Portrait · Gabriel Hutchinson / WikiPortraits / CC BY-SA 4.0

Tom Cruise

Actor and producer

Born 1962

Tom Cruise is an American actor and producer who has combined movie-star spectacle with dramatic work across more than four decades. Born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV in Syracuse, New York, he moved frequently through the United States and Canada while growing up and later recalled attending roughly 15 schools in 16 years. He entered films without formal acting or film-school training, learning production departments on set after his screen debut in Endless Love and a larger supporting role in Taps. Risky Business made him a leading man in 1983, and Top Gun turned him into an international star in 1986. Cruise subsequently worked with filmmakers including Martin Scorsese, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg and Michael Mann, balancing blockbusters with performances in Rain Man, Born on the Fourth of July, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, Eyes Wide Shut, Magnolia and Collateral. Mission: Impossible was his first film as a producer in 1996; the series grew into his defining long-running collaboration, with Cruise increasingly associated with practical stunt work and large-format theatrical filmmaking. Top Gun: Maverick later brought him a Best Picture Oscar nomination as a producer. His honours also include three competitive acting Oscar nominations, three Golden Globes, an Honorary Palme d'Or, a BFI Fellowship and a 2025 Honorary Academy Award. In 2026 he returned to original character-driven work in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Digger, ahead of an announced Days of Thunder follow-up planned for 2028.

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Connected people

ConnectionChristopher McQuarrieLongtime writer-director-producer collaborator across Valkyrie, Jack Reacher, Top Gun: Maverick and the later Mission: Impossible films.

ConnectionJerry BruckheimerProducer collaborator on Top Gun, Days of Thunder, Top Gun: Maverick and the announced Days of Thunder follow-up.

ConnectionAlejandro G. IñárrituDirected Cruise in Digger and presented his 2025 Honorary Academy Award.

Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie during a 2025 Cannes Film Festival Q&A — Profile image · Jonas Schneider / WikiPortraits / CC BY-SA 4.0

NewNews15 Sept 2026

A rare long-form interview traces Digger and a lifetime of deliberate choices

Cruise described Digger as the most challenging character of his career and reflected on how each project has been shaped by a specific craft or storytelling problem.

Latest Index

2026

NewsChecked against a primary source or trusted newsroom.

ScopeOnly attributable updates about Tom Cruise's work and public record.

Project
Cruise announces a Days of Thunder follow-up
At Daytona International Speedway, Cruise confirmed he will return as Cole Trickle and produce the film, with Anne Hathaway co-starring and a June 2, 2028 release planned.
29 Aug 2026Associated Press report from the announcement
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Project
Digger returns Cruise to original character-driven filmmaking
Cruise said his performance as eccentric oil magnate Digger Rockwell drew on the skills of his 45-year career; the Iñárritu film opens in October 2026.
14 Jul 2026Associated Press interview
VerifiedRead more
Project
CinemaCon gets an early look at Digger
Cruise described Iñárritu's satire as wild and funny, while the filmmaker called the performance a different kind of fearlessness.
14 Apr 2026Associated Press CinemaCon report
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Award
The Academy presents Cruise with an Honorary Award
The Academy honoured his commitment to the filmmaking community, support of theatrical exhibition and body of work at the 16th Governors Awards.
16 Nov 2025Official Academy record
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Project
Final Reckoning premieres at Cannes
The eighth Mission: Impossible film premiered with an orchestra playing Lalo Schifrin's theme as Cruise called it the culmination of three decades of work.
14 May 2025Associated Press festival report
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Award
The BFI presents its highest honour
Christopher McQuarrie presented Cruise with the BFI Fellowship for his acting career and contribution to UK filmmaking and production infrastructure.
13 May 2025Official BFI presentation record
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Selected Credits

View all

Year	Title	Role
2022	Top Gun: MaverickFilmIMDb	Capt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell; producer
2023	Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part OneFilmIMDb	Ethan Hunt; producer
2025	Mission: Impossible – The Final ReckoningFilmIMDb	Ethan Hunt; producer
2026	DiggerFilm	Digger Rockwell; producer
2028	Untitled Days of Thunder follow-upFilm	Cole Trickle; producer

Timeline

1962—2026

1962Born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV in Syracuse, New York, on July 3.
1981Makes his screen debut in Endless Love and appears in Taps.
1983Breaks through as Joel Goodsen in Risky Business.
1986Top Gun makes Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell one of his defining roles; he also works with Martin Scorsese on The Color of Money.
1989Plays Ron Kovic in Born on the Fourth of July, earning his first Academy Award nomination and first Golden Globe win.
1996Produces the first Mission: Impossible and earns a second Best Actor Oscar nomination for Jerry Maguire.
1999Works with Stanley Kubrick on Eyes Wide Shut and earns a supporting-actor Oscar nomination for Magnolia.
2004Plays contract killer Vincent in Michael Mann's Collateral.
2011–2018Mission: Impossible expands from Ghost Protocol through Rogue Nation and Fallout, increasingly centring practical spectacle and Cruise's producer collaboration with Christopher McQuarrie.
2022Top Gun: Maverick returns him to the role of Maverick and earns a Best Picture nomination for Cruise and his fellow producers.
2022Receives an Honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
2025Receives the BFI Fellowship and stars in and produces Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
2025Receives an Honorary Academy Award at the 16th Governors Awards.
2026Stars as Digger Rockwell in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's original dark comedy Digger.
2026Announces a Days of Thunder follow-up for 2028, returning as Cole Trickle and producing with Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper.

A rare long-form interview traces Digger and a lifetime of deliberate choices

Latest Index

Cruise announces a Days of Thunder follow-up

Digger returns Cruise to original character-driven filmmaking

CinemaCon gets an early look at Digger

The Academy presents Cruise with an Honorary Award

Final Reckoning premieres at Cannes

The BFI presents its highest honour