Tom Cruise’s life, career, and legacy are vast, dramatic, occasionally difficult, and unavoidably complex. As one of the last remaining classic movie actors with a wide variety of skills, Cruise has used his influence in Hollywood to produce iconic sequences and groundbreaking production techniques while continually pushing himself to new limits.
10 Facts about Tom Cruise you might not know. He continues to be one of the most well-known people on the planet. For more than 40 years, he has been running his darn heart out on television while flashing his trademark grin, and he shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
10 Facts about Tom Cruise you might not know
- He is credited with rescuing the Ray-Ban eyewear brand.
Although it’s hard to imagine now, Ray-Ban was having financial difficulties in 1981. Only 18,000 examples of the now-ubiquitous Wayfarer were sold in that year. But as it turns out, thanks to major cameos for the sunglasses in Cruise’s movies Risky Business, Top Gun, and Rain Man, and some product placement funded by Ray-Ban, Cruise single-handedly saved the entire business. In fact, Ray-Ban had a 40% spike in sales the year Top Gun was released (1986).
2. The goal of Tom Cruise was to become a priest.
Tom Cruise grew up in a devout Catholic household. At the age of 14, he decided to pursue a career as a priest as his first choice.
3. All of his spouses were divorced when they were 33 years old.
Katie Holmes, Nicole Kidman, and Mimi Rogers are Cruise’s three ex-wives. They were all 33 years old at the time of the breakup, which was an absurd coincidence.
4. Tom Cruise almost became Iron Man
The character of Tony Stark was first given to Tom Cruise, who declined it, before Robert Downey Jr. was cast in Iron Man, the film that introduces the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
5. Tom Cruise Hold His Breath for Six Minutes
Cruise spent more than six minutes underwater holding his breath while filming Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. “I’ve worked on numerous underwater scenes. However, we sought to produce an uninterrupted underwater suspense scenario. Performing that scene was therefore really intriguing “Cruise spoke with USA Today.
6. Until he was an adult, he was unable to read.
Cruise states that until he was introduced to the Church of Scientology in the late 1980s, he could hardly read because of a crippling form of dyslexia. He reportedly admitted to People that he felt like he had a secret “all through school and far into my profession.” “I wouldn’t want the other students to know about my learning handicap when I went to a new school, but then I’d be sent off to remedial reading,” he said.
7. On the set of The Last Samurai, Cruise almost died.
Cruise barely escaped death when filming The Last Samurai when one of the artificial horses used for the action scenes broke down. Hiroyuki Sanada, his co-star, swung his blade at the incorrect moment as a result, stopping just in time to strike Tom Cruise in the neck. Sanada later recalled, “I only managed to stop my blade one inch from his neck.
8. Tom Cruise never won an Oscar
We find it amazing that Cruise has never won an Oscar, perhaps because it seems like he has been around forever. In actuality, he has only received three nominations—for Jerry Maguire, Born on the Fourth of July, and Magnolia.
9. He is a licensed pilot.
He obtained his pilot’s license in 1994, and he frequently flies himself to his destinations. He now has a Gulfstream G450 that he paid more than $38 million for.
10. Tom Cruise is adored in Japan more than anywhere else.
Given that Tom Cruise has visited Japan more frequently (almost two dozen times) than any other Hollywood celebrity at the time, the Japan Memorial Day Association declared on October 10, 2006 that every October 10th would henceforth be observed as “Tom Cruise Day” in Japan.