Tom Cruise Research Portfolio by O'Ryan, Joe

hsjoryan — 2023-11-07 15:29:02 UTC

Tom Cruise started his career in a few smaller roles in the early 1980s alongside more recognisable stars at the time, as well as other up and coming young stars.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-07 15:38:57 UTC

Here Cruise plays the minor role of 'Billy', a wild and eccentric boy who is friends with Mark Hewitt's 'David'.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-07 15:45:32 UTC

Another of Cruise's earlier supporting roles in which he plays the militant and stern 'Cadet Captain David Shawn'. This role in a military drama may have helped lead him to playing 'Maverick' in 'Top Gun' later in his career.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-07 16:01:41 UTC

Co-Starring as the crazy greaser 'Steve Randall', Cruise's role in 'The Outsiders' allowed him to become associated with the 'Brat Pack' era of the 1980s.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-08 15:58:35 UTC

In this interview for 'Taps', Cruise discusses his commitment to his role, and the work he put in to ensure his portrayal of the character was authentic and believable, which is a sentiment Cruise would carry throughout his career, especially prevalent in his later involvement in the 'Mission Impossible' franchise.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-08 20:37:43 UTC

Following these smaller roles, Cruise made his mark with Risky Business, a funny display of adolescence which perfectly aligned with Cruise at this time, as a closely aligned member of the 'Brat Pack', a group of young actors who conveyed immaturity and youthfulness in their performances.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-08 20:57:05 UTC

Tom Cruise's star power is evident from this interview as a Hollywood sweetheart, his youth allowing for him to represent him himself as humble and excitable, which allowed for this star image of a young man out of his comfort zone and in the spotlight to be created.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 12:56:21 UTC

This chapter supports the idea of Cruise's earlier characters being a vessel for adolescent relation, with his rebellious and and loss-of-virginity nature. Whilst Cruise in real life at this time was quite different, in a sense that he was more sensible than his on screen counterpart, his unsuspecting and green nature in the acting world certainly would identify with his characters.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 13:10:40 UTC

'TOP GUN' was the prize role of Cruise's early career, in a light hearted military action/adventure film. Playing the cheeky and arrogant 'Maverick', it would help Cruise to shed his 'Brat Pack' attributes, and advance to a greater stardom, with him becoming more of a sexual icon, with a greater public interest in his love life coming to fruition.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 13:13:49 UTC

This interview displays Cruise's early star image, with him becoming more mature. However, it does demonstrate how the media has strayed away from asking questions regarding his film making, and instead has began asking more personal questions regarding relationships.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 13:30:15 UTC

During the early 80's Cruise garnered the image of the 'All-American' ideologies of the rebellious and untameable bad boy due to his association with the 'Brat Pack', despite acting completely different in interviews. However, by the time he had finished 'Top Gun' and moved on to other films with Martin Scorsese, he was able to shake this star image, and instead was considered mature and polite, with his trajectory into Hollywood stardom seeming inevitable, as he looked to transcend the 'Brat Pack' label he had been given.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 13:37:48 UTC

This interview sparked a a great disruption in Cruise's star image, as he seemed to venture from the mature and polite image he had created for himself, into something else entirely, as he giddily jumped around, and expressed his love for his current partner, a complete turnaround from the more reserved interviews that he'd had in the past.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 14:09:56 UTC

The Oprah interview really did rock the star image which Cruise had accumulated over the course of his career, and that was largely down to the widespread media attention it attained, with the new media landscape taking it and running with it. 'Lainey Gossip', a popular gossip blog attributed this interview as the catalyst which pushed the idea of gossip blogs to the forefront of the media landscape.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 14:49:05 UTC

Mission Impossible allowed Cruise to return to the action film genre that he so thrived in, like when he starred in 'Top Gun'. Cruise would star as well as be credited as a producer, which would be a only the beginning of his heavy involvement with the making of this franchise.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 14:53:33 UTC

Cruise has starred in all of the Mission Impossible films, so has been a part of the franchise for 27 years. It has become a staple of his career and has helped keep him in the forefront of Hollywood.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 14:59:10 UTC

With this interview, we are able to see Cruise come full circle with his star image. Like in the interview for 'Taps', he discusses his complete interest in the practice of filmmaking and authenticity to ensure the best experience for the audience. Though here, he does seem to encapsulate confidence and experience, as opposed to the greener Tom Cruise of the early 80's.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 15:15:07 UTC

With the Mission Impossible franchise, Tom Cruise was able to cement the idea in 'all nodes of the media ecosystem' he displays an ethos of passion and commitment to filmmaking and the processes of Hollywood. This allows for himself to conduct his own respectable star image, and has helped in obscuring and disregarding the public issues that he has had in the past.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 15:24:32 UTC

Cruise's carefully constructed star image, which displayed thoughtfulness and politeness unfortunately had a slip in the early 2000s. With the emergence of gossip media forms, Cruise was under the spotlight, and with every misstep came a wave of article and blogs full of backlash. The question arising asks: can a star that big with such longevity be toppled by poor media presence and depiction?

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 15:37:19 UTC

In addition, Cruise has a continued relation to the church of scientology. A religion taken up by many stars, which the mediascape has constantly frowned upon for being cult-like.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 15:45:54 UTC

Cruise came under fire by many in the German community, as they had issues with him playing a respected German General from World War 2 in the 2007 film 'Valkyrie'. This reading discusses the accusations of the church, and why it is so frowned upon by the media, for one instance being the apparent corruption of the religion, due to the tax evasion of its leader in the late 90s. Cruise's association with this religion is one of the larger factors in the publics distrust in him, and it dampens the well thought out star image Cruise has constructed.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 15:57:52 UTC

Fellow actor Russel Crowe speaks on scientology, and helps Cruise's star image by explaining how despite of his association, he is still the polite and amicable. The interviewers even try to make subtle comments about how the media feels different. But for another member of the industry, who is well respected, to make comments in support of Cruise's character, it allows for the media to gain a greater idea of how Cruise really is behind the scenes.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 16:01:16 UTC

Similar to Crowe, Cruise's co-star Simon Pegg jumps to defend him, dispelling any comments about his religion or other controversies, and instead directing the focus to Cruise's commitment to film and lack of stunt doubles, saying ' You know he risks his life for the audience'. This again allows for Cruise's star image to be diverted from the gossip that concerns him, to his professional life.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 16:05:37 UTC

Library of medicine condemns Cruise, and calls him irresponsible for using his great platform to misinform.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 16:11:29 UTC

With one of the most socially active Cruise has been, back in 2005 he insulted Brooke Shields for taking depressants, and insinuated he didn't believe in taking them and that she didn't have enough knowledge about psychiatry and personal health. This feud was terrible for his star image, as he came across rude and judgmental, which was something his typical star image strayed far away from, with past interviews and perceptions labelling him as nothing but polite and grounded.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 16:21:32 UTC

Another clear example of Cruise shedding his past controversies by focussing on his stuntman/actor/producer star image, with his commitment to cinema and film making. He comes across jovial and thankful, similarly to his early career interviews as opposed to his mid 2000's star image. In addition, Cruise acts as the main advertisement for this film, as he has turned his star image into a commodity that can help sell the projects he is in.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 16:52:08 UTC

This is why the recovery of Tom Cruise's star image was so important, as it affects the power he has to promote and sell. By attaining a respectable star image once again, he is able to use it as a commodity and by just appearing on screen with the projects name next to his, it automatically does more than any big budget advertisement.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 17:06:36 UTC

Before the cataclysmic eruption of his star image in the mid 2000s, Cruise shows in this interview his ethos of commitment and passion for filmmaking, as well as the charming and polite character that had been on display throughout his earlier career. The key difference is that he wasn't afraid to divulge into his personal life, which may have been an early foreshadowing of how he would eventually open up later in his career, which would allow for the media to attack him.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 17:15:23 UTC

Tom Cruise grew up in a poor household with an often abusive father, and essentially came from nothing. He struggled with dyslexia and for that was bullied. It's interesting to note his background because it does explain his humble beginnings in acting, and how his early star image was created; as a child born unlucky but a hard worker and thankful every day. It also may explain the outbursts he has had throughout his career, as Hollywood and fame was something he was thrust into as a teenager.

hsjoryan — 2023-11-09 17:26:07 UTC

This interview almost shows Cruise to be attempting to teeter between two different star images he has for himself; the more reserved and polite Cruise we had seen throughout his career, and the more recent hot headed and rogue Cruise that had been stirring up controversy the past year. Due to this, his image was largely affected, as he almost seems unsure of what direction to go. Whilst attempting to still only show interest in the creative aspect of filmmaking, the interviewer, who acts as almost a mouthpiece for the media and gossip blogs that had been talking about Cruise, brings him back to talking about controversy and gossip.