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If you take away the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’ll find that the only person that has generated more money at the box office than Tom Cruise is Tom Hanks. So far, Cruise’s movies have sold more than $10 billion worth of tickets. Cruise has been a legend for over 30 years now, getting off to a hot start and never looking back. He might have an eccentric personality, but there’s no denying the success that he’s had to this point in his late 50s. 

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Cruise didn’t come from a wealthy upbringing, and was born in Syracuse, New York on July 3, 1962, but moved around frequently. Cruise had been in several states and even Canada, before landing in New Jersey during the end of his teenage years. Cruise took a shine to acting during this time of his life, and began acting on stage in high school. Once he graduated, he headed to New York City where he auditioned for as many roles as he could before finally getting his big break.

Cruise made his acting debut in the 1981 film “Endless Love”, which he followed up later in the year with “Taps”. Over the course of the next couple of years, Cruise would have a true breakout thanks to his roles in “The Outsiders”, “Risky Business” and “All the Right Moves”. All of these films would come out in 1983, giving Cruise his true breakout year.

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For the rest of the 1980s, Cruise would continue to build on his popularity. He starred in films such as “Legend”, “Cocktail” and “Rain Man”. His biggest hit, though, was “Top Gun” where he played Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. There was no doubt that by the start of the 1990s, Cruise was one of the biggest names in Hollywood, and he started off the new decade with memorable roles in “Days of Thunder” and “A Few Good Men”.

For the rest of the 1990s, Cruise had memorable roles in movies such as “Interview with the Vampire”, “Jerry Maguire” and “Eyes Wide Shut”. Cruise established a franchise with “Mission: Impossible” in 1996, which has spawned many sequels. To start off the new millennium, Cruise starred in “Vanilla Sky”, “The Last Samurai” and “War of the Worlds” to name a few.

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During his career, Cruise has been married on three occasions, every time to a fellow actor. This includes Mimi Rogers, whom he divorced after three years of marriage. This was then followed up by a marriage to Nicole Kidman, and they got married less than a year after meeting. Following a bit more than a decade together, Cruise and Kidman would part ways.

Four years after their split, Cruise started a relationship with Katie Holmes of “Dawson’s Creek” fame. Cruise was head over heels for Holmes, as evidenced by his behavior in interviews whenever she was brought up. The two were married in 2006 and were together for six more years. When they got engaged, Cruise provided her a gift that makes your average gift look like nothing. “Tom wanted to come up with the most amazing wedding gift ever, something that would make her life so much better than a big diamond on her finger,” a source said. With that, Cruise had given Holmes a Gulfstream jet valued at $20 million.

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Since the beginning of his relationship with Holmes, Cruise remained very busy on the big screen. He starred in late 2000s films such as “Valkyrie” and “Tropic Thunder”, and in the 2010s starred in the “Jack Reacher” series of films as well as “The Mummy” and “American Made”. Coming up, Cruise will also add onto both the “Top Gun” and “Mission: Impossible” series of films.

Cruise isn’t one of those types that gets too nervous about how people evaluate his work, and is his own biggest critic. “I enjoy seeing the overall process,” he said. “At the times I look to see if I’m doing what I set out to do. I’m always finding out new things about what’s going on with the character. Making a movie is like a chess game. It’s about constantly changing patterns, adapting new things. It’s not just black and white...Every day, something happens and you think, ‘That’s terrific, let’s shift with this.’ But I don’t have any specific method when a film comes out.”

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Whether you like him or not, Cruise has achieved a lot and has a lot of influence in Hollywood as one of the leading men in the industry’s history while he puts his heart and soul into every performance. “I didn’t become an actor to have power,” he said. “But it just happens that I have it and so I have a lot of opportunities.”