Like most talented performers who’ve doubled as quintessential movie stars, Tom Cruise doesn’t always get the chance to demonstrate that he can actually act. There’s often just too much TOM CRUISE in the way for people to notice, especially when he lets his erratic personal life take center stage. Putting together an “essential” list for …
Anyone growing into pop culture consciousness during the mid-2000s will be familiar with a certain type of Tom Cruise, one labeled with some criticism in a recent Buzzfeed article as “Tom Cruise 2.0.” To them, Tom Cruise may have first become familiar as Ethan Hunt in the first Mission: Impossible movie, as an action star who, in spite of fearful insurance agents and publicists, prefers to do his own stunts—especially if they include declaring maniacal love for Katie Holmes atop Oprah Winfrey’s couch. He was probably their first introduction to the alien world of Scientology, or perhaps already known as the face of another hero thrust into the supernatural, having once served as the model for the titular character in Disney’s Aladdin.
The old saying goes is that if you want to win an Academy Award then the best way is to undertake playing a disabled part or portraying a famous personality in a biopic. In some cases, actors have accomplished both themes and reached their Oscar-attaining goals (see Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker or Daniel-Day Lewis …