TOM CRUISE, who also stars as Ethan Hunt in "Mission: Impossible," is considered one of the biggest stars in the world. Cruise was nominated for an Academy Award® for his performance in Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July." The performance also earned him a Golden Globe Award and one of several People's Choice Awards.
In 1981, Cruise played his first major role, as a disturbed cadet in "Taps." His breakthrough film, the coming-of-age comedy "Risky Business," was followed by the blockbuster "Top Gun." Cruise co-starred with Paul Newman in Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money" and with Dustin Hoffman in Barry Levinson's Academy Award®-winning "Rain Man." Cruise also starred with his wife, Nicole Kidman, in Ron Howard's romantic adventure, "Far and Away." In Rob Reiner's "A Few Good Men," Cruise's performance as a young Navy lawyer who outwits a hard- line general earned him a Golden Globe nomination. In "The Firm," directed by Sydney Pollack, Cruise again played a lawyer, a Harvard graduate, whose associates have their own set of rules. In a bold departure from his previous roles, Cruise appeared as the menacing and sinister vampire Lestat in Neil Jordan's "Interview With the Vampire." Cruise's other film credits include "Endless Love," "The Outsiders," "Losin' It," "All the Right Moves," "Legend," "Cocktail" and "Days of Thunder."
Currently, Cruise is filming "Jerry Maguire," written and being directed by Cameron Crowe. In the summer of 1996 he is slated to co-star with Nicole Kidman in the Stanley Kubrick film, "Eyes Wide Shut."
In 1991, Cruise received the American Cinema Award for Distinguished Achievement and, in 1993, the NATO/ShoWest Meritorious Achievement Award. Also in 1993, the Chicago Film Festival presented Cruise with its Actor of the Decade Award.