What Has Been the Impact of Tom Cruise on Pop Culture?

For more than four decades, Tom Cruise Mapother IV has evolved from the teen heartthrob to the most powerful and polarizing figure in Hollywood. He was passionate about acting from an early age, thanks to Tom’s parents, who brought him to New York City so he could pursue an acting career. 

Highest-Paid Movie Star in the World

Tom Cruise began his journey as an actor in 1981 with a minor role in “Endless Love.” The movie was a great success at the box office and was liked by both males and females. The actor was then starred in some top-grossing movies of the 1980s, including Top Gun, The Color of Money, Rain Man, and Born on the Fourth July

All his movies were a hit on the box office, and by the end of 1990, he was one of the highest-paid actors in the world. He was the first actor in history who gave five consecutive movies that grossed more than 100 million dollars in the United States.

His Experiment of Production

His Experiment of Production

After many successful movies, he also showed some interest in producing movies. He made Cruise/Wagner Production after his partnership with Paula Wagner, his former talent agent. Their production company produced several mega projects. His experiment of production was also a massive success with his biggest producing project, “Mission Impossible,” which gave him a profit of almost 70 million dollars. 

The main advantage of his production was that he also appeared in his many films like Without Limits, Mission: Impossible, Vanilla Sky, and many others. Tom Cruise’s as a producer was involved in some of the most remunerative projects in Hollywood, and a Hollywood economist Edward Jay Epstein described him as “one of the most powerful and richest forces in Hollywood.” 

Breakup with Paramount Pictures

Breakup with Paramount Pictures

After working for fourteen years with Paramount pictures, Cruise’s contract ended in august 2006. The reason for their separation remains a concern for many analysts. The famous industry analyst reviewed this as most likely it was due to the Paramount was not contented over the huge share from DVD sales of Mission: Impossible

In November, Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner joined United Artists film studio. There, Cruise was working as a producer and an actor, and Paula worked as a united artist’s chief executive. Their combined projects with United Artists generated big revenue for the box office. After two years, Wagner stopped working with them, but Cruise continued, and Paula’s share was also combined with his share.

Most Charismatic Personality

Most Charismatic Personality

Tom cruise is mainly known for his charismatic personality and smile. As charisma is the fastest way we can see fitness in someone, and Tom Cruise is the perfect example of that. He is not monotonous; he does not stammer or hesitate. The words can be anything but the amount of emotion he puts into it make him different. Charisma is not based on what you say but on how you say it. And whenever he speaks or performs, people feel lost in him as it feels like a real character. 

Tom Cruise Does His Stunts Himself

Tom Cruise had not performed only romantic characters, but he had also done action movies. And the important thing is that he prefers to do his stunts by himself, whether it is to hang on the side of the plane in the mid of the air for Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation, to fly a helicopter, and perform a HALO jump for Mission Impossible: Fallout or climb the tallest building in the world for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

While most of them avoid doing these stunts themselves and hand over the task to professional stuntmen, this fifty-eight-year-old risks his life for the sake of entertainment so that his audience can see the most real and original expressions.

A Great Advocate of Scientology

Tom Cruise is a great advocate of Scientology. He was introduced to Scientology by his first wife. His belief in Scientology was outspoken when he said that Scientology cured him of dyslexia. In addition to introducing several programs to promote Scientology knowledge, Tom ran several campaigns to have Scientology recognized as a religion in Europe. 

Tom was so devoted to Scientology that he tried to convince at then-Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to declare Scientology Church in the UK as a tax-exempt non-profitable organization. He also tried to convert many celebrities like Will Smith, James Packer, and Steven Spielberg to the religion of Scientology.

Raised Donations for 9/11 Rescue Workers

After the 9/11 incident, Tom Cruise, like many other celebrities, raised donations and co-founded Downtown Medical to detoxify rescue workers who inhaled the smoke of the 9/11 attacks. Although he faced much criticism for that act from the medical profession and firefighters, he continued working for the noble cause. 

As a reward for his services, Scientology leader David Miscavige created and presented him the Scientology Freedom Medal of Valor in 2004. He also made donations for The Ashley Flint Fund, Hillary Clinton’s Campaign, and The Tsunami Relief Fund.

The Controversy of His Personal Life

The Controversy of His Personal Life

Along with his acting, Tom’s personal life also attracted much attention from his fans and rivals. Hollywood and social media closely followed his first marriage with Nicole Kidman. Then he announced his divorce from Kidman in 2001, which was again a hot topic for media. 

After that, his relationship with famous actress Katie Holmes was the main topic of discussion, to whom he married in 2006 and divorced in 2012. 

Litigations during His Career

During his professional career, he has also been involved in several litigations. He filed a lawsuit against Michael Davis, an editor in Bold Magazine. He alleged that he had videos of himself having sex with Tom Cruise that would prove that Cruise is gay. Cruise won the case, and the reporter was fined 100 million dollars for this wrong accusation.

Achievements

In the Quigley Publications Annual poll of movie exhibition, he was ranked as number one in top moneymaking actors at the box office almost seven times from 1986 to 2005. He also received the John Huston Award for the Artists Rights in 1998. In 1997, he received the title of the Best Dressed Male Movie Star.

Conclusion

Tom Cruise is known for the versatility of roles he has played in the last forty years; from Maverick in Top Gun to Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible, he had gone a long way. Whether it was the role of a romantic guy or an action stunt, Tom Cruise always nailed it and had a great impact on Pop Culture. It was the reason that by the late 1980s, Tom Cruise was the first choice of every producer in Hollywood for almost a decade. 

The release of Tom Cruise’s recent production Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7 has been delayed many times. Release dates have been announced for both movies several times but always changed at the last moments. Now the recent date is announced as the Memorial Day Weekend of 2022, and we are hoping that this time it will not change at the last moment.