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Tom Cruise may have attained fame and adulation at the highest possible level imaginable. Fans all around the world may shower him with unbridled awe and admiration. Critics and studio heads may forever be fascinated by his stardom. However, the actor will never be able to erase the controversial reputation garnered over his association with the Church of Scientology.
Despite the fact, nothing has stopped Tom Cruise from tearing down barriers and defying expectations when it comes to cinematic pursuits. The actor has been on the rise ever since his outrageous breakthrough in the 1983 film,Risky Business.Now in his 60s, Cruise seems giddier than ever at the prospect of entertaining his audience and bringing electrifying movies to the big screen.
But all of it began from a simple dream: of being the best there is in the business.
Tom Cruise and His Exhilarating Hollywood Dream
Tom Cruisehas always been in the habit of surprising his audience. From shocking thrillers to hilarious comedy to agonizing dramas – he has done it all. But out of all the genres that exist, one has held the utmost regard in his opinion.
Since the early ’80s, Cruise harbored a singular pursuit – to become the most decorated action star in the industry, and none other thanVal Kilmeraka Iceman himself was aware of this fact. In his autobiography,I’m Your Huckleberry, Kilmer writes of hisTop Gunco-star’s single-minded determination and Cruise’s endless labor in pursuit of his Hollywood dreams.
Tom refrained from our revelry, with good reason. From day one, he was laser-focused on a singular goal: to become the greatest action hero in the history of film. He was up nights learning lines; he spent every waking hour perfecting his stunts. His dedication was admirable. Of course, even more admirable is the fact that he achieved his goal.
Although Kilmer’s astute observation (viaThe Independent) was limited to Cruise’s role onTop Gun, his comment – in hindsight – applies to Cruise’s entire career. 38 years after the release of Tony Scott’s film, the actor has never been more glorified as Steven Spielberg himself set aside his 20-year-old animosity with Cruise to thank him for saving the film industry.
Judd Apatow Hits Tom Cruise Where It Hurts
For Tom Cruise, Scientology has been a curse more than a blessing and it has never been clearer than during the 2023 Directors Guild of America Awards. The evening’s emcee, esteemed directorJudd Apatow, hurled one jab after another at Cruise as the actor became one of his favorite objects of punchlines.
From his height to his controversial devotion to Scientology,Apatow’s jokesgot increasingly brutal while audiences laughed and uncomfortably gasped at them in Cruise’s absence:“The special effects in ‘Maverick’ were so top-notch, I couldn’t even see the stack of phone books Tom Cruise sat on to reach the flight controls,”he claimed as he began railing against the veteran actor.
Tom Cruise’s Secret Recipe for Top Gun Was a Industry First That Most Fans Missed for Years: ‘I didn’t want to make a warmonger movie’
Moreover, referring to Cruise’s infamous couch-jumping incident during the 2005Oprahinterview where he admitted his love for Katie Holmes, Judd Apatow joked:
Remember when Tom Cruise jumped up and down on the couch and we all thought, ‘What a lunatic!’ And now he rides a motorcycle off a cliff and BASE jumps and we’re all like, ‘Tom’s fine!’ Tom is not fine. Someone needs to explain to him something called CGI. You’re 60. Calm down.
Apatow even went on to mock Tom Cruise’s religious ideals by comparing his gravity-defying stunts to an ad for Scientology, saying:“Every time he does one of these new stunts, it does feel like an ad for Scientology. I mean, is that in Dianetics? Because there’s nothing about jumping off a cliff in the Torah”.
Despite his pointed jabs at the actor, Apatow was far from done with Cruise. Rather than appreciating the Oscar-nominated actor for his contribution to cinema, theTrainwreckdirector dragged the spotlight on Cruise’s contentious comments about anti-depressants that caused a riot after his 2004 interview with Matt Lauer on theTODAYshow.
The only thing he seems to be afraid of is co-parenting and antidepressants. I doubled my Prozac today just for this. I doubled it! Do you think if Tom Cruise took antidepressants, he’d be like, “I’m not jumping out of a f*cking cliff. I’m rich!”
In spite of working on films likeMagnolia,Rain Man, andBorn on the Fourth of Julythat touch upon deeply philosophical subjects in the plot, Cruise has retained a controversial stance on mental health, which landed him in a precarious position with his former co-star Brooke Shields in the past.
Tom Cruise: “I wouldn’t be where I am” Without Scientology
However, Val Kilmer’s professional validation for Tom Cruise stands directly opposed to Judd Apatow’s vicious jabs at the actor’s personal philosophies. Despite the public portrayal of the actor through media, Cruise’s unparalleled contribution to Hollywood can never be argued against or denied.
Top Gun: Maverickis streaming on Paramount+.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2409
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
