Thomas Cruise Mapother IV ( ; born July 3, 1962), better known by his screen name Tom Cruise, is an American actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards. His first leading role was the 1983 film Risky Business , which has been described as "A Generation-X classic, and a career-maker" for the actor. After playing the role of a heroic naval pilot in the popular and financially successful 1986 film Top Gun, Cruise continued in this vein, playing a secret agent in a series of Mission: Impossible action films in the 1990s and 2000s. In addition to these heroic roles, he also played other roles, such as the misogynistic male guru in Magnolia (1999) and a cool and calculating sociopathic hitman in the Michael Mann crime-thriller film Collateral (2004).

Economist Edward Jay Epstein argues that Cruise is one of the few producers (the others being George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer) who are able to guarantee the success of a billion-dollar movie franchise. Since 2005, Cruise and Paula Wagner have been in charge of the United Artists film studio, with Cruise as producer and star and Wagner as the chief executive. Cruise is also known for his support of and adherence to the Church of Scientology. His notable public criticisms of psychiatry and the use of anti-depressive drugs have attracted controversy and media interest.

Family and early life

Cruise attended Robert Hopkins Public school for grades 3, 4 & 5 and Henry Munro Middle School for grade 6 in Gloucester, now Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, part of the Carleton Board of Education. The family lived in the Gloucester suburb of Beacon Hill. His family later moved from Kentucky so his father could take a position as a Defence consultant with the Canadian Army. Cruise became involved in drama at Robert Hopkins P.S. early on under the tutelage of teacher Mr. George Steinburg. The first play he participated in was called "IT", in which Cruise won the co-lead with Michael de Waal, one playing "Evil", the other playing "Good". The play met much acclaim and toured with five other classmates to various schools around the Ottawa area and was filmed at the local Ottawa TV station. The two were also singled out for a version of Jesus Christ Superstar and a Marcel Marceau-type act. When there was concern by school Principal Jim Brown of the religious overtones of J.C. Superstar, Cruise's mother convinced the school that the play should proceed. Mrs. Mapother was one of the founders of the Gloucester Players, a theatrical troupe where Cruise and some of the boys in Mr. Steinburg's class acted. As a boy, Cruise was also active in athletics, playing floor hockey almost every night; he was a ruthless player and ended up chipping his front tooth. In "British Bull Dog" he lost his newly capped tooth and hurt his knee.