In my opinion one of the most under rated big name actors in history. He brings 100% intensity to every role, he is completely unafraid to let the camera look him dead in the eyes, he's willing to do anything -- including looking ridiculous or being seriously injured-- in order to sell a scene, and he seemingly relishes giving the actors working with him the opportunity to shine.
Part of his problem, if you want to call it that, is that he is often too good at what he does. His intensity and physical acting skills are so great that people believe he isn't acting at all. An excellent example of this is the physical interaction between Cruise and Gooding Jr in 'Jerry McGuire.' Cruise does his job here flawlessly, perhaps as well as it has ever been done, and from the first meeting it is established that Gooding is a physically powerful football star and Cruise a wimpy office worker. It is done so effortlessly that the audience never catches on.
Again, under rated. From the same movie, watch Cruise bringing it in the office scene, waving his fish around then face planting in front of everyone. It's a masterpiece. Cruise doesn't care how stupid his character looks, he's there to make a movie. When was the last time you saw Sean Connery look like an idiot or take a fall?
And speaking of taking a fall, watch the scenes in The Last Samurai in which Cruise is learning to fight. Now imagine filming that, hundreds of takes, getting slammed into the dirt and the mud over and over and over again. Very few actors would do that, let alone big stars. But it worked. And work is a major part of the Cruise mystique. He's apparently the first guy on set in the morning, practicing, and the last to leave at night. Apparently his thing is being the hardest working man in Hollywood, and while this is no doubt an exaggeration there is probably some truth to it.
So yeah, fantastic actor. There's a REASON he has earned the money he has earned, a reason he has garnered so many Oscar nominations, and a reason his co-stars have won so consistently. Nuff said.
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