Before being cast as Ethan Hunt in the Mission Impossible films, or Lieutenant Pete Maverick Mitchell in the Top Gun series, Tom Cruise worked as a busboy in New York when he was 18 years old.
Tom Cruise was born on July 3, 1962 in Syracuse, New York to his parents Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer, and Mary Lee, a special education teacher. He grew up with his three sisters, Lee Anne, Marian, and Cass, in poverty and was brought up with Catholic values. In his own words, he described his father as "a merchant of chaos", a "bully", and a "coward" who physically abused his children.
Throughout his childhood, Cruise attended a total of 15 schools in 14 years. When his father took a job as a defense consultant with the Canadian Armed Forces, Cruise spent part of his childhood in Canada. In late 1971, his family moved to Beacon Hill, Ottawa. During sixth grade, Cruise attended Henry Munro Middle School in Ottawa. However, that year his mother left his father, taking Cruise and his sisters back to the United States.
As a high school student, Cruise played football for the varsity team as a linebacker during his senior year. However, he was cut from the squad after being caught drinking beer before a game. Despite this setback, he went on to star in the school's production of Guys and Dolls. In 1980, Cruise graduated from Glen Ridge High School in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
Cruise traveled to Los Angeles to audition for television roles. He signed with CAA and began acting in films, starting with a small part in the 1981 film Endless Love. Later that year, he landed a major supporting role as a crazed military academy student in Taps. In 1983, Cruise was part of the ensemble cast of The Outsiders. That same year, he appeared in All the Right Moves and Risky Business, which has been described as a "Generation X classic" and a career-making role for Tom Cruise.
In the Mission: Impossible series, Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, a skilled and daring agent for the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). The movies are known for their incredible action sequences and complex plots, often involving international espionage and high-tech gadgetry. Cruise has starred in all six Mission: Impossible films to date.
Top Gun, released in 1986, was one of Cruise's breakout roles. In the film, he plays Maverick, a talented but rebellious fighter pilot who attends the prestigious Top Gun Naval Flying School. The movie features some of the most memorable aerial dogfight scenes in cinema history, as well as a hit soundtrack that includes the song "Take My Breath Away." After years of speculation, a sequel to Top Gun - titled Top Gun: Maverick was released in 2022.
Both the Mission: Impossible and Top Gun movies have been hugely successful, with legions of fans around the world. Cruise's performances in these films have helped cement his status as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and enduring icons.
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