Tom Cruise

Andrew Morton uncovers the true story of the biggest celebrity of our age. Everyone knows Tom Cruise—or at least what he wants us to know. We know that the man behind the smile overcame a tough childhood to star in astonishing array of blockbusters: Top Gun, Rain Man, Born on the Fourth of July, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, several Mission: Impossible movies, and more. We know he has taken artistic chances, too, earning him three Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. But beyond that, the picture becomes a bit less clear... We know that Tom is a devoted follower of the Church of Scientology. We know that, despite persistent rumors about his sexuality, he has been married to Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and Katie Holmes. But it was not until he jumped on Oprah's couch to proclaim his love for Katie and denounced Brooke Shields for turning to the "Nazi science" of psychiatry that we began to realize how much we did not know about the charming, hardworking star. For all the headlines and the rumors, the real Tom Cruise has remained surprisingly hidden—until now.

Interdisciplinary star study of one of the most iconic Hollywood celebrities of the last thirty-five years.

The exclusive biography of the most famous man in Hollywood - both on and off-screen

The Anatomy of an Actor series takes ten roles by a single actor, each studied in a dedicated chapter, and identifies the key elements that made the performances exceptional - carefully examining the actor's craft for both a professional audience and movie fans alike. Tom Cruise (born 1962), first cast by Francis Ford Coppola in The Outsiders (1983), gained international notoriety in the mid-1980s thanks to Tony Scott's Top Gun (1986). One of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, Cruise has oriented his career to blockbusters, starring in Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (2005) and the Mission: Impossible series (1996, 2000, 2006, 2011) An accessible text combines both a narrative and analytical dimension and is illustrated by 300 film stills, set photographs and film sequences.

Actor Tom Cruise has enjoyed more than three decades as a box office superstar. His movies rake in millions and are known for their heart-pounding action.

Tom Cruise is a Hollywood superstar like no other. World famous since his debut in the 1980s, he remains among the highest paid actors. Why has his persona resonated so powerfully with millions of viewers? Using psychoanalytic theory, "Tom Cruise: Performing Masculinity in Post Vietnam Hollywood" demonstrates how his star persona sublimates anxieties about masculinity. Amid Reagan-era military jingoism and concern over declining industrial labour, he represented a new model of American masculinity based on white-collar upward mobility. Spanning blockbuster films such as Risky Business (1983), Jerry Maguire (1996) and the Mission: Impossible series (1996 - 2011), this book illustrates how his characters exemplify entrepreneurialism, charisma, technological gadgetry and verbal acuity to redefine male success. His newly emotive type - 'help me help you' - also successfully overcomes interpersonal conflicts with patriarchal authority and senior women in the workplace, and navigates race relations. The first scholarly study of Tom Cruise's celebrity, this book surveys his entire career and builds on Richard Dyer's 'star theory.' It develops the core dynamic of his star persona, a mix of projected character traits and 'real life' trivia or gossip, and establishes that his box office success reflects his persona's ability to work through the psychodynamic preoccupations of his films. This exceptional appeal evolved, at times characterised by complicity with 1980s materialistic hedonism (Taps, 1981), male spectacle (Magnolia, 1999), or his use of martial technology (War of the Worlds, 2005), and their attendant psychic meanings. Recent shifts in American culture, however, in tandem with Tom Cruise's growing evangelism for the Church of Scientology, may be threatening his appeal. Ultimately, this book offers a picture of how stars reflect the values and crises of their societies, and fills a substantial gap in scholarship on celebrity studies, critical cultural analysis, masculinity studies, and film theory.

Tom Cruise is a well-known American actor and producer. He was born on July 3rd, 1962 in Syracuse, New York. He grew up in poverty, with his father frequently absent due to his job as a salesman. Cruise was interested in acting from a young age and began pursuing it in high school. After a brief stint in college, he moved to New York City to pursue acting full-time. Cruise's breakthrough role came in the film Risky Business in 1983. He went on to star in a number of successful films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including Top Gun, Rain Man, and Jerry Maguire. Cruise is known for his intense dedication to his craft and his willingness to perform his own stunts in action films. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and has won three Golden Globe Awards. In addition to acting, he is also a prominent member of the Church of Scientology and has been involved in several controversies surrounding the organization. Despite these controversies, Cruise remains one of the most successful and well-known actors in Hollywood. Overall, Tom Cruise's career has spanned decades and he has become a household name in the entertainment industry. He has starred in a wide range of films and has been praised for his acting abilities and dedication to his craft. Despite some personal controversies, many fans continue to support him and eagerly anticipate his future projects.