is tom cruise british

Tom Cruise discusses his love of Britain as he says it's 'just like he's seen in movies'

Tom Cruise has opened up about his love of Britain, explaining that the countryside, the people and the history are part of the charm - having filmed several projects here over the course of his career

• 22:32, 23 Sep 2022

Tom Cruise has told how he loves Britain because of the beautiful countryside, friendly locals, great sights and history.

The Hollywood star has shot several movies in the UK, and is filming parts of upcoming spy film Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One here.

He also revealed how he can relax in Britain without being mobbed by fans and autograph hunters, and he ­particularly likes our cows and sheep.

Cruise, 60, said: "I guess I am an ­Anglophile. I spend a lot of time in Britain and that's not just for work reasons. I just love being here.

"It's a fantastic blend of old and new. I love seeing the sights, the Tower of London, Nelson's Column, Buckingham Palace and all those fantastic places which are just full of history.

"Britain is trendy, too, and has a lot that other countries then copy. I also love the British countryside.

"Seeing cows and sheep in the fields here is just so very British and just like we see in the movies in America.

"I always wondered whether it is really like that. It's great to go back to the US and say, 'Yes, it really is'."

"It is breathtaking and I found myself wanting to explore more and more.

"That's the reason I have made a few other visits in my own time that have nothing to do with work. Everyone is pleasant and will give you a nod or say hello without crowding you. I was brought up to be ­well-mannered and you really get that in Britain.

"I also like the fact that I am walking the same streets as ­Shakespeare, Dickens, and even The Beatles . That is really cool."

This summer, several reports picked up on the fact that Cruise seemed to be constantly out and about in Britain.

He attended the Queen's Platinum Jubilee , a ladies' final at Wimbledon , concerts by Adele and The Rolling Stones in London’s Hyde Park and cheered on his friend Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix in July.

Cruise also celebrated his 60th birthday at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds with some of those within his inner sanctum, including David Beckham , Gordon Ramsay and James Corden .

He shared a red carpet with Prince William and Kate at the London premiere of his film Top Gun: Maverick in May. And he is pals with Phillip Schofield .

Cruise's daughter Isabella, 29, who he adopted during his marriage to Nicole Kidman , lives in London with her British husband, another reason why he visits so often.

He admits filming can be very disruptive for locals due to road closures. But has revealed while shooting his latest movie in ­Derbyshire, residents "warmly welcomed" the cast and crew.

In an interview with Derbyshire Life magazine, Cruise added: "We found everyone to be so brilliantly helpful… from the local authorities to the people living in the area.

"There is no doubt that when a film crew arrives on location the whole place can be disrupted and I could not blame anyone for complaining.

"However, that didn't happen. We were shooting a scene at a quarry. We had to get a full-size train there so some of the roads were closed, but the local people were just fantastic. I never heard one complaint."

The actor is known for being friendly and helpful on set.

Asked about that, he replied: "I try not to set myself apart from other people. If there is a piece of litter on the floor I hope I will pick it up rather than leave it to someone else.

Do you enjoy reading about celebrities? Sign up for all the best celeb news from the Mirror here .

"We are all part of the team. That’s why I like to arrive early on set and spend some time with the guys behind the cameras. They are just as important as anyone in front of the cameras.

"Being friendly doesn’t cost a bean and I enjoy it. It would surely be a better world with a little more friendliness."

Recent Mission Impossible scenes have also been shot in the Lake District. In August Cruise apologised to Sarah and Jason Haygarth, who had their hike disrupted there when they came across him filming a stunt.

Jason who met him at the top of a ravine, said: "Tom said sorry first for the noise. 'Sorry, guys, I know we spoiled your walk with the noise'. We asked, 'What are you doing?' Then he said, 'I'm going to jump off'."

Cruise has revealed he has ­ambitions to go into space one day, but is not willing to pay the £22 million cost of such a "holiday". He said: "I went for weightlessness training with NASA. That was fantastic. I'd love to go into space.

"I know that it is possible to go on a holiday trip which costs around £22million, but I couldn't justify that.

"I would like to space travel though. It's true, I fly my own plane, drive around in fast cars, ride motorbikes and do stuff that is a thrill.

"I don't see myself as some kind of daredevil but I do like to do my own stunts in the movies, as much as I am allowed. I guess I just like excitement and pushing back the barriers."

But he may get his cosmos travel wish after NASA confirmed in 2020 he is planning to shoot a movie with businessman Elon Musk on the ­International Space Station.

In January, sources told Variety that part of the film will be shot there and Universal Pictures were waiting for a script to be delivered.

The full interview is in the October edition of Derbyshire Life, out now.

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at [email protected] or call us direct 0207 29 33033.

MORE ON Tom Cruise

Celeb obsessed get a daily dose of showbiz gossip direct to your inbox.

Actor Tom Cruise has starred in the box-office hits Risky Business , Top Gun , Jerry Maguire , and the Mission: Impossible franchise.

1962-present

Tom Cruise Now: Mission Impossible Star Performs Skydiving Stunt at Olympics Closing Ceremony

The 62-year-old then appeared in a previously filmed video clip that showed Cruise driving through the streets of Paris and boarding a plane headed to Los Angeles, symbolizing the passing of the torch from the Paris Games to the Los Angeles Olympics in summer 2028. Cruise put on skydiving gear and jumped out of the plane, soaring through Los Angeles and past the Hollywood sign, which he redesigned to feature the Olympic rings in place of the two Os at the end of Hollywood .

Cruise is famous for doing many of his own stunts in his movies, including the Mission: Impossible and Top Gun franchises. Ahead of the release of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One in July 2023, he told Entertainment Tonight that his most dangerous stunt took years of practice to perfect: “You have to be razor sharp when you do something like that.”

Quick Facts

Young tom cruise and parents, scientology, ex-wives: katie holmes, nicole kidman, and mimi rogers, who is tom cruise.

Actor Tom Cruise has been one of the most prominent movie stars in Hollywood dating back to the 1980s. After developing an interest in acting during high school, he rocketed to fame with his turns in Risky Business and Top Gun . Cruise has since become an action movie veteran, counting the Mission: Impossible franchise, Edge of Tomorrow , and Top Gun: Maverick among his many successes. The four-time Oscar nominee has also earned acclaim for his performance in Born on the Fourth of July , Jerry Maguire , and Magnolia. Off the silver screen, Cruise is one of the most high-profile members of the Church of Scientology and has been married to fellow actors Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes .

FULL NAME: Thomas Cruise Mapother IV BORN: July 3, 1962 BIRTHPLACE: Syracuse, New York SPOUSES: Mimi Rogers (1987-1990), Nicole Kidman (1990-2001), and Katie Holmes (2005-2012) CHILDREN: Isabella, Connor, and Suri ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, better known as Tom Cruise, was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York. The third of four children, Tom was the only son of Mary Lee South and Thomas Cruise Mapother III. Cruise’s mother was an amateur actor and schoolteacher, and his father was an electrical engineer. His family moved around a great deal when young Tom was a child to accommodate his father’s career.

Tom’s parents divorced when he was 11, and the children moved with their mother to Louisville, Kentucky, and then to Glen Ridge, New Jersey, after she remarried. Like his mother and three sisters, Cruise suffered from dyslexia, which made academic success difficult for him. He excelled in athletics, however, and considered pursuing a career in professional wrestling until a knee injury sidelined him during high school.

At age 14, Cruise enrolled in a Franciscan seminary with thoughts of becoming a priest, but he left after a year. When he was 16, a teacher encouraged him to participate in the school’s production of the musical Guys and Dolls . After Cruise won the lead of Nathan Detroit, he found himself surprisingly at home on the stage, and a career was born.

Early Roles in Taps and The Outsiders

Cruise set a 10-year deadline for himself in which to build an acting career. He left school and moved to New York City, where he struggled through audition after audition before landing an appearance in 1981’s Endless Love , starring Brooke Shields . Around this same time, he snagged a small role in the military school drama Taps (1981), co-starring Sean Penn . His role in Taps was upgraded after director Harold Becker saw Cruise’s potential, and his performance caught the attention of a number of critics and filmmakers .

In 1983, Cruise appeared in Francis Ford Coppola ’s The Outsiders , which also starred Emilio Estevez , Matt Dillon, and Rob Lowe —all prominent members of a group of young actors the entertainment press dubbed the “Brat Pack.” The movie wasn’t well received, but it allowed Cruise to work with an acclaimed director on a high-profile project.

Breakout Role in Risky Business

His next movie, Risky Business (1983), grossed $65 million and become one of the most profitable movies at the box office that year. It also made Cruise a highly recognizable actor—thanks in no small part to a memorable scene of the young star dancing in his underwear.

Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick

In 1986, after a two-year hiatus, the budding actor released the big-budget fantasy film Legend , which did poorly at the box office. That same year, however, Cruise’s A-list status was confirmed with the release of Top Gun , which co-starred Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, and Meg Ryan . The testosterone-fueled action-romance, set against the backdrop of an elite naval flight school, became the highest-grossing movie of 1986.

Decades later, Cruise returned to his role as fighter pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the action-packed sequel Top Gun: Maverick (2022), which picks up more than 30 years after the original. Critics heaped praise on the movie, and in addition to becoming the second highest-grossing film of the year, it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Cruise is set to star in a third movie, Top Gun 3 , which doesn’t yet have a release date.

The Color of Money , Rain Man , and Born on the Fourth of July

Cruise followed the tremendous success of the original Top Gun with a string of both critically acclaimed and commercially successful films. First up was The Color of Money (1986) with co-star Paul Newman , then Cruise worked with Dustin Hoffman on Rain Man (1988). Cruise’s next role, as Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic in the biopic Born on the Fourth of July (1989), earned him an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Actor.

A Few Good Men , The Firm , and Interview with a Vampire

In 1992, Cruise proved once more that he could hold his own opposite a screen legend when he co-starred with Jack Nicholson in the military courtroom drama A Few Good Men . The movie grossed more than $15 million its first weekend and earned Cruise another Golden Globe nomination. He continued to demonstrate his success as a leading man with The Firm (1993) and Interview with the Vampire (1994), which co-starred Brad Pitt.

Mission: Impossible Franchise

Next, Cruise hit the big screen with another huge action hit: the $64 million blockbuster Mission: Impossible (1996). In addition to starring in the movie, Cruise also served as a producer. The movie’s popularity spawned another action franchise for Cruise.

The long-awaited smash hit Mission: Impossible 2 arrived in 2000 followed by the also popular Mission: Impossible 3 in 2006. However, Cruise was faced with a professional setback that August when Paramount Pictures ended its 14-year relationship with the actor. The company’s chairman cited Cruise’s erratic behavior and controversial views as the reason for the split, though industry experts noted that Paramount more likely ended the partnership over the actor’s high earnings from the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Ultimately, Cruise and Paramount patched up their relationship and have continued adding films to the franchise. That includes Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol (2011), Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation (2015), Mission: Impossible —Fallout (2018), and most recently, Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning (2023).

Jerry McGuire , Eyes Wide Shut , and Magnolia

The same year as the first Mission: Impossible movie, Cruise landed another hit with the highly acclaimed Jerry McGuire (1996), directed by Cameron Crowe. The star secured a second Academy Award nomination and won his second Golden Globe for Best Actor.

Cruise and then-wife Nicole Kidman spent much of 1997 and 1998 in England shooting Eyes Wide Shut , an erotic thriller that was director Stanley Kubrick ’s final film. The movie came out in the summer of 1999 to mixed reviews, but that same year, Cruise enjoyed greater success with the release of Magnolia . His performance as a self-confident sex guru in the ensemble film earned him another Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Vanilla Sky and The Last Samurai

In 2002, Cruise starred in Vanilla Sky , his second collaboration with director Cameron Crowe, as well as Steven Spielberg ’s Minority Report . The following year, Cruise traveled to Australia to shoot the $100 million war epic The Last Samurai, which earned him another Golden Globe nomination.

War of the Worlds

Cruise proved he remained a top draw by starring in the Steven Spielberg –directed remake of the science-fiction classic War of the Worlds (2005), which grossed more than $230 million at the box office.

The third Mission: Impossible movie added to his list of credits in May 2006, but three months later, his partnership with Paramount Pictures, the franchise’s studio, ended. Cruise quickly rebounded with an announcement early that November: He had a new partnership with film executive Paula Wagner and the United Artists film studio. Their first production as a team, the political drama Lions for Lambs (2007), proved a commercial disappointment despite a strong cast that included Meryl Streep and Robert Redford .

Tropic Thunder

Taking a break from weighty material, Cruise delighted audiences with his performance in the comedy Tropic Thunder (2008). Despite his relatively small role in a movie that featured Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller , Cruise stood out by obscuring his trademark good looks to play a balding, obese movie studio executive.

Valkyrie and Rock of Ages

In December 2008, Cruise released his second project through United Artists. The film, Valkyrie , was a World War II drama about a plot to assassinate German leader Adolf Hitler . Cruise starred as a German army officer who became involved in the conspiracy.

Breaking into new territory after another entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise in 2011 , Cruise starred in the 2012 musical Rock of Ages . Although Cruise received some positive reviews for his performance as a rock star, the movie failed to attract much of an audience.

Jack Reacher , Edge of Tomorrow , and The Mummy

Returning to his mainstream action roots, Cruise anchored the 2012 crime drama Jack Reacher , based on a book by Lee Child. He then headlined a pair of science-fiction adventures: Oblivion (2013) and Edge of Tomorrow (2014). Showing no signs of slowing down, the veteran actor in 2015 delivered his usual high-energy performance for the fifth installment of his blockbuster Mission: Impossible franchise .

In 2016, Cruise reprised the role of Jack Reacher for Jack Reacher: Never Go Back . He then headlined a reboot of The Mummy (2017), which performed respectably at the box office but was savaged by critics, before earning better reviews later that year for the crime thriller American Made .

Cruise is one of the most prominent celebrity members of the Church of Scientology . He became a student of the religion, founded by writer L. Ron Hubbard, through his first wife, Mimi Rogers. Cruise credited the church with curing his dyslexia, and he soon became one of its leading proponents.

In 2005, Cruise made headlines as an outspoken Scientologist. He openly criticized his former Endless Love co-star Brooke Shields for using anti-depressants during her recovery from postpartum depression. He also denounced psychiatry and modern medicine, claiming Scientology held the key to true healing. Cruise’s statements led to a heated argument with news anchor Matt Lauer on The Today Show in June 2005, for which Cruise later apologized.

Cruise has been married three times, all to fellow actors, and has three children.

He first wed Mimi Rogers in 1987 but their union ended three years later. Cruise wasn’t single for long.

Also in 1990, he connected with Nicole Kidman , his co-star in the racecar drama Days of Thunder . The movie was unpopular among critics and fans alike, but the two lead actors had real chemistry. On Christmas Eve 1990, after a brief courtship, Cruise and Kidman married in Telluride, Colorado.

For much of the 1990s, Cruise and Kidman found themselves fiercely defending the happiness and legitimacy of their marriage. They filed two different lawsuits against tabloid publications for stories they considered libelous. In each case, the couple received a published retraction and apology, along with a large monetary settlement which they donated to charity. During the first half of their marriage, the couple adopted two children, Isabella and Connor.

On February 5, 2001, Cruise and Kidman announced their separation after 11 years of marriage. The couple cited the difficulties involved with two acting careers and the amount of time spent apart while working.

Following the divorce, Cruise briefly dated his Vanilla Sky co-star Penelope Cruz followed by a much-publicized relationship with actor Katie Holmes . A month after his ties to Holmes became public, Cruise professed his love for Holmes in a now-famous appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, during which he jumped on Winfrey’s sofa, shouting “Yes!”

In June 2005, after a two-month courtship, Cruise proposed to Holmes in a restaurant at the top of the Eiffel tower. In October, they announced that they were expecting their first child together. The hasty proposal and surprise pregnancy quickly became tabloid gossip.

In 2006, Cruise and Holmes welcomed their daughter, Suri. That November, they were married in an Italian castle, with celebrities Will Smith , Jada Pinkett Smith , Jennifer Lopez , and Victoria and David Beckham among those in attendance. However, the storybook romance didn’t last, and in June 2012, Holmes filed for divorce.

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us

Watch Next .css-16toot1:after{background-color:#262626;color:#fff;margin-left:1.8rem;margin-top:1.25rem;width:1.5rem;height:0.063rem;content:'';display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;}

Academy Awards

Robert Downey Jr.

A Meryl Streep Quiz for Her Biggest Fans

Judy Garland’s Life and Career in Photos

Alec Baldwin

Justin Timberlake

Jesse Plemons

Michelle Yeoh

Kirsten Dunst

Quentin Tarantino’s Self-Imposed 10-Movie Limit

IMDbPro Starmeter 23 17

• Contact info
• 64 wins & 119 nominations total

Brat Pack Movies Beyond 'The Breakfast Club'

Photos 2008

• Nathan Algren

• Jerry Maguire
• Post-production
• Cage (rumored)
• In Development
• Pre-production

• Capt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell

• Team Member

• Nick Morton

• Jack Reacher

• Stacee Jaxx

• Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg
• producer (produced by)

• producer (uncredited)

• executive producer

• In-development projects at IMDbPro

Personal details

• Tomu Kurûzu
• 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
• July 3 , 1962
• Syracuse, New York, USA
• Spouses Katie Holmes November 18, 2006 - August 20, 2012 (divorced, 1 child)
• Children Isabella Jane Cruise
• Parents Thomas Mapother III
• Relatives William Mapother (Cousin)
• Other works Played Nathan Detroit in a high school production of "Guys and Dolls"
• 12 Print Biographies
• 9 Portrayals
• 32 Interviews
• 146 Articles
• 21 Pictorials
• 764 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

• Trivia His acting idol is Paul Newman . Much to the delight of Cruise, they became good friends during work on The Color of Money (1986) . Newman got him into racing, and Cruise ultimately raced on his team.
• Quotes The thing about filmmaking is I give it everything, that's why I work so hard. I always tell young actors to take charge. It's not that hard. Sign your own checks, be responsible.
• Trademarks Often plays romantic leading men with an edge
• Salaries Mission: Impossible 8 ( 2025 ) $13,000,000 + % of back end
• How old is Tom Cruise?
• When was Tom Cruise born?
• Where was Tom Cruise born?

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

A look back at Tom Cruise's long relationship with the British royals

By Jo Abi | 7 months ago

You would think action-loving Hollywood actor Tom Cruise has no place in the stiff and proper life of the British Royal family, but he in fact has a long history with the royals since early on in his career.

Not only has he spent significant time in London filming movies, he's also attended the premieres of his films in the UK, many of which have been attended by senior royals.

Most recently, he stood by Prince William's side as the royal broke his silence on his father, King Charles' cancer diagnosis.

READ MORE: King Charles is revolutionising the monarchy, but his biggest dream may not be realised 

Here is a look back at Tom Cruise's long history with the British royals, including his special relationship with the late Princess Diana.

Early days in London

When you are one of the world's biggest celebrities who spends significant time in London filming blockbuster movies, it's only a matter of time before you run into a royal or two.

Cruise has filmed multiple hit movies in the UK including many of the Mission Impossible movies and Edge of Tomorrow.

Before his work took him to the home of the British royals, Cruise attended his own movie premieres in the country – including the first Top Gun movie released in 1986.

It is said that Prince William and Prince Harry were huge fans of the movie, although the were only four and three when it was first released, so didn't catch up on Maverick and Goose's incredible friendship until later in life.

READ MORE: Why Princess Anne will be the King's bedrock of support amid cancer diagnosis

Princess Diana

It is said that Princess Diana had a crush on Tom Cruise and at one stage hoped to date him.

That's according to the book Diana: An Intimate Portrait by Judy Wade. Diana and Cruise met at the London premiere of Far and Away in 1992, shortly after the princess had split from Prince Charles.

But she was out of luck, with Cruise happily married to Nicole Kidman at the time. She also co-starred in the movie.

Diana and the actor would meet again several times over the years.

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman also attended the royal's 1997 funeral following her death in a Paris car crash.

READ MORE: From divorces to tell-all interviews: the controversies that have challenged the Queen as a monarch and a mother

After her death, Cruise spoke out against the paparazzi who were chasing her vehicle at the time, saying on CNN : "When you're pursuing or chasing, that's harassment."

A royal fan in Prince William

Prince William grew up watching the original Top Gun movie and the royal's interest in aviation grew into a career, with William, 39, serving eight years with the military.

He joined the EAAA (East Anglian Air Ambulance) in March 2015 after flying rescue helicopters with the Royal Air Force in North Wales for more than three years.

In July 2015, the Duke piloted his first operational mission with the EAAA.

He retired to become a full time working royal in 2017.

READ MORE: From royal 'mistress' to future Queen Consort: How Camilla's public image has transformed

William, who has met Cruise a number of times over the years, has developed a friendship with the actor and they share a mutual interest in aviation.

Cruise reportedly invited the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to a private screening of Top Gun: Maverick ahead of the movie's official screening at Leicester Square and hosted by Paramount Pictures and The Film and TV Charity, the 72nd Royal Film Performance hosted by the charity.

Meeting Prince Philip

Cruise first met the late Prince Philip in 2017 when the actor was invited to attend a dinner celebrating the Outward Bound Trust charity at Buckingham Palace.

Cruise is a supporter of the charity set up to help young people from all walks of life reach their full potential through outdoor pursuits.

Speaking of the meeting, Cruise said he and the then-Duke of Edinburgh bonded over their love of helicopters.

READ MORE: 'The question that will inevitably emerge after King Charles' cancer diagnosis'

He told ITV's Phillip Schofield: "There was a moment, of course we were talking about pilots, we had to talk about helicopters, and he was telling me the wonderful story of how he got the first helicopter into Buckingham Palace during [The Queen's] coronation.

"Fantastic story. I was this close to going 'I'd like to land a helicopter, if you ever need a helicopter, I think I could put it right there."

Shared interests

Cruise has a number of shared interests with the British royals including fashion, movies, tennis and equestrian sports.

He has previously attended the Fashion Awards in London, most recently in 2019 when designer Giorgio Armani was being honoured. Cruise has also rubbed shoulders with royals at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTAS) awards.

Prince William serves as BAFTAs president.

READ MORE: What we know about King Charles III's health history 

Then there is Wimbledon, with both the royals and Cruise long-time tennis fans.

The royals regularly attend the event with Kate Middleton serving as a patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which hosts the tennis tournament each year.

Cruise was in the crowd along with senior royals watching Australia's Ash Barty take out the Women's Singles title in 2021.

He has also attended equestrian events along with senior royals including at Royal Ascot in 2014 where he presented the winners trophy.

READ MORE: King Charles' cancer news casts doubt over reports of Australian royal tour plans

Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebration

When Cruise was asked to be a part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebration, he reportedly jumped at the chance, his admiration for Her Majesty having spanned years.

Not only was Cruise attending the event, he narrated a portion of the event which was filmed and televised on ITV in the UK. The event was called 'A Gallop Through History' and was held on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

He spoke to waiting media having arrived for the event: "What she has accomplished is historic.

"She has met presidents, world leaders, people from all walks of life… the world knows the dignity, devotion and kindness, that is what I have always felt about her."

"Someone that understands her position and has held it through a history that's just been extraordinary the past 70 years."

READ MORE: Charles' decision to share diagnosis goes against decades of tradition

He told ITV : "It is a wonderful event and I feel very privileged to be here. I was very honoured… She is just a woman I greatly admire. She is someone who has tremendous dignity. I admire her devotion and what she has accomplished is historic."

At the event, Cruise introduced a performance by The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, describing it as "one of the most enthralling, thrilling, heart-in-mouth displays".

Also part of the event was Dame Helen Mirren and Katherine Jenkins.

Family connection

Cruise's daughter with Nicole Kidman, Bella, 29, lives in Croydon with her husband Max Parker giving the actor extra reason to spend time in the UK outside of his work commitments.

During an interview with Vanity Fair, Kidman spoke of children Bella and Connor's ties to the UK.

READ MORE: Which royal duties Charles will continue doing amid cancer treatment

"Bella lives just outside London. You know, she really feels more English," Kidman said.

"We lived there for Eyes Wide Shut , Mission Impossible and The Portrait of a Lady . They both had English accents when they were little."

Connor and Cruise are based in Florida, however Cruise does own properties in the UK including in Biggin Hill and previously in Sussex. He also owns a lavish penthouse apartment in London.

Supporting Prince William as he spoke about King Charles' cancer

Tom Cruise was standing by as the royal opened up about the eventful first month of 2024, which saw both his father and his wife admitted to hospital for separate medical issues.

The royal and Top Gun star happily met and chatted together at a gala dinner for London's Air Ambulance Charity this week, even taking a picture together with the ambulance staff.

For a daily dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our newsletter here

The official social media accounts for the Wales couple even shared a photo of the reunion with the caption, "Fancy seeing you here, @TomCruise! 🚁."

"I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days," William told the gala dinner for London's Air Ambulance Charity. "It means a great deal to us all."

Catherine, Princess of Wales was admitted to hospital to undergo a planned abdominal surgery on January 17 and stayed in hospital for about three weeks before heading back home to continue her recovery. William had also taken time off to be with her and their three children, but returned to public duties with this event.

His return came after his father's bombshell reveal that he has been diagnosed with cancer, which the monarch had shared publicly on Monday, February 5. The cancer was discovered after the King underwent a procedure to treat his enlarged prostate on January 29. After spending a few days in hospital after the procedure, the monarch is now resting and recovering at his Sandringham estate.

"It's fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather medical focus, so I thought I'd come to an air ambulance function to get away from it all," William said jokingly.

• Prince William
• Kate Middleton
• Queen Elizabeth

Property News: Landlords warned not to sting departing tenants these common costs.

Justin Bieber's mum celebrates birth of grandson

Harry and Meghan may ask Charles for money if deal falls out

JLo breaks silence in first move since divorce filing

Entertainment | Tom Cruise’s new London life: Tea parties,…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Today's e-Edition

Things To Do

• Food & Drink
• Celebrities
• Pets & Animals
• Event Calendar

Entertainment

Entertainment | tom cruise’s new london life: tea parties, prince william, romance with daughter of putin ally, cruise ‘never had a place to call home before, not really, but he’s finally found that in london,’ one report says.

Filming the latest installments of his “Mission: Impossible” franchise brought the Cruise to the U.K., where he found “a place to call home” in London, a source told In Touch last year.

“Tom loves the rainy weather, the people, taking long walks in the city,” the insider. “He’s never had a place to call home before, not really, but he’s finally found that in London.”

As part of establishing himself in London, one of the world’s most famous actors has apparently become chummy with members of the British royal family. In 2022, the attended the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, the British Grand Prix and the splashy London premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick” with special guests Kate Middleton and Prince William. He also recorded a “Top Gun”-related tribute to King Charles III for his June 2023 coronation, inviting the new monarch to “be my wingman any time.” More recently, Cruise was photographed with the Prince of Wales at a Feb. 7 gala for the London Air Ambulance charity.

Cruise also has begun a relationship with London-based socialite Elsina Khayrova, with things getting serious enough that he has met her two children from her former marriage to Russian diamond dealer Dimitry Tsvetkov, Page Six reported this week . But Cruise’s romance with the former model has raised eyebrows because her father is an ally of Vladimir Putin and her oligarch ex-husband is on a Kremlin “wanted list,” according to news reports.

Khayrova’s divorce from Tsvetkov also made her infamous in London high society when a judge scolded her for “dishonesty” because she hid assets, including her $1.2 million collection of handbags. Lots of property and money was reportedly at stake in the 2021 divorce, including a mansion in Surrey, England, five London apartments, a Bentley, a Ferrari, Cartier jewelry and artwork by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Marc Chagall.

Page Six reported that Cruise, 61, met Khayrova, 36, in the most British way possible — while having tea together. In fact, Cruise met the divorcee when a friend brought her to one of the exclusive tea parties he has been hosting at his Hyde Park penthouse.

“Tom has been having tea parties on Sundays in London,” a source told Page Six. “He has butlers and homemade cakes and it’s all very British. Someone brought her.”

The source also told Page Six that Cruise’s tea parties attract the society elite, while the Daily News previously reported on speculation that Prince William and Kate Middleton have stopped by one of parties.

The Daily News also said that the parties begin promptly at 4 p.m. and feature music spun by a DJ.  “Spies” in his building’s lobby also have reported on “lots of beautiful women coming and going from the apartment on Sundays,” Page Six said. But very important for the “Top Gun” star and his high-profile guests: All attendees and staff must sign non-disclosure agreements.

Cruise’s romance with Khayrova first became known in Demember when the Daily Mail reported that the thrice-married Cruise was seen “canoodling” with her at a posh party in London’s upscale Mayfair district.

“They were inseparable — clearly a couple,” one guest at the almost entirely Russian event told the Daily Mail. “He seemed to be besotted with her.”

But even while socializing with royals and an oligarch’s ex-wife, Cruise still finds a “sense of normalcy” in the British capital that he couldn’t find in Los Angeles or elsewhere in America, In Touch Weekly reported.

“If he wears a hat and mask, he can slip into bookstores or antique shops and no one knows it’s him,” the insider continues. “He’s got family living there, too, which gives him a sense of belonging.”

This mention of family mostly refers to his adult daughter, Isabella Cruise, who is married and an artist living in London. Isabella, also known as Bella, is one of two children whom Cruise adopted with his ex-wife Nicole Kidman. Bella Cruise was raised in the Church of Scientology and reportedly has become a top recruiter for the controversial organization in the U.K.

Cruise himself also has been a regular presence at the church’s UK headquarters in the countryside of West Sussex and stayed there during COVID-19 lockdown, The Daily Mail reported in 2020.

Specifically, the “Jerry Maguire” star stayed in the headquarters’ luxury wing during lockdown, where he was able to dine on food prepared by a Michelin-starred chef and enjoy workouts in its state-of-the-art fitness center, the Daily Mail reported. Cruise’s three sisters and other members of his extended family also joined him at the headquarters during lockdown.

• Report an error
• Policies and Standards

More in Entertainment

Horoscopes | Horoscopes Aug. 24, 2024: Rupert Grint, make hard choices

‘Pachinko’ returns with Season 2, a more muted but necessary chapter in the series

Entertainment | Review: Why deciding on ‘Madden NFL 25’ is like figuring out whether to buy an iPhone

Entertainment | Travel guide Rick Steves reveals prostate cancer diagnosis

• Entertainment

Every British Royal Tom Cruise Has Ever Met

In the fascinating realm where Hollywood meets royalty, few stars can rival Tom Cruise's encounters with British royals. If you're captivated by the allure of those types of tales, Cruise's journey through these unique intersections is sure to enthrall you.

Renowned for his Hollywood stardom, the "Mission: Impossible" actor's meetings range from unexpected to closely-knit friendships with some of the most important and beloved royals. Luckily, none of these relationships are remotely scandalous — unlike  Cruise's biggest controversies , which include his involvement with Scientology.

Instead, Cruise's dynamic with the royals shows surprisingly down-to-earth behavior, like catching up on hobbies, watching sports, and even allegedly picking sides in the paparazzi-fueled drama between Prince Harry and Meghan and the royal family. Whether he's mingling at glamorous galas or helping with noble causes, Cruise's encounters with British royals paint a vivid picture of the lifestyles that top celebrities lead, where they effortlessly mingle with some of the most famous people in the world. Here's every British royal Cruise has ever met.

Princess Diana

Tom Cruise had the pleasure of meeting Princess Diana at the premiere of "Far and Away" in 1992 . Cruise starred in the movie with Nicole Kidman, his wife at the time, and welcomed Princess Diana, who attended the event in a breathtaking backless dress. Diana shook hands with the couple and briefly exchanged pleasantries.

The London premiere was the first meeting between Cruise and Diana, but it wasn't the last. In a Twitter post, Darren McGrady, a former royal chef, explained that Princess Diana took Prince Harry and William to the set of the first "Mission: Impossible" movie to see Cruise and the pyrotechnics.

According to McGrady, right after the meeting, Diana said, "That's another one off the list, Darren. He's too short!" Curious?  Here's how tall Cruise really is . Sadly, Diana passed away in 1997, just over a year after "Mission: Impossible" was released. Cruise, Kidman, and many other celebrities worldwide attended Diana's funeral in Westminister Abbey.

Prince George

Tom Cruise has also met the delightful Prince George. The brief interaction took place at the 2020 UEFA Euro Championship final. Italy and England battled for the cup on July 11, 2021, hence the interest of the British royals and Cruise.

Unfortunately, England didn't emerge victorious and lost on penalties. Despite the disappointment, Cruise briefly chatted with Prince George and his parents, who were seated nearby. The pair had another run-in at Wimbledon in 2022. Once more, Cruise was seated close to Prince George, who had accompanied his parents. However, it is unclear if they actually chatted at this event.

Cruise's meetings with Prince George might make you wonder what his relationship with his kids is like. Reports state that he is pretty close with his two adopted children from his marriage with Kidman, especially since both of them are dedicated Scientologists. However, his relationship with Suri, his daughter with Katie Holmes, is reportedly based on child support, lacking true depth.

Prince William

Tom Cruise's meetings with Prince William are so much more than "meetings." The pair are really close friends and have a lot in common, despite the 20-year age gap. Turns out, Cruise's relationship with the heir to the throne didn't stop after Diana's passing. On May 15, 2022, Cruise mingled with William when he hosted the Windsor Horse Show, which was part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebration.

Their next meet was at the premiere of "Top Gun: Maverick," Tom Cruise's 2022 blockbuster movie, where he once again played host to royalty by welcoming William and Kate Middleton. Interestingly, this encounter happened just four days after Cruise hosted the Windsor Horse Show, proving that they don't mind being in each other's company.

According to ITV News , Cruise stated that his friendship with the prince is based on their shared passions. "We have a lot in common. We both love England, and we're both aviators; we both love flying." Prince William and Cruise also met at Wimbledon 2022, which the former attended with Kate and Prince George.

Kate Middleton

Tom Cruise's friendship with Prince William has undoubtedly extended to the lovely Kate Middleton . Cruise was an incredible host to the princess at the "Top Gun: Maverick" premiere, even taking her hand to help her up some steps. However, this action raised a few eyebrows, as it is an unwritten protocol to limit body contact to a handshake, per the DailyMail .

But to be fair, the "Edge of Tomorrow" star is just one more American celebrity who's broken this rule. Cruise and Kate met again at the 2022 Wimbledon women's final, which she attended alone. It's unclear if they exchanged pleasantries at this event, but we do know that Cruise sat only a few rows behind her.

Not surprisingly, reports claim that Cruise has taken a side in the hostility between the royal family and Prince Harry and the remarkable Meghan Markle . RadarOnline reports that Cruise chose to side with pals William and Kate. However, these reports could be false, as much of the drama between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the rest of the royal family is fueled by false reports and the paparazzi. The Sun also reports that Cruise flew a white chocolate coconut bundt cake from Doan's Bakery in Los Angeles to Kate and William in London.

Prince Philip

Even more shocking, Tom Cruise had a relationship with Prince Philip  – a fact he revealed at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebration during a backstage chat with Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham (via Hello! ). As with William, Cruise and Prince Philip connected through their love of aviation. "He was telling me the wonderful story of how he got the first helicopter into Buckingham Palace during [the Queen's] coronation."

Their relationship began when Cruise met Prince Philip at the 75th anniversary of Outward Bound Trust, an educational charity for young people in the U.K. Cruise went on to express that he wanted to land a helicopter in Buckingham one day because of his interactions with the prince. Cruise was also a reported guest of the Queen at Windsor Castle, per The Sunday Times . However, this was not a public affair or common knowledge until the Queen's passing.

Cruise's encounters with British royals blend the glamour of Hollywood with the allure of royalty, highlighting both chance meetings and genuine friendships. These intersections reveal a different side to the Hollywood star and offer a glimpse into the intriguing world where Hollywood and royalty intersect.

Recommended

• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Newsletters
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My watchlist
• Stock market
• Biden economy
• Personal finance
• Stocks: most active
• Stocks: gainers
• Stocks: losers
• Trending tickers
• World indices
• US Treasury bonds
• Top mutual funds
• Highest open interest
• Highest implied volatility
• Currency converter
• Basic materials
• Communication services
• Consumer cyclical
• Consumer defensive
• Financial services
• Industrials
• Real estate
• Mutual funds
• Credit cards
• Balance transfer cards
• Cash back cards
• Rewards cards
• Travel cards
• Online checking
• High-yield savings
• Money market
• Home equity loan
• Personal loans
• Student loans
• Options pit
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard

Tom Cruise celebrates his 60th birthday at British Grand Prix as co-stars pay tribute: 'This is 60'

Tom Cruise is 60! The Born on the Fourth of July actor — whose actual birthday is July 3 — marked his milestone birthday with a trip to the Formula One British Grand Prix on Sunday in Northampton, England.

The star, who played a stock-car driver in the 1990 film Days of Thunder, was seen greeting fans and mingling with racing champ Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone. The Press Association also reports that Cruise watched the racing action alongside members of the pit crew in the Mercedes garage.

Cruise — who has been filming the latest Mission Impossible sequel in the U.K. — also spent his birthday weekend watching Adele perform live in London's Hyde Park on Friday night, where the Sun reports he was fêted with birthday cake backstage.

Video: 6 reasons to love Tom Cruise

Some of Cruise's co-stars posted birthday greetings to the star on social media. Glen Powell, who stars alongside the actor in Top Gun: Maverick, shared a shot of Cruise doing an airborne stunt for Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning in his tribute.

"This is 60," Powell wrote. "TC, there is just no one like you. Keep hanging' in there. Happy Birthday!"

Cary Elwes, meanwhile, wrote, "Your generosity of spirit is as legendary as your remarkable talent."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cary Elwes (@caryelwes)

Video courtesy of NBCUniversal. For more, check out NBC.com .

Recommended Stories

The 49ers' wild play to end their preseason against the raiders has to be seen to be believed.

There were only three seconds left in Friday night's preseason finale between San Francisco and Las Vegas, but the 49ers weren't ready to go home just yet.

Zion Williamson's apparent weight loss draws attention on social media

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson appears to have lost notable weight during the offseason, based on photos taken at his basketball camp in South Carolina.

Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong zooms around bases in 14 seconds for inside-the-park home run

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete-Crow Armstrong showed serious speed in running out an inside-the-park home run

Danny Jansen will make MLB history by playing for both Red Sox and Blue Jays on Monday

Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen will become the first MLB player to play for both teams in the same game when a postponed game from June 26 is resumed on Monday.

Falcons saw enough of Michael Penix Jr. last week that he won't play again this preseason

Michael Penix Jr. is done for the preseason, Raheem Morris said.

Kerr out at Team USA, Zion slims down & our favorite under-the-radar offseason moves | No Cap Room

Jake Fischer and Dan Devine talk their way through the late August NBA news cycle and list off their favorite under-the-radar moves from this NBA offseason.

What credit card users need to know if the Fed cuts rates in September

The Fed may soon cut interest rates. Here’s why you should take control of your credit card debt now.

Bust alert! 13 players to avoid early in your drafts | Yahoo Fantasy Forecast

It's officially 'Convictions Week' on the pod as we provide our most definitive takes of draft season. Matt Harmon is joined by Yahoo Fantasy's resident hater Dan Titus to identify potential busts in each round of your draft. While both make it clear they don't think the guys they pick will have awful seasons, they do offer reasons why each of their picks won't meet the expectations of their current ADP. The two also end the show by answering your questions in the fantasy mailbag.

Wake up! 10 deep sleepers to target in your drafts | Yahoo Fantasy Forecast

'Convictions Week' rolls on with Andy Behrens back in the host chair and Sal Vetri joining him to identify the 10 deep sleepers you need to target later in your drafts. Behrens and Vetri pick players from each skill position that are set up to severely out-kick their ADP. The two also discuss players to target for Yahoo's million dollar sweepstakes with NBC. They end the show answering your pressing draft questions in the fantasy mailbag.

These cars have the shortest driving range after a low fuel warning

MarketWatch's recent research showed that while some vehicles offer a decent amount of driving range with a low fuel light on, others could leave you stranded.

Things you buy through our links may earn  Vox Media  a commission.

Tom Cruise Is a London Boy

Sometimes when God closes a door (Taylor Swift says “So long” ), She opens a window (Tom Cruise does the splits). Cruise is living that life in London, and for him that means break-dancing, doing the splits, and watching the British absolutely lose their crumpets. Cruise has lived in London since 2021 and has, in that time, been at the former queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the British Grand Prix, according to the Mercury News . And now he has attended the most British event of all: Posh Spice’s birthday party. Fortunately, he still has the American propensity to do the most. While at the party, Cruise began break-dancing and ended his routine by doing the splits, according to the Daily Mail . “People were absolutely dumbfounded,” a source mentioned. All we’ll say about that is that if there’s one thing the Mission: Impossible franchise could do to s ecure those Imax screens , it just might be a (gay?) club scene in which Cruise distracts the bad guys by jumping into the splits like a Drag Race contestant. Just an idea.

• victoria beckham
• so long london
• david beckham
• mission: complete

Most Viewed Stories

• The 15 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend
• Cinematrix No. 151: August 24, 2024
• Megalopolis Is a Work of Absolute Madness
• Osgood Perkins Unpacks All the Hidden Demon Appearances in Longlegs
• A Baby Bieber Has Been Born
• Evil Series-Finale Recap: Last Rites

Editor’s Picks

Most Popular

What is your email.

This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us.

Sign In To Continue Reading

Create your free account.

Password must be at least 8 characters and contain:

• Lower case letters (a-z)
• Upper case letters (A-Z)
• Numbers (0-9)
• Special Characters (!@#$%^&*)

As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York , which you can opt out of anytime.

The Wild Story Behind Tom Cruise's Olympics Stunt (And How It Took More Than A Year To Come Together)

A fter the Paris Olympics this year, the French city passed on the hosting duties to Los Angeles, California, which is set to hold the summer Olympics in 2028. It is tradition that the white Olympic flag is passed to the next host city, and they decided to carry this on in the most American way possible. The Closing Ceremony had Tom Cruise jump off the Stade du France into the stadium. He grabbed the flag and rode it onto his motorcycle, before the broadcast cut to a pre-taped video of the Mission: Impossible star bringing the flag to LA. Apparently, this stunt took over a year to plan, and a lot of moving parts had to come together to pull it off.

How The Incredible Closing Ceremony Stunt Came Together

Ben Winston was one of the producers for the Closing Ceremony for this year's Olympics, and he spoke about how his team made the incredible Tom Cruise stunt happen. He got the idea of an international travel video following the stunt after being inspired by one of Conan O’Brien’s unforgettable bits in the 2000s.

Apparently, they started speaking to Cruise about his involvement in the video and potential stunt about a year and a half ago. He had established a relationship with the actor after working with him on several segments for The Late Late Show with James Corden, where Cruise made the talk show host participate in stunts . He explained pitching to Cruise, telling THR :

Yeah. Then, I pitched it to Tom. He was the first pitch I had. If he hadn’t gone with it, I can’t really think who else would work. Who else is synonymous with action and an American hero? When we got Tom, I felt like the whole thing would work — so we went from there. But it’s been over a year and a half to achieve that.

That amount of time is wild to think about.

How The Big Stunt Changed Over A Year And A Half

When Winston first pitched the idea, he only pitched the motorcycle travel part of the stunt, therefore the Oscar nominee would only participate in the pre-taped aspect in a more controlled environment.

They would instead have a double jump into Paris to take the actual flag. Of course, in true Cruise fashion, he wanted to do the entire thing, and didn’t want a stunt double wearing a balaclava to have all the fun on the world stage. Winston revealed what feedback Tom specifically gave.

Tom’s feedback was, 'I love the idea, only we’re not doing a stuntman in a balaclava. I’m going to be the one who jumps off the roof, and I’m going to be the one who drives through Paris.' Obviously, that’s better for me. The only reason I pitched the balaclava is because it was the difference between a one-day shoot and a four-day shoot plus rehearsals.

They tried to keep this whole thing hush-hush while they were filming, saying that they tried to disguise their shoot as a Mission: Impossible movie, and used a plain white flag to safeguard the most important aspect of the shoot. Unfortunately, people caught wind of the Cruise Olympics rumors and soon everyone knew it would be the actor bringing the Olympics flag to Los Angeles, particularly once Cruise actually started climbing the Hollywood sign for what would be the Olympics video moment fans watched again and again.

Regardless, even if people knew about it, it certainly didn’t take away from how mystifying the stunt was, and how the Top Gun: Maverick star will truly go the extra mile for an audience.

At the end of the day, the year-and-a-half-long planning process and the extended shoot were all worth it. This moment will go down as one of the best Olympic flag handoffs ever. It was the perfect way to celebrate America hosting the international sporting event, as well as the tremendous victories the United States had in Paris this year.

I can’t imagine anything more American than a quintessential movie star riding a motorcycle onto a plane and climbing an iconic landmark. Kudos to Ben Winston and the producing team, as well as Tom Cruise for making this happen.

When Cruise isn’t representing America in Paris, he actually is filming the next Mission: Impossible movie , which is currently scheduled to be released in May on the 2025 movie release schedule . You can see the Oscar nominee doing other never-before-seen stunts in previous Mission: Impossible movies, which are currently all streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.

Tom Cruise leaps from Stade de France, assists in LA '28 Hollywood logo reveal

Tom Cruise began the shift from the 2024 Paris Games to the 2028 Los Angeles Games by leaping off the Stade de France in the closing ceremony on Sunday.

Cruise appeared at the top of the stadium after singer H.E.R. performed the American national anthem. The actor looked at the camera, then jumped off with a harness attached to his body and descended slowly to the ground.

He walked through Olympic athletes while giving out high-fives and taking selfies. He eventually made his way to the stage to take the Olympic flag from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Simone Biles.

Cruise then hopped on a motorbike reminiscent of the ones in "Top Gun: Maverick," which he starred in, and rode out of the Stade de France and into the streets of Paris, going toward a plane in a previously filmed sequence.

IT'S A BIRD. IT'S A PLANE. IT'S TOM CRUISE! 🤯 #ParisOlympics | #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/5v4j8pOwBF — NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 11, 2024

Thank you, Paris! Now off to LA. pic.twitter.com/MxlAb0hZbT — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) August 11, 2024

Of course, Cruise then parachuted out of the aircraft, this time landing in Los Angeles. He made his way up to the Hollywood sign, attaching the Olympic rings to it, and handed the Olympic flag off to cyclist Kate Courtney.

The handover ceremony continued with performances in Los Angeles from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

The 32 greatest Tom Cruise movies

The Mission: Impossible and Top Gun star has had us all at "Hello"

For decades, the name Tom Cruise has been synonymous with Hollywood movies. With so many classic movies under his belt, it's not hard to understand why.

Though his career has had its share of controversies, Cruise has maintained high altitude as one of Hollywood's most bankable movie stars in its history. Raised in near poverty under an abusive father, Cruise took up acting in high school after he was cut from the varsity football team when he was caught drinking beers before a game. 

After starring in his school's production of Guys and Dolls, Cruise caught the acting bug and moved away - first to New York, then to Los Angeles - to pursue a career in TV and movies. He made his movie debut in the 1981 movie Endless Love, and then had a supporting role in the film Taps. After several more small parts, he starred in Paul Brickman's Risky Business, where Cruise won over audiences everywhere with a killer lip-sync routine.

With numerous accolades and just as many controversies to his name, Tom Cruise is the definition of a Hollywood superstar whose presence alone can move mountains. With a career still going strong, we rank the 32 greatest Tom Cruise movies of all time. 

32. Oblivion (2013)

Well into his career as a top-tier Hollywood star, Tom Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski aimed to prove that the old ways of original, star-driven spectacles could still draw audiences without attaching a known superhero IP. Enter: Oblivion. Based on Kosinski's own unpublished graphic novel (which Kosinski said was always just a pitch for a movie anyway), Tom Cruise stars as a maintenance technician in the far future who, on the brink of retirement, is drawn into the mystery of both himself and the true nature of the war that destroyed Earth. Oblivion was a modest success at the box office and drew mixed reviews from critics. But it has aged very well, being an expansive original sci-fi epic with breathtaking imagination. 

31. Knight and Day (2010)

From director James Mangold comes Knight and Day, a satirical action romp that set fire to romantic comedy conventions. Tom Cruise leads the movie as a spy on the run from the CIA who bumps into, and then whisks away, a beautiful vintage car dealer played by Cameron Diaz. (The two previously starred together in Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky.) Although Knight and Day was just the first of many Hollywood rom-coms that felt obligated to double as action movies to attract a wide demographic, the movie succeeds with legitimately impressive set-pieces that violently whip Tom Cruise across the screen.

30. Tropic Thunder (2008)

Tom Cruise being unrecognizable in heavy makeup and prosthetics, all while playing a sleazy Scott Rudin-type caricature, is like only the fourth or fifth funniest thing about the R-rated comic blockbuster Tropic Thunder. In Ben Stiller's napalm-coated parody of Vietnam War films and the pampered lives of Hollywood stars, Cruise features in a minor supporting role as Les Grossman, a truly gross man and ruthless studio executive. Cruise's role was meant to be a secret, though leaked paparazzi photos and internet blogs ruined that fun by spoiling it ahead of time. Nevertheless, Cruise's sharp and venomous performance was and still is hailed by critics and audiences as one of Cruise's all-time best movie roles.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

29. The Firm (1993)

In 1993, two movies were based on John Grisham novels. The first was The Pelican Brief, a legal thriller starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. The other was Sydney Pollack's The Firm, with Tom Cruise leading in an adaptation of Grisham's 1991 novel. Cruises plays a young, talented Harvard Law grad who is recruited by a prestigious Tennessee firm who specialize in mob clients. Soon enough, Cruise finds himself in the crossfire between the FBI, the mob, and his own colleagues ready to sell him out. Although The Firm is one of Cruise's more overlooked movies in his career, it makes a solid case for being one of his greatest.

28. Valkyrie (2008)

In this solid World War II thriller from Bryan Singer, Tom Cruise leads as one of several German Nazi Army officers, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who seek to enact Operation Valkyrie – a national emergency plan to take control away from Adolf Hitler. In preparation for the role, Cruise spent months devouring history books and even interviewing members of the real von Stauffenberg's family. Because von Stauffenberg had several physical disabilities including a lost left eye and a missing right hand, Cruise spent a lot of time affecting those ailments while doing things like dressing himself and writing letters. The results speak for itself, with Cruise dependably engaging as a soldier loyal to his country and not a political ideal.

27. Days of Thunder (1990)

While Tony Scott's Days of Thunder was criticized during its 1990 release as a derivative copycat of his own box office smash Top Gun, Days of Thunder still burns rubber like few movies can. Set in the world of professional NASCAR, Tom Cruise plays hotshot rookie driver Cole who clashes with veteran driver Rowdy (Michael Rooker). Eventually these rivals become brothers on the track, with Cole driving Rowdy's car against their common enemy, a cheat named Russ Wheeler (Cary Elwes). Even if Cruise is basically playing Maverick again, Days of Thunder easily satisfies anyone with a need for speed.

26. Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

After Hong Kong director John Woo made his way to Hollywood in the '90s, the legendary action filmmaker collaborated with Tom Cruise on the first sequel to Cruise's 1995 mega-hit Mission: Impossible. The follow-up sees Cruise return as daredevil agent Ethan Hunt, who teams up with a beautiful thief (Thandiwe Newton) to secure a modified disease held by her ex-lover and rogue IMF agent (Dougray Scott). While a box office hit, Mission: Impossible 2 remains divisive among M:I aficionados, being one of the more elaborately designed and even melodramatic entries in the otherwise stone cold sober series. 

25. Legend (1985)

Mystifying but magnetic in equal measure, Legend is basically a dark Disney fairy tale through the eyes of master filmmaker Ridley Scott. Tom Cruise stars as Jack, a free-spirited forest dweller who must stop the demonic Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry in the illest devil makeup you've ever seen) from plunging a fantastical world into eternal night. Although Legend was praised for its gorgeous production design, critics complained the movie was nothing more than a pretty storybook in motion. Honestly they are kind of right, as Legend severely lacks forward movement and meaty action. Still, the movie is drop-dead gorgeous to look at, with a score by Tangerine Dream that feels otherworldly. 

24. Jack Reacher (2012)

While it's true that Lee Child's literary antihero Jack Reacher is a walking, talking slab of meat and that Tom Cruise is decidedly not that, Cruise still kills it in the role. In the first Jack Reacher movie from director Christopher McQuarrie, which adapts the ninth Reacher novel One Shot from 2005, Cruise plays the title hero, an ex-U.S. Army Major and military police investigator who is mysteriously named by a mass shooting suspect in custody. Never mind that Cruise is several shirt sizes smaller than what Reacher is supposed to be. His movie has all the muscle and swagger to make up for it. 

23. Magnolia (1999)

In Paul Thomas Anderson's celebrated (and quite long) ensemble drama inspired by the music of Aimee Mann, a number of interrelated characters look for happiness in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. While the movie features a number of actors like Jeremy Blackman, Philip Seymour Hoffmann, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, and John C. Reilly, a standout among them all is Tom Cruise, a misogynist motivational speaker who lectures rooms full of men how to pick up women. While Cruise's character Frank lacks humanity on paper, Cruise's performance imbues rare pathos into the role that you might find yourself pitying him instead of spitting at him. The Oscars seemingly agreed and nominated Cruise for Best Supporting Actor at the 72nd Academy Awards. In a 2015 interview on Marc Maron's WTF Podcast, Anderson revealed that the inspiration for Cruise's role was pickup artist Ross Jeffries.

22. Risky Business (1983)

You only need a pair of white socks, a white button-up shirt, and Ray-Bans to dress as one of Tom Cruise's most memorable movie characters for Halloween. In 1983, a young Tom Cruise became a movie star overnight with the release of Paul Brickman's Risky Business, which is about an overachieving high school senior who parties up with a sex worker while his parents are on vacation. Often compared to The Graduate in its timeless portrayal of promising youth indulging in self-destructive vices, Risky Business launched Tom Cruise to Hollywood stardom, and for good reason. He's simply sensational, an instant star in the making who makes it impossible to hate him while he's kicking his feet up to some old time rock 'n roll.

21. Minority Report (2002)

In Steven Spielberg's blockbuster adaptation of Philip K. Dick's sci-fi novella from 1956, Tom Cruise plays a psychic cop in the future year of 2054. While his department of "Precrime" use the power of foreknowledge to apprehend criminals before they actually commit a crime, Cruise's John Anderton winds up being accused of a crime yet to happen and races to prove his innocence. A dizzying mix of crime noir, speculative science fiction, and whodunit mysteries, Minority Report entertains as a strange hybrid of Total Recall and The Fugitive, made sublime simply because of a master like Spielberg present on directing duties. Eerily and quite fittingly, a lot of the movie's speculative future technology like multi-touch interfaces, eye scanners, and autonomous cars have come to fruition in our real world.

20. Mission: Impossible 3 (2006)

Before J.J. Abrams took on both Star Trek and Star Wars, he made his directing debut with the third Mission: Impossible installment. Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, now retired from the IMF, who is forced back into action to hunt down a sinister arms dealer played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. While Mission: Impossible 3 was a hit when it opened in 2006 and considered by many much better than John Woo's previous film, Mission: Impossible 3 struggles to stand out in the shadow of other sequels like Ghost Protocol and Fallout. Still, M:I 3 is solid popcorn fare with Cruise doing what he does best.

19. The Last Samurai (2003)

Despite its awkward optics of Tom Cruise in samurai armor, The Last Samurai is a majestic period drama that teeters between prestige war epic and pulpy action movie. (When a film stages Tom Cruise in a fist fight with ninjas, you know you're dealing with something that's hard to pin down.) Directed by Edward Zwick and following in the tradition of stories like Dances With Wolves, The Last Samurai sees Cruise play an American captain who bears witness to the last generation of samurai amid the Meiji Restoration of 19th century Japan. An elaborate metaphor about modernization and adaptation, The Last Samurai is one of Cruise's most dad-core movies of his career, a high-grossing blockbuster that also earned several Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, including a Golden Globe Best Actor nomination for Cruise.

18. Vanilla Sky (2001)

In Cameron Crowe's sci-fi psychological drama Vanilla Sky, itself a remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 movie Open Your Eyes, Tom Cruise stars as the playboy owner of a major publishing company in New York City who becomes disfigured in a vehicular crash caused by an obsessive lover (Cameron Diaz). In the aftermath, Cruise becomes smitten by a beautiful woman (played by Penélope Cruz) as his sense of reality starts to fracture. With a memorable plot twist and ambiguous ending, Vanilla Sky blew moviegoers away to become a massive box office hit despite being unpopular with most critics. In the years since its 2001 release, Vanilla Sky has become a must-see cult movie.

17. A Few Good Men (1992)

You can't handle the truth, but Tom Cruise can. In Rob Reiner's acclaimed film version of Aaron Sorkin's 1989 play, Cruise stars alongside other acting heavyweights like Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Kiefer Sutherland. Cruise plays a Navy lawyer who must defend two Marines accused of killing another soldier. Memorably explosive and gripping with nary a single bullet fired, A Few Good Men culminates in an iconic courtroom confrontation that reveals the difference between following orders and fighting for justice.

16. The Color of Money (1986)

You can almost feel Paul Newman hand the torch of Hollywood heartthrob to Tom Cruise in Martin Scorsese's smoky and cool 1986 picture The Color of Money. A sequel to The Hustler, Newman returns as Fast Eddie Felson, who partners with an up-and-coming pool shark (Cruise), and his tough girlfriend (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) as they play their way to an Atlantic City tournament. While The Color of Money was compared unfavorably to The Hustler at the time of its release, it has earned greater appreciation as yet another showcase of Scorsese's talent - not to mention longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker's - and the pairing of Newman and Cruise representing the changing of the guard between two generations of Hollywood.

15. Rain Man (1988)

In this acclaimed drama directed by Barry Levinson, Tom Cruise plays a selfish and arrogant Lamborghini dealer who learns, after his estranged father's death, that he has a grown autistic savant brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman, in an Oscar-winning performance). As the two embark on a cross-country roadtrip in their late father's 1949 Buick convertible, they develop a bond long past due. Rain Man was a massive critical and commercial success in 1988, and it's a movie that still holds power to thaw even the most cynical hearts.

14. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

In 2014, Doug Liman helmed a cult classic sci-fi that paired Tom Cruise with Emily Blunt, making a real movie star out of her in the process. Essentially Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers, Tom Cruise plays a public affairs military officer, Major William Cage, who is forced to the frontlines of humanity's war against a violent alien race. Somehow, Cage ends up in a time loop, forced to repeat his first day on the battlefield until he teams up with a war hero (Blunt) to break the cycle. Despite mismanaged marketing including a clunky title, Edge of Tomorrow impressed a lot of critics and performed well enough at the box office. But its high production budget meant it wasn't the heroic success it could have been. In the end, Edge of Tomorrow maintains appealing status as a muscular, one-and-done sci-fi.

13. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

With J.J. Abrams lost in the final frontier with 2009's Star Trek, the job of directing the next Mission: Impossible was accepted by Brad Bird. Previously a director of animated family movies like The Iron Giant and The Incredibles, Bird revived the Mission: Impossible series with a clear eye and sharp sense of spectacle, helming an installment that saw Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt climb the Burj Khalifa and ingeniously sneak past guards at the Kremlin. The fourth Mission: Impossible was no reboot, but it was without question a rebirth that kicked off a new era for the aging franchise.

12. War of the Worlds (2005)

In a 2005 interview with Empire magazine, Steven Spielberg said that for the first time in his movie career, he was making "an alien picture where there is no love and no attempt at communication." We don't dare correct Spielberg, but he's wrong about one thing. In his magnificent and harrowing remake of War of the Worlds, Tom Cruise plays an estranged father who tries to get his children to safely reunite with their mom (and his ex-wife) in Boston. Only love can make a father go to the extreme lengths that Cruise does in War of the Worlds, which is still one of the darkest and finely crafted movies ever by Spielberg.

11. Mission: Impossible (1995)

The original movie that lit the fuse to one of the most dominant movie franchises in Hollywood history is still a mighty sight to behold. In the first Mission: Impossible, directed by Brian De Palma, Tom Cruise makes his first appearance as Ethan Hunt, an agent for the Impossible Missions Force who tries to figure out who framed him for the murder of his team. Being an adaptation of the popular 1960s television show (which is where the franchise's iconic theme song came from), the '95 Mission: Impossible established the formula and standards for all of its subsequent sequels. Throughout the 1990s, you couldn't throw a rock without seeing a parody of the memorable "wire scene." It can still make audiences sweat even now.

10. Interview with the Vampire (1994)

In one of a handful of movies where Tom Cruise plays the antagonist, Neil Jordan's 1994 film version of Anne Rice's 1976 novel features Cruise as the sinful vampire Lestat, who bites and transforms a Louisiana plantation owner named Louis (Brad Pitt). Together the two spend hundreds of years drinking human blood, eventually adding a little girl named Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) to their circle. Moody and atmospheric, Interview with the Vampire is a mid-'90s gem that feels most effective around autumn time. While the picture mostly belongs to Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise is unavoidably handsome and haunting as a seductive vamp who can really sink his teeth into all who look at him.

9. Collateral (2004)

With an off-putting blonde dye job and a steel gray suit that never wrinkles, Tom Cruise inhabits the part of a disturbing and charismatic hitman who hires an unsuspecting L.A. cab driver (Jamie Foxx) to take him up and down the City of Angels for one violent night. Arresting and unstoppable, Collateral is a fine demonstration for both Michael Mann as a filmmaker and Cruise as an actor, the latter keenly locked in as a man so skilled at his deadly job that he seems inhuman. Collateral is simply one of the coolest movies ever made. It makes a complimentary double-bill with Mann's own Miami Vice, both being emotionally-charged neo-noir action thrillers whose digital camera lenses harness an abstract uncertainty of the new millennium.

8. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

It may be the lowest grossing entry in the Mission: Impossible series, but that doesn't mean Dead Reckoning doesn't soar. While being so late into his career, Tom Cruise proves he can still hang - or ride off cliffs - with the best of the industry in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, the first of a two-part installment. With a plot centered around Cruise's Ethan Hunt and the IMF fighting against a rogue artificial intelligence, Mission: Impossible existentially wrestles with the precipice of Hollywood cinema's imminent evolution (or extinction) as an artform. With a diverse cast of exceptionally beautiful people, including Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Pom Klementieff, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One feels like an old school action epic in spirit that executes with cutting-edge style.

7. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

In Stanley Kubrick's last movie as a director and released posthumously after his heart attack, Tom Cruise plays an affluent New York doctor who infiltrates a masked orgy hosted by a dark and secret society. And it's all because his wife, played by Cruise's then-real spouse Nicole Kidman, admitted she almost cheated on him. With loads of sexually explicit imagery that really tested the boundaries of the MPAA's R rating, Eyes Wide Shut was initially divisive among critics and audiences before earning retrospective praise as a sterling classic of the 1990s. Its reputation still precedes it, being one of the most provoking and captivating movies Kubrick ever made.

6. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

The second installment of movies that illustrate Oliver Stone's artistic interest in the Vietnam War (of which Stone himself is a veteran), Born on the Fourth of July sees Tom Cruise play an eager volunteer for the U.S. Marine Corps who changes his tune during his deployment and physical paralysis in Vietnam; returning home, he becomes a vocal anti-war activist. Revered by critics and a smash hit at the box office when it opened in December 1989, Born on the Fourth of July earned Cruise's first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Stone was initially dismissive of Cruise, finding his appearance in Top Gun "fascist." In an L.A. Times interview from 1989, Stone said he changed his mind when he thought Cruise's "golden boy" image would be interesting to see shatter. Said Stone: "I thought it was an interesting proposition: What would happen to Tom Cruise if something goes wrong?"

5. Jerry Maguire (1996)

When Tom Cruise yelled "Show me the money," audiences responded with a massive $273 million box office gross for a modest movie about a sports agent in love. In one of Cruise's all-time greatest movies, the star plays a hotshot sports agent whose crisis of conscience leads him to swing for the fences with just himself, a loyal accountant and single mother (Renée Zellweger), and a middling player for the Arizona Cardinals (Cuba Gooding Jr.). A warm time capsule of mid-'90s era professional sports and Hollywood romances, Jerry Maguire made us all learn how to say: "You complete me." Honestly, it had us at hello.

4. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

When movie theaters were struggling in the era of COVID-19, Tom Cruise flew to the skies and saved the industry for all. With $1.4 billion gross in ticket sales, Cruise's return to the cockpits made sonic booms to keep theaters open, all while delivering an effective and emotional story about legacy and personal limits. Set over 35 years after the original Top Gun, Cruise's "Maverick" is assigned to oversee Top Gun at NAS North Island, where he must train a new generation of students for a very dangerous mission. As close to dying and seeing heaven as cinema can get, Top Gun: Maverick takes all our breaths away.

3. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

When Tom Cruise hung on to the side of a moving airplane in the first 10 minutes of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, we knew instantly this is a sequel that was built different. In the first of several M:I films helmed by Christopher McQuarrie, the IMF reunite after their disbandment to fight The Syndicate, an international black ops group made up of rogue agents from around the world. Not only is Rogue Nation just a fist-pumping great time, it also introduces franchise favorite Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, a disavowed MI6 agent working undercover. 2015 was a crowded year for tent poles, with blockbusters like Mad Max: Fury Road, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jurassic World, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens all vying for attention. Rogue Nation didn't sell the most tickets, but there's no arguing it wasn't one of the year's best.

2. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) 

Man, even just its trailer can get the adrenaline going. In Christopher McQuarrie's second Mission: Impossible film, Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt and the IMF race against time after a job in Berlin to obtain dangerous plutonium cores away from terrorists goes belly-up. Forced to pay for saving his team over saving the world, Ethan must stop a terrorist mastermind, played by Sean Harris, from blowing everything up. Among the people standing in his way: August Walker (Henry Cavill), a muscular CIA assassin. Featuring some of the most intricately designed set-pieces in the entire franchise, Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the platonic ideal for all M:I sequels by doing one thing and one thing well: Letting Tom Cruise run wild.

1. Top Gun (1986)

Sometimes, a movie comes along and changes everything. Top Gun, directed by Tony Scott and starring Tom Cruise, isn't just a perfect summer movie only Hollywood could deliver; it's a movie that understands what moves people, what draws them into dark rooms and casts spells to make them feel like they can fly. Set at the U.S. Navy's Fighter Weapons School - aka, Top Gun - in San Diego, the movie stars Cruise as a young pilot who sets out to prove himself among the best of the best. While critics in 1986 didn't heap universal and unanimous praise on Top Gun, the movie soared to become one of the biggest commercial hits of all time. Mirroring its own story, Top Gun permanently cemented Tom Cruise's status as a Hollywood titan. At the time Cruise was a rising talent, but through Top Gun, he brandished a killer smile and scorching charisma that made him find his place among the stars. 

Eric Francisco is a freelance entertainment journalist and graduate of Rutgers University. If a movie or TV show has superheroes, spaceships, kung fu, or John Cena, he's your guy to make sense of it. A former senior writer at Inverse, his byline has also appeared at Vulture, The Daily Beast, Observer, and The Mary Sue. You can find him screaming at Devils hockey games or dodging enemy fire in Call of Duty: Warzone.

Alien: Romulus’ success sets the stage for a return to Alien vs. Predator

Zoë Kravitz's unflinching darkly funny Blink Twice is the most affecting horror movie of the year

Stellar Blade and Phantom Blade Zero studios shout out Black Myth Wukong's global success as it helps to "unite diverse cultures"

Most Popular

• 2 Black Myth: Wukong review – "A great action RPG that feels like God of War for Chinese mythology"
• 3 Dustborn review: "Almost lives up to its promise as an epic, political road trip saga"
• 4 Wyrmspan review: "Ramps up the complexity, but not the interactivity"
• 5 Stormgate review: "A little messy and a little too complicated"
• 2 The Outrun review: "Saoirse Ronan is exceptional in this affecting drama about addiction and hope"
• 3 The Union review: "Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg elevate a nonsensical Netflix action caper"
• 4 Alien: Romulus review – "Full of shocks and suspense but sometimes over-burdened"
• 5 Jackpot! review: "John Cena is a joy to watch but his latest isn't quite on the money"
• 2 The Umbrella Academy season 4 review: "Like any good family reunion, most frustrations can be waved away, at least in the moment"
• 3 House of the Dragon season 2 episode 8 review: "Excellent sequences can’t save a finale that’s all set-up and no conclusion"
• 4 Batman: Caped Crusader review: "A reinvention of a classic"
• 5 House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7 review: "Brutal, bloody spectacle and a chills-inducing ending, but a victim of the season's odd pacing"

Find anything you save across the site in your account

Thanks to Hiroyuki Sanada, brown suit sales are about to go boom

Hiroyuki Sanada is a living legend. While the Shōgun star began his career around the mid ‘60s, he was often cast in Japanese and Hong Kong films as a very bad dude who did some very bad things. You know the sort.

But, in recent years, the actor has really started cooking on gas: Avengers , Bullet Train , John Wick , Lost , Westworld . But even though he's taking over Hollywood one big blockbuster at a time, he rarely ever makes talk show appearances. So when he does, everyone's watching.

Yesterday, Sanada headed to the Good Morning America studios to talk about all-things Shōgun . He wore a chocolatey brown John Varvatos suit that was fitted with very normal lapels. The construction was left unlined, making the blazer a lot cooler and a lot more lightweight – ideal, considering it's about 30°C in New York City right now and there's a lot of concrete and a lot of unknown steam coming from the city's bowels (what even is that, anyway?)

The Emmy nominee then threw on a black shirt , and jumped into some matching brown trousers and a pair of perfectly-polished Oxfords . He then slicked his hair right back to form his classic ponytail.

When most guys pick a suit, they go for black or grey or navy. It's the safe option, and one that you can wear again and again no matter if you're heading to an interview or even someone's wedding . But if you really want to switch things up a bit, take a leaf out of Sanada's book and try brown instead. It's definitely a little more out-there compared to “normal” tailoring, but sometimes it pays to be experimental with your menswear.

Cast your mind back to this year's Wimbledon when Tom Cruise pulled up in a purple suit . It's probably not the first colour that you'd go for when attending the most prestigious tennis tournament in history, but TC stood out in amongst all the beiges and blues.

So, be like Hiroyuki Sanada! Get yourself a brown suit! Life's short! Have some fun!

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's Son Connor Cruise Shares Rare Glimpse into His Private World

Tom cruise and ex-wife nicole kidman's son connor cruise, who largely keeps out of the spotlight, shared a couple of rare photos of himself with friends on social media..

Connor Cruise is sharing a rare look into his life away from the spotlight.

The son of  Tom Cruise and ex-wife  Nicole Kidman posted a couple of pics of himself with friends on his Instagram Stories Aug. 17 to wish them a happy birthday.

In one photo, Connor appears inside a boat with several pals and an enormous fish they'd caught. In another pic, the 29-year-old stands with another friend, who is holding a French bulldog, by a stone balcony overlooking the ocean.

Connor, a DJ who also starred in the 2012 reboot of Red Dawn , and Tom and Nicole's eldest daughter, artist Bella Kidman Cruise , 31, have both largely kept out of the spotlight despite growing up with famous parents, and rarely post on social media.

In June 2023, Connor shared pics of himself with friends at country clubs in Florida, where he lives.

Connor is occasionally seen at fashion events and has in recent years been photographed a few times out with his dad , including in June, when they were seen arriving in London by helicopter.

Last summer, Connor made another rare appearance in New York City with Tom  and the actor's sister Lee Ann Mapother . That day, the star attended the premiere of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One on his own.

Connor and Bella are the only children Tom and Nicole, who  divorced in 2001 , share together. The War of the Worlds actor and ex-wife  Katie Holmes are parents of daughter Suri Cruise , 18, who recently graduated from high school and also keeps away from the spotlight.

Nicole and husband  Keith Urban  are parents to daughters  Sunday Rose Kidman Urban , 16, and Faith Margaret Kidman Urban , 13, and have over the past few months begun to bring them to public events , including the recent 2024 Paris Olympics .

Look back at pics of Connor and Bella over the years...

Fishing Trip

Connor shared this pic of himself and his friends with a huge catch in August 2024.

Say Cheese!

Tom, Bella and Connor posed with former NFL player Derrick Brooks when they saw the Tampa Bay Lightning face off against the Florida Panthers.

Connor was seen golfing with friends in June 2023.

Connor went golfing in April 2023.

Connor appeared on a fishing trip in 2019.

Connor attended the Diesel Womenswear Fall/Winter 2023/24 fashion show during Milan Fashion Week in February 2023.

Bella appeared in a 2021 selfie.

Connor shared this childhood pic of himself with Bella on Instagram in 2019, writing, "Day 1 homies."

"Throwback time," Connor captioned this childhood pic of himself and Bella, which he shared on Instagram in 2016.

Connor appeared on a fishing trip in 2018.

Connor posed for pics at The Pool After Dark at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City New Jersey in February 2016.

Connor celebrated his 21st birthday at The Pool After Dark at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City New Jersey in February 2016.

Connor DJed in the booth at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco in January 2016.

Tom and Connor watched the Maryland Terrapins play against the Connecticut Huskies during the NCAA Women's Final Four Semifinal at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida in April 2015.

Connor attended the Emirates marquee during Stakes Day at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia in November 2013.

Tom and Connor were seen sharing a sweet moment at Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in October 2013.

The siblings appeared at Connor's 17th birthday party benefiting Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, at the Hyde lounge at Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles in January 2012.

Tom, Connor and Jeffrey Katzenberg attended an NBA game between the New Orleans Hornets and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles in March 2011.

Tom and Connor attended a game between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in June 2010.

Tom and Connor were seen at Game Two of the Western Conference Finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2010 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles in May 2010.

Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

UK Edition Change

• UK Politics
• News Videos
• Paris 2024 Olympics
• Rugby Union
• Sport Videos
• John Rentoul
• Mary Dejevsky
• Andrew Grice
• Sean O’Grady
• Photography
• Theatre & Dance
• Culture Videos
• Fitness & Wellbeing
• Food & Drink
• Health & Families
• Royal Family
• Electric Vehicles
• Car Insurance Deals
• Lifestyle Videos
• UK Hotel Reviews
• News & Advice
• Simon Calder
• Australia & New Zealand
• South America
• C. America & Caribbean
• Middle East
• Politics Explained
• News Analysis
• Today’s Edition
• Home & Garden
• Broadband deals
• Fashion & Beauty
• Travel & Outdoors
• Sports & Fitness
• Climate 100
• Sustainable Living
• Climate Videos
• Solar Panels
• Behind The Headlines
• On The Ground
• Decomplicated
• You Ask The Questions
• Binge Watch
• Travel Smart
• Watch on your TV
• Crosswords & Puzzles
• Most Commented
• Newsletters
• Ask Me Anything
• Virtual Events
• Wine Offers
• Betting Sites

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in

Olympics closing ceremony LIVE: Tom Cruise, Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg star in Paris 2024 finale

Billie eilish, snoop dogg and red hot chili peppers made appearances in the paris 2024 finale and the road to los angeles 2028 begins, article bookmarked.

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

The Olympics concluded on a star-studded night at the Stade de France as Paris 2024 delivered a memorable closing ceremony .

But the spirit of the Games returned over the last two weeks and Paris provided an evening that included Tom Cruise, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Red Hot Chili Peppers as the baton was passed onto Los Angeles 2028.

Team USA topped the medal table, while France enjoyed its best return in terms of medals in 124 years, behind Leon Marchand in the pool.

As for Team GB, there were more medals on the final day to conclude a successful Games, securing one more medal overall but eight fewer gold medals than at Tokyo 2020.

Relive all the action from Sunday night’s closing ceremony below:

Team GB swap medals for moments as Paris leaves new Olympics blueprint

“All the travel books will tell you to avoid Paris in August - it’s too crowded, too hot and everything is shut.

“Well, perhaps, these last two weeks have taught us to forget all those stereotypes about the French, with their smiling waiters, reliable public transport and cooling rain.

“And as for their great summer tradition of strikes and riots, unfortunately that moved a little closer to home.

“Whisper it quietly but Paris saw London 2012 and raised it.”

Final reflections on Paris 2024, by James Toney.

Paris 2024 delivered despite encountering problems, writes James Toney, with the handover to Los Angeles 2028 complete

Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony

C’est fin .

A wonderful rendition of My Way from Yseult, followed by a final, spectacular firework display, around the roof of the Parc des Princes, brings the night to a close.

Well done, Paris. You did do the Olympics your way, and it was brilliant.

That was perfect from LA. They got just who they wanted to kick start the party ahead of 2028!

Now we’re back to Paris, as Leon Marchand finally completes his long walk with the Olympic flame.

He is cradling the lantern so carefully!

Thomas Bach declares the Olympics of Paris 2024 are closed... and Marchand blows out the flame to symbolise it!

That was beautiful.

Over to 2028: Paris, you have been superb, Los Angeles you have a big act to follow.

Time for the MVP of Paris 2024. He’s been everywhere in Paris, but now he’s back home!

Snoop Dogg takes to the stage in Long Beach, with Drop it Like It’s Hot.

AND HE’S GOT DR DRE ON STAGE TOO!

Two West Coast legends, reuniting once again for The Next Episode.

Compton, Long Beach, Inglewood, South Central out to the Westside, It’s California Love.

Over to their left, by a beach hut, it’s Billie Eilish !

Eilish looks effortlessly cool in the LA heat, with a baseball cap and Ralph Lauren polo as she sings Birds of a Feather.

What a voice.

With the Olympic flag now delivered to Long Beach with help from Michael Johnson, we’re in LA now, bright blue sky, golden beach...

... and the Red Hot Chili Peppers!

The party has moved on from Paris to LA.

Ok this is getting wild now. Tom Cruise sets off through the streets, meeting a jumbo jet at a hanger.

The heist of the Olympic flag complete, he skydives over the Californian hills and into the north Los Angeles.

He covers the Hollywood sign with the Olympic rings!

TOM CRUISE IS ON THE ROOF TOM CRUISE IS ON THE ROOF

Top Gun launches himself into the Stade de France, what an entrance!

He is mobbed by athletes befroe leaping onto the stage, he shakes hands with Simone Biles, picks up the Olympic flag...

and then... and then... TAKES OFF ON A MOTORBIKE

Ok yeah it’s America time. A guitar-filled, power-ballad of the United States national anthem now fills Paris, as H.E.R. belts out the words.

She nails it! What a start.

Now, over to LA...

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

New to The Independent?

Or if you would prefer:

Hi {{indy.fullName}}

• My Independent Premium
• Account details
• Help centre

Alain Delon, Smoldering French Film Star, Dies at 88

The César-winning actor was an international favorite in the 1960s and ’70s, often sought after by the era’s great auteurs.

Alain Delon in California in 1964 during the filming of the movie “Once a Thief.” Credit... Wayne Miller/Magnum Photos

Supported by

• Share full article

By Anita Gates

• Aug. 18, 2024

Alain Delon, the intense and intensely handsome French actor who, working with some of Europe’s most revered 20th-century directors, played cold Corsican gangsters as convincingly as hot Italian lovers, died on Sunday. He was 88.

He died at his home in Douchy-Montcorbon, France, according to a statement his family gave to the French news service Agence France-Presse.

Hours later, President Emmanuel Macron honored him in a post on social media, saying, “Wistful, popular, secretive, he was more than a star: a French monument.”

During his heyday, the 1960s and ’70s, Mr. Delon was a first-tier international star, highly paid and often sought after by the era’s great auteurs.

When he burst on the scene in the gangster genre, as a sad-eyed, saintly young sibling in “Rocco and His Brothers” (1960), Luchino Visconti was in the director’s chair. Two years later, when Mr. Delon played a sexy stock trader, it was in Michelangelo Antonioni ’s “L’Eclisse” (“Eclipse”).

And “Le Samouraï” (1967), released in the United States as “The Godson,” and the jewelry-heist flick “Le Cercle Rouge” (1970), in which Mr. Delon was a sinister, mustachioed ex-con, were both directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, patron saint of the French New Wave.

Louis Malle directed Mr. Delon’s segment of “Histoires Extraordinaires” (1968), based on three Edgar Allan Poe stories. In Jacques Deray’s “La Piscine” (“The Swimming Pool”), from 1969, Mr. Delon’s character rather casually murdered a houseguest. For the same director, he made “Borsalino” (1970), co-starring with Jean-Paul Belmondo as a Marseilles crime boss. Decades later, he appeared in Jean-Luc Godard ’s “Nouvelle Vague” (1990).

Mr. Delon was well past the peak of his fame when he won the best actor César, France’s Oscar equivalent, for his performance as a middle-aged alcoholic grasping for happiness in the Bertrand Blier drama “Notre Histoire” (1984). That same year he played against type in a different way, as the sensual gay aristocrat Baron de Charlus in “Swann in Love,” drawn from Marcel Proust’s “Remembrance of Things Past.”

Of course, his type depended on the audience’s point of view, and that seemed to vary from continent to continent. In Japan, he was considered a Western star, because of films like “Red Sun” (1971) with Toshiro Mifune. In Europe, he made a career of brutal crime dramas — as a cop killer, a hit man, an assassin, a murderer on the run — but he was enthusiastically accepted in other genres. He starred in the 1976 French best picture winner, “Mr. Klein,” as a wartime German art dealer threatened by being mistaken for a Jewish man with the same name.

American critics, however, often saw Mr. Delon only as a pretty boy. Vincent Canby’s New York Times review of “Le Samouraï” described his character as a “beautiful misfit” and faintly praised Mr. Delon as “doing what he does best (looking impassive and slightly tarnished).”

Yet Mr. Delon’s handsomeness was one reason his appeal endured. His “beauty has long inspired paroxysms of rapture,” Manohla Dargis wrote in April, when the art house Film Forum in Manhattan presented a retrospective series of 10 Delon films.

“This is, after all,” she added, “a star whose looks over the years have been described as sensual though also insolent, cruel, self-absorbed and androgynous, a word that helps explain why his beauty — as with that of other men whose looks threaten tidy gender norms — makes some viewers uneasy even as it sends others into ecstasy.”

Still, in 1965, Mr. Delon told the British magazine Film and Filming that shooting intimate physical contact was “a bore for me — love scenes, kissing scenes.” His explanation at the time: “I prefer to fight.”

But in 1970, when a reporter for The Times followed up on that question, he added, “I prefer to make love at home.”

Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon was born on Nov. 8, 1935, in Sceaux, France, a wealthy suburb of Paris. His parents, Fabien and Édith (Arnold) Delon, divorced when he was 4.

Growing up, Alain had discipline problems and was expelled from several schools. The pattern seemed to continue when he joined the French Navy in his late teens. During his military service, which included the First Indochina War, he spent almost a year behind bars for various infractions, he said, before receiving a dishonorable discharge in 1956. One of his offenses, he told the talk show host Dick Cavett in 1970, was stealing a Jeep.

Then, in 1957, his life changed in a fairy-tale way. Having worked only at odd jobs (at one point he helped his stepfather, a butcher) and with no career plan, he happened to accompany a friend, the actress Brigitte Auber , to the Cannes Film Festival and was discovered there by a representative of the American film producer David O. Selznick. He was soon offered a contract — if he agreed to study English. But before he had a chance to pack his bags for Hollywood, he received another offer, from the veteran director Yves Allégret, and chose to stay in France.

Mr. Delon’s first credited screen role was that year in Mr. Allégret’s “When the Woman Meddles,” but it was his performance in René Clément’s 1960 film “Plein Soleil” (“Purple Noon”), based on the Patricia Highsmith novel and remade almost 40 years later in the United States as “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” that caught the public’s rapt attention.

He was Tom Ripley, a penniless but savvy young man hanging out with and taking revenge on rich, amoral friends. Mr. Delon’s onscreen image was arresting: sparkling blue eyes, mile-long lashes, sandy hair falling across his forehead, the pout, the slouch, the angelic demeanor that could shift instantly. He reminded many moviegoers of James Dean, the young American screen idol who had died five years before.

As Ms. Dargis wrote of Mr. Delon in April, his “stardom was sealed the moment Ripley peels off his shirt, baring his chest.”

Despite his rejection of Mr. Selznick, Mr. Delon was always forthright about his desire for Hollywood stardom, in addition to his international success. In 1965, he told The Los Angeles Times that he considered America “the top, the last step — it’s a kind of consecration.” But that dream never quite came true.

His first British film, “The Yellow Rolls-Royce” (1964), did well at the box office, but as just one face in that movie’s star-studded international ensemble cast, his Italian photographer-gigolo largely blended into the background. More than a half-dozen American films followed — including “Once a Thief” (1965), a crime drama in which he starred opposite Ann-Margret, and “Texas Across the River” (1966), a western spoof with Dean Martin — but none were hits.

For American moviegoers, Mr. Delon’s best-known film was probably “Il Gattopardo” (“The Leopard”), from 1963. Although it also starred Burt Lancaster, the film, based on a novel by the aristocrat Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, was an international production from Mr. Visconti.

Mr. Delon’s last effort was “The Concorde … Airport ’79” (1979). He played George Kennedy ’s debonair co-pilot in a perpetually endangered SST.

In 1968, Stevan Markovic, a former bodyguard of Mr. Delon’s, was murdered and found in a dump near the star’s suburban Paris home. The investigation brought forth a scandal about alleged sex parties that involved both Mr. Delon and high-ranking political officials. Mr. Delon was questioned by the police, and an associate was indicted but not convicted; the case was never solved.

He was at home with controversy , making public statements that suggested homophobia and racism. The Daily Beast referred to his “well-known misogyny and problematic politics” in 2019, when he was given an honorary Palme d’Or, the Cannes Film Festival’s highest prize.

Mr. Delon was inducted into the Légion d’Honneur in 1991. For many years he was also a successful businessman, licensing his name to products.

He was married only once — to Nathalie Barthélémy (whose name at the time of their marriage was Francine Canovas) — from 1964 to 1969, but he led the life of a dedicated serial monogamist. He had enduring romantic relationships with women, including Romy Schneider , his frequent co-star, from 1958 to 1963; Mireille Darc , an actress and model, from 1969 to 1982; and Rosalie van Breemen , a Dutch model, from 1987 to 2002.

Survivors include a son, Anthony, from his marriage, as well two children from his relationship with Ms. van Breemen: a son, Alain-Fabien, and a daughter, Anouchka.

The three had been locked in a bitter feud over medical treatment for Mr. Delon, whose health had declined since a stroke in 2019 .

Mr. Delon had denied paternity of a third son, Christian Aaron Päffgen — later known as Ari Boulogne — from a brief relationship with the pop star Nico . But Mr. Delon’s mother raised the boy as her grandson, giving him her surname from a remarriage. He died in 2023 .

Most of Mr. Delon’s screen appearances in the 2000s were on French television, and he announced his retirement from film more than once. After an eight-year absence from movies, he turned up in Roman robes and a laurel crown as Julius Caesar in the historical farce “Astérix aux Jeux Olympiques” (2008).

His last feature film was a 2012 Russian-language comedy drama, “S Novym Godom, Mamy!” (“Happy New Year, Mommies!”), in which he played himself. He did the same in 2019, in “Toute Ressemblance,” a comic drama.

More important, perhaps, was the restoration and rerelease in 2021 of “La Piscine,” booked for two weeks at Film Forum, where it was so popular that it ran all summer. And new critics praised the film’s “unapologetic decadence” and Mr. Delon’s “sexy sleekness” and “hint of menace.”

He was often criticized for rampant egotism but seemed able to see fame for the complicated illusion that it was.

“This insanity gets to the point where ‘Delon’ becomes a label,” he said in a 1991 television interview, reported in The Connexion, a Monégasque news site. “And you must keep being it, play it, remain and dwell in it, because the public wants it, because you want it a bit and because that’s the rule.”

Aurelien Breeden contributed reporting.

Advertisement