 10 of them .
10Jerry Maguire: Jerry Maguire (1996)
Even the Oscar - acquire performance by Cuba Gooding Jr. as Rod Tidwell could n’t truly slip the limelight from Tom Cruise ’s nominal gung - ho sports handler inJerry Maguire . However , that ’s just because they complemented each other dead , with Rod ’s confidence and unique potential being the perfect foil to Jerry Maguire ’s eccentric but relatable underdog leading world . The same can be allege of Renee Zellwegers ' Dorothy , who , alongside Jerry , turned Cameron Crowe ’s script into the definitive ' 90s read-only memory - com . Quotes popularized by the movielike"Show me the money!“and"You complete me . “may be overuse today , but they persist powerful reminder of how theJerry Maguirecrew perfected the read-only storage - com in 1996 .
Related:15 Best Jerry Maguire Quotes
9Edge Of Tomorrow: Major Bill Cage (2014)
Adapted from the sci - fi novel , All You Need Is Killby Hiroshi Sakurazaka , Edge of Tomorrowputs Tom Cruise ’s Major Bill Cage and Emily Blunt ’s Sergeant Rita Vrataski at the center of a time travel - driven foreign intrusion . Just like inGroundhog Day , Bill Cage repeatedly dies but always finds himself waking up at a sure breaker point in space and time , gain valuable information and experience with each newfangled life . Cage is one of the best Tom Cruise characters for absolutely portraying the hero ’s descent into insensibly accept sure death for a odd goal . The movie ’s convoluted premiss is like an expert executed throughout , but Cruise ’s performance is what impart it home .
8Mission Impossible: Ethan Hunt (1996 - Present)
Since 1996 , Cruise has portray Impossible Mission Force factor Ethan Hunt , a role for which the doer continues to do his own stunts . WhileTop Gun ’s Pete " Maverick " Mitchell is Cruise ’s longest - bleed picture character , Hunt is his most prominent . In each of the sevenMission Impossiblefilms — not yet countingMission : Impossible stagnant enumeration Part Two , which will unfreeze in 2024 — Hunt is call back not just for Cruise doing the stunts himself but also for the character ’s mood and alchemy with the chaotic IMF crew . Alongside Maverick , Ethan Hunt is not only one of the best Tom Cruise characters but also the most familiar to looker of all ages .
7Interview With The Vampire: Lestat (1994)
From his late roles in movies likeTop Gun , Cocktail , A Few Good Men , andRain Man , it ’s easy to see whyInterview With The Vampireauthor Anne Rice initially think that Cruise playing Lestat was“so bizarre , it ’s almost out of the question to opine how it ’s going to work . ”However , the fact that Cruise was the bragging picture show star at the time proved to be the complete fit for Lestat ’s battle to balance being in the vestige and his yearning for attention and acceptance . After seeing Cruise as Lestat , Rice not only in person apologized to the actor but even compare his one - of - a - kind execution to Laurence Olivier ’s Hamlet .
Related : consultation With The Vampire ’s Tom Cruise Casting Explained By Director
6Magnolia: Frank T.J. Mackey (1999)
After proving that he has what it takes to breathe life into a nuanced scoundrel asInterview With The Vampire ’s Lestat de Lioncourt , Tom Cruise took on the unquestionably more difficult challenge of playing Frank T.J. Mackey fromMagnolia . Frank is arguably the skillful Tom Cruise character ever for his sheer complexity . As the utter flick of the broken alpha male person , picking - up creative person motivational talker Frank T.J. Mackey is edgy , hilarious , and tragic at the same time . A poignant study of the herculean gist of intergenerational trauma , Frank is n’t Cruise ’s most famous or critically - acclaimed character , but he might be the most well - rounded , realistic , and relatable of them all .
5Rock Of Ages: Stacee Jaxx (2012)
One of themost underrated Tom Cruise movies , Rock of Ages , gave Cruise the opportunity to live out one of the paths he was likely destined to take if he did n’t become a film fable : becoming a rock star . Apart from how Cruise ’s orbicular fame already gave him everything he needed to empathize and embody the infamous fictional rock icon Stacee Jaxx , hearing Cruise masterfully whistle ' 80s rock songs remains a mind - blowing experience . To prepare for the character , Cruise trained for months , for"four or five hours per day,“according to director Adam Shankman ( viaHollywood Reporter).“There ’s no 100 percent with him , there ’s 10,000 percent . ”
4Top Gun: Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (1986 - Present)
One of the not bad booster in American film history , Pete " Maverick " Mitchell is Tom Cruise ’s longest - run and arguably most important and authoritative movie part . Even with the 2022’sTop Gun : Maverickcastbeing pile with fellow veterans and some of the fastest - rising young actors in Hollywood , Cruise easily dominated the spotlight in the long - await subsequence . While critic and audience likewise were afraid of whether Cruise could get back to shape for a sequel that came 36 eld after the first pic , the player ’s performance and the moving picture ’s overall execution seem to suggest that Cruise is n’t done with Maverick just yet .
3Rain Man: Charlie Babbit (1988)
Tom Cruise ’s role as Charlie Babbit was finally overshadowed by the Best Actor Oscar - winning performance of Dustin Hoffman as Raymond inRain Man . doubtless , Hoffman captured the despair and quiet genius of the neurodiverse and traumatized lead fiber . At the same time , Cruise ’s Charlie is arguably the much more difficult role and is the one that undergoes the most evolution throughoutRain Man . To this day , many still maintain that Charlie was one of theroles Tom Cruise deserve an Oscar for — peculiarly as the potent dramatic public presentation come relatively early in his career , predate all of his other more notable office in drama .
2Tropic Thunder: Les Grossman (2008)
Tropic Thunder ’s Les Grossman , Tom Cruise ’s bloated warlord of a studio apartment executive , is the first and only truly outlandish and cartoonish character under the actor ’s swath . Grossman ranks extremely among the good Tom Cruise type not just because it ’s the funniest but also because Cruise created Grossman himself . Director Ben Stiller was ab initio confused at Cruise ’s Les Grossman proposal but was instantly sold upon get a line him do in full constitution . fit in to Cruise,“There was a structural compressing overleap down on those character , you know , that keeps the insistency on these guy that really drives the story . I was like , ' You need the studio . “(viaEsquire )
come to : Tropic Thunder 2 : Confirmation Status , Cast Comments & Everything We live
1Collateral: Vincent (2004)
One of the most critically - acclaimed Tom Cruise characters , Collateral ’s Vincent has also strangely gone under the radar compared to the actor ’s other part . It ’s a ruth because , compared to Lestat fromInterview With The Vampire , Vincent is the most cold - blooded , manipulative , smooth - talking , and tragical psychopath in the actor ’s ledger . It ’s not that surprising that Cruise ’s calm amass confidence translate well into Vincent ’s stoical disregard for human life sentence . To prepare for his role as Vincent , Cruise dispatch special tasks from film director Michael Mann that allow the actor to realistically and eerily embody the charming killer . To this day , few film villain are as terrifying asTom Cruise ’s Vincent inCollateral .
Source : Esquire
