Tom Cruise's career

his action movies (only action) are still huge worldwide, that is what is keeping his career going that a) he seems to ONLY be making action movies and b) the overseas market eat it up, because he is still mr. all american handsome clean cut nice movie star ESPECIALLY to the Asian market.

Of his action movies only mission impossible and edge of tomorrow are the only films of his that have passed the 100 million dollar mark here in the united states... He has to produce his films now. And when is the last time he was actually directed by a great director? Spielberg in "war of the worlds'?

Seems he has utterly given up on actual acting. By now, the question is will he start acting in non action films when he and his body can no longer do it OR will he actually give up acting altogether when he can't do action films anymore foregoing any attempt of actual "ACTING' career of roles.

Are there really any leading roles for actors of his age outside action movies?

R2.. of course their are.. i suspect cruise is a adrenaline junkie by now, only interested in box office, and not about actually doing any ACTING....

and by now, he certainly isn't going to listen to or be ordered about by the spielberg's, scorsese's, and other great auteurs of directing.. he works with the same people over and over again and weak directors he's "friends' with who will allow ole tom be unofficial co-director.

He hasn't played an actual character role in years, he just does his same interchangeable action schtick. Boring beyond words.

I’m not a Cruise fan but I doubt second rate action star accurately describes the $ucce$$ of the MI franchise. He is a major movie star.

The MI movies are a lot of fun, just pure entertainment.

When did he actually try acting?

R7, in real life as a happily married straight man.

He had a better run than most. That notorious Oprah interview really did sink him though.

The Scientology shit, Nicole Kidman, and his meltdowns on Oprah and the Today show all derailed his career.

tom cruise, LITERALLY, had the world at his feet for years, went from nobody high school graduate to biggest movie star in 6 years with Top Gun and yet? and yet? born handsome, healthy, becoming super successful in the world's toughest profession to make a living at, doing what he loved, worshipped and getting paid huge money and he still, STILL felt the desperate need to belong to some little known secretive "self help religion" and remaining there for now over 3 decades?? really? REALLY?

Seriously, would and should have been embarrassed that they (cruise) needed ANY self help from ANYWHERE! what daddy being mean to him for a short time when he was little and learning disability issues (allegedly) was all it took?

And it was worth it to lose 3 wives, a daughter and reputation over it all?

He aged out. He's getting too old to buy as an action star especially in The US. Similarly aged, Will Smith and Matt Damon still do act in action films but also moved onto producing and other ventures. Most of the money is in streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, Disney, etc. Cruise is a legacy act, a safe, marketable white American face that appeals internationally, so he will keep making Mission: Impossible movies for the Chinese box office.

In his recent rant video, he just sounded like some drunk floor manager at Chili’s. “If yer not part of the team, fuck you! If you think two for one appetizers are a joke, go home! We don’t need you here!”

He aged, OP. His career was based on his intense charisma onscreen, his handsomeness and hot body, and that he reminded everyone of a hot frat boy. He never was much of an actor.

He aged out of seeming like a hot frat boy and out of his handsomeness. All he has left is his intense charisma, and the memories of what he once was. That's enough for him to remain a second-rate action star, but even that's not going to last forever. It hasn't helped that he has let his public image become one of a phony-baloney and a religious cult member, stemming back from his ridiculously hyped marriage to Katie Holmes and his disastrous appearances on Oprah and The Today Show.

Soon he will be reduced to playing "Oh, that's what happened to him!" cameo roles in Quentin Tarantino and P. T. Anderson movies. There is just a time limit as to how long you can still play the heartthrob, and he's had a much longer run so far than i ever expected.

Tom is a hot mess. He's involved with that cult Scientology and he can't keep a relationship. He's good-looking still, richer than God and had a long career but still seems unhappy. I don't know if I buy he's gay either, he seemed more opportunistic and used the casting couch for career advancements. Why he choose Scientology? He apparently had an abusive devout Catholic father. So he just switched one fundamentalist religion for another. Still didn't seem to fix his issues.

He never aged into character parts like some of his contemporaries. He always had to be the hot leading man/action hero and of course you can't do that forever. Also, he never recovered from the Oprah and Today Show fiascoes. That forever tarnished his image and reputation

I was at work when that Oprah episode aired and a bunch of us watched part of it in a conference room. All of my co-workers were slack-jawed and like "what the FUCK is happening? He's totally crazy."

Also, his looks were very much 80s Reagan-era hot. Clean-cut and wholesome All-American WASPy boy-next-door. The 90s was about looking dirty, grungy like Brad Pitt, Leo, Johnny Depp, Ethan Hawke, Keanu, etc and the 2000s looking hairy, balding, sweaty and beefy like Hugh Jackman, Will Smith, George Clooney, The Rock, Vin Diesel, Colin Farrell, etc.

He was hot AF in the 80s, even a mullet and mom jeans couldn't take away from his hotness.

For all we know Miscavige took all his money and he needs the paychecks?

I had such a crush on him up until just after Jerry maguire, then he kind of became too associated with weirdness. I’m not interested in the new top gun- I really wish they had left top gun alone- not that it’s a masterpiece but a lame sequel is just going to spoil my nostalgia for the original.

George Clooney beefy, [R17]? Oh, my sides! Boeufy, maybe.

R7 he actually "acted" in Born on the Fourth of July, Taps, The Outsiders, Cocktail, Risky Business, The Color of Money, Magnolia, Collateral, Minority Report, Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men, Vanilla Sky, Rain Man, Eyes Wide Shut....

He's had a remarkable career with several good films that have come out in the last decade. Don't think his career was affected at all by the Oprah Interview.

He got old, OP.

He killed his career and goodwill towards him when he behaved like an insane, batshit crazy loon on Oprah's couch.

There's something repulsive going on behind his eyes.

R11 it's pretty frightening when you put it like that. I feel like it's always shocking to see people get deep into cults, but if someone like Tom Cruise can, not much hope for certain types that are more prone to be sucked in.

Obviously fame and cash only go so far in making you happy.

Watching MI Ghost Protocol it was like Tom and Jeremy Renner were going to fuck each other at any second. There was wild chemistry between them in all of their scenes together.

[quote]He aged out. He's getting too old to buy as an action star especially in The US.

No, he hasn't. Harrison Ford was 51 when he did The Fugitive, still attempting to do his own stunts and he kept doing action movies even after that which were successful. Tom is in the same boat. He might be crazy but he is a hard worker.

However, the age of the movie star is long dead. That is the problem.

Producing, streaming and special people of the "moment" are the future. If a movie does exceptionally well, it's probably a comic book movie or a movie that's popular because of the concept and not the performers in it.

No one is allowed to and the industry doesn't support someone getting as huge as Tom, George, Brad, Julia, etc. were.

The music industry is going through the same thing now. Unless you were around when Katy, Beyonce, and Pink were or when Lady Gaga and Adele first began to get worldwide notice then you're likely "here today, gone today."

With more outlets to watch movies and listen to music, it's hard to be considered "special" for more than a couple of years. Everyone in both those industries is having to deal with that and adjust.

So Tom's career is on a down slump but he's still doing better than some of his contemporaries. None of them are as big a deal as they once were and there hasn't been anyone to take their place because they don't have the ability to build the same career that they did.

R22 And most of them stunk.

He is a good actor. He needs to do some indies on the side. He's big enough to be able to do so.

Tom Cruise clearly has one of, if not the best, career ever for a movie star. I hate the guy, but that can't be taken away from him. And yet no one under 30 cares. Movies just aren't that big of a deal to them.

My nephew works in the biz. He's a location scout. He just turned 30. I'll get a text from him saying: Who's Ryan Gosling? Or something like that. He just couldn't care less.

But to your post: Tom had a thirty year run at the top and still is in demand.

I only saw one Mission Impossible movie Ghost Protocol, and I couldn't believe how entertaining it was.

It has three or four major set piece scenes and the final one in the elevator auto garage was pretty unbelievable. Yeah, he's not really stretching himself as a screen thesp, but he makes entertaining films on a regular basis.

The MI films are very fun and entertaining.

I like the MI films too. But Tom just seems to be a blur in all of them. He hasn't filled out a character the way RDJ managed to do with Iron Man.

I actually enjoy his action movies. The CGI is usually good and the story passable. I don't like Tom Cruise as a person, but his brand as an action star is rock solid in my opinion. I never go out of my way to see Tom's movies, but if they are on a streaming service and it's a lazy evening I'd watch. Honestly, I can't think of a TC movie since the 2000s that I've hated.

May be another unpopular opinion on here, but I think TC was one of the sexiest men to ever grace the Hollywood scene. I like his voice, I love his nose and face. He's just my type. He's old and worn out not but from the late 80s to the early 2000s he was gorgeous in my opinion.

I see Hollywood is trying to replace him with Chris Pratt. I'd rather watch TC then Pratt. I detest that freaking fundie and refuse to support any of his shit.

Speaking of brands, Will Smith also had a solid run of nothing but entertaining movies. Then sometime after "I am Legend" the spark went away. That was the last Smith movie I went to the theater to see and loved. Now it's all over the place. For black families, like mine, it was all about Will Smith for action type movies.

r10 speaking of Nicole Kidman, talk about a surviver and climber. If someone let me have a nice dishy lunch with some Hollywood stars, NK would be on my guest list. The stories she could tell. She stay's hustling. If Tom wasn't in Scientology, those two would be one hustling couple. Obviously she doesn't mind bisexual husbands, I respect her for that haha.

Tom and Nicole still work like the rent is due in two days.

The MI films are just studio products. Any decent action star could have replaced him. As it is, it's just a Tom Cruise property like Bourne is Matt's.

No, Tom is very good in the MI films. He does bring a lot. Also, Simon Pegg is perfect in his role as sidekick/comic relief.

r38, all movies are studio products unless financed by some idiot millionaire with more money than sense.

I do wonder if Tom and Jeremy fucked.

Tom's gleaming white veneers that don't look natural are always a distraction for me.

Simon Pegg is the Rupert Grint of the MI franchise.

I like the MI movies. The last one was an excellent action film.

But it is disappointing that Tom no longer invests in taking on dramatic roles. In the '80s and '90s, he diversified his filmography - for every Top Gun or Days of Thunder, there was a Rain Man or Born on the Fourth of July or Magnolia.

Even something like Magnolia, Cruise was part of an ensemble and it scored him a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

And who can forget when Tom Cruise surprised us all by playing Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder?

He's also been messing with his face so that may affect his dramatic roles. But I figured he would continue pursuing dramatic roles.

Tom Cruise is a terrible actor. He never fully takes on a role.

His Oprah couch jumping is what led me to this site. Somebody linked to a thread on it here and I was hooked on DL after reading the bitchy and hilarious comments.

[quote] By the 2010s, he became just a second-rate action star.

Forget Tom Cruise, OP. Tom Cruise's out. He's finished. It's over for Tom Cruise.

I can't picture Tom Cruise having sex with any of his former wives.