It’s no secret that Tom Cruise has a learning disability called Dyslexia. Dyslexia affects 20% of the American population and millions of women, men, and children around the world. It is believed that people with this learning disability, such as Tom Cruise, have different levels of brain activity and connections in the language area than people without the disorder. This leads to learning problems, specifically when it comes to reading and spelling.
Although Dyslexia can be overwhelming for some, Tom Cruise did not let this learning disability stop him. The actor states that he was diagnosed as dyslexic at age seven, but he managed to hide his learning disability from the other children at school. Cruise described himself as “a functional illiterate,” during his earlier years, through high school, and through his first several films. Tom Cruise managed to make it through auditions in a very unique way. Cruise says, “I’d get the director and producer to talk about the characters and the film. I’d glean information from them and I’d use that… I got pretty good at ad-libbing.”
Well, Tom Cruise’s ad-libbing paid off. Today, Cruise is considered one of the top 100 movie stars of all times with movies grossing $2.6 billion. Only Tom Hanks has done better. Continue reading to find out more about Tom Cruise’s top movies, salaries, and his love life.
Tom Cruise was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV in Syracuse, New York, to an electrical engineer and a special education teacher on July 3, 1962. Cruise and his family bounced around from Louisville, KY, Winnetka, IL, Ottawa, Ontario, Cincinnati Ohio, and Glen Ridge, NJ before heading out to New York in 1980. While working as a busboy, Cruise was relentless in his pursuit acting gigs. So relentless, that within a year, he found himself in Los Angeles where he landed a small role in the movie Endless Love starring Brooke Shields (1981). Tom Cruise played “Billy” in the 1981 film, and although the part was small, playing Billy quickly led to a bigger role in Taps starring Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton.
Within two years of completing Endless Love and Taps, Tom Cruise completed three more films in 1983 including: The Outsiders, with Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, and Patrick Swayze; Losin’ It with Shelly Long (1983); the cult classic Risky Business with Rebecca De Mornay with whom Cruise had a two-year relationship, and All the Right Moves.
What followed was a career that continued (and continues) at full speed, producing roughly 28 top films, several Golden Globe Awards, several Oscar Nominations, and an average domestic box office gross of $99.9 million per film. Today, Tom Cruise is considered one of the top 100 movie stars of all times. The actor, who was married to Mimi Rogers from 1987-1990 and to Nicole Kidman from 1990-2001, is currently married to actress Katie Holmes who gave birth to their first child, Suri Cruise, on April 18, 2006. Tom Cruise also has two adopted children with Nicole Kidman: Isabella Cruise (born in 1993) and Connor Cruise (born in 1995).
Tom Cruise Trivia
In June 2006 Cruise took the No.1 spot on Forbes magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 most powerful stars.
In the last 10 years all but one of Tom Cruise’s movies grossed more than $200 million worldwide.
Tom Cruise’s top-grossing movie was War of the Worlds (2005), which earned $590 million around the around the globe.
Tom Cruise Movies
The list below represents Tom Cruise’s films by decade. Please note that this list does not include independent films, student films, commercials, etc. Following you will find salaries, box office sales, Oscar Nominations, and Golden Globe Nominations and Awards.
Tom Cruise Films 1980-1990
Taps (1981)
Endless Love (1981)
Risky Business (1983)
The Outsiders (1983)
Losin’ It (1983)
All the Right Moves (1983)
Legend (1985)
The Color of Money (1986)
Top Gun (1986)
Cocktail (1988)
Rain Man (1988)
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Tom Cruise Films 1990-2000
Days of Thunder (1990)
A Few Good Men (1992)
Far and Away (1992)
The Firm (1993)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Magnolia (1999)
Tom Cruise Films 2000-2006
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Minority Report (2002)
The Last Samurai (2003)
Collateral (2004)
War of the Worlds (2005)
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Tom Cruise Oscar Nominations
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Year Nominated: 2000
For: Magnolia (1999)
Best Actor
Year Nominated: 1997
For: Jerry Maguire (1996)
Best Actor
Year Nominated: 1990
For: Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Tom Cruise Golden Globe Nominations and Wins
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Year Nominated: 2000
Won For: Magnolia (1999)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical
Year Nominated: 1997
Won For: Jerry Maguire (1996)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Year Nominated: 1993
For: A Few Good Men (1992)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Year Nominated: 1990
Won For: Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical
Year Nominated: 1984
For: Risky Business (1983)
Tom Cruise Salaries for Top Films
War of the Worlds (2005) (20% profit participation)
The Last Samurai (2003) $25,000,000 + % of profits
Minority Report (2002) $25,000,000+
Vanilla Sky (2001) $20,000,000 + 30% of Profits
Mission: Impossible II (2000) $75,000,000 (gross participation)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) $20,000,000
Jerry Maguire (1996) $20,000,000 against 15%
Mission: Impossible (1996) $70,000,000 (gross participation)
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) $15,000,000
Far and Away (1992) $13,000,000
Rain Man (1988) $3,000,000+% of gross
Top Gun (1986) $2,000,000
Risky Business (1983) $75,000
Domestic Box Office Sales for Tom Cruise Movies
Mission: Impossible III (2006) $133,501,348
War of the Worlds (2005) $234,277,056
Collateral (2004) $100,170,152
The Last Samurai (2003) $111,110,575
Minority Report (2002) $132,014,112
Vanilla Sky (2001) $100,614,858
Mission: Impossible II (2000) $215,397,000
Magnolia (1999) $22,450,000
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) $55,637,000
Jerry Maguire (1996) $158,047,411
Mission: Impossible (1996) $180,965,000
Interview with the Vampire (1994) $105,264,000
The Firm (1993) $158,300,000
Far and Away (1992) $58,883,000
A Few Good Men (1992) $141,340,000
Days of Thunder (1990) $82,700,000
Born on the Fourth of July (1989) $70,001,000
Rain Man (1988) $172,800,000
Cocktail (1988) $78,200,000
Top Gun (1986) $176,800,000
The Color of Money (1986) $52,293,000
Legend (1985) $15,502,000
Risky Business (1983) $63,500,000
The Outsiders (1983) $25,600,000
Losin’ It (1983) N/A
All the Right Moves (1983) $17,200,000
Endless Love (1981) $33,000,000
Taps (1981) $30,273,559
Tom Cruise Official Website
Biography and filmography: AllAboutCruisesandMore.com