How Tom Cruise continues to justify his worth after 30 years as Hollywood’s highest-paid star
He might not look it, but Tom Cruise is getting old. The megastar was born in 1962, making him 62 years old as of his most recent birthday. While most people that age are taking up lawn bowls or thinking about what they want to do when they retire, Cruise is throwing himself out of planes, blowing himself up, and putting himself in all kinds of mortal danger for our entertainment.
It’s been over 40 years since Cruise first made a splash in Risky Business, and yet he is still many people’s image of a prototypical Hollywood star. His movies make bank, even in a world where cinema visits seem like they’re becoming a thing of the past. The most recent Mission: Impossible movie, Dead Reckoning – Part One, was the tenth highest-grossing movie of 2023, while the previous year’s Top Gun: Maverick broke the billion mark, making it Cruise’s highest grosser ever.
Cruise consistently appears in lists of Hollywood’s top earners. According to Forbes, he made more than any other actor in 1997, then again in 2006, then again in 2012. As an actor and producer, he has earned over $100million from a single film on three separate occasions – Top Gun: Maverick, War of the Worlds, and Mission: Impossible 2. Money has always been a touchy subject for the actor, at least according to one interview from 1992, when he was hesitant to talk about it.
“I don’t have a set price,” he defiantly told Rolling Stone. “To me, each film is different. The people who own studios didn’t get to where they were by being dumb businessmen. They aren’t going to pay me one penny more than I’m worth, especially in this marketplace. They wouldn’t pay it if I wasn’t worth it. And the day I’m not, they won’t.” The interview, which hilariously describes Cruise as “pushing 30” like he was nearing the end of his run, is fascinating with the power of hindsight.
Like Cruise said, movie studios aren’t run by idiots. The suits know that one bad decision can tear a hole right through their profits, so every choice is fastidiously made, especially when it comes to who’s fronting their next big project. Famous actors are what get people through the gate, and Cruise knew full well that he was a big draw when he gave that quote. Amazingly, this was before the likes of Mission: Impossible, Cruise’s biggest franchise, or Interview with the Vampire, one of the films that broke out of his established formula and still made lots of cash.
The most interesting part of the interview by far is when Cruise says, “And the day I’m not, they won’t.” Hollywood is a fickle business, dropping stars like they were hot garbage as soon as they’re not profitable anymore. But that’s the thing. The day of reckoning has never come for Tom Cruise. Even when individual films have faltered, his overall body of work remains just as desirable as ever. Where so many other middle-aged action stars have embarrassed themselves with second-rate sequels and straight-to-DVD fodder, Cruise seems more bulletproof now than ever before.
As long as his movies continue to make money, the man behind Ethan Hunt will continue to be a prominent figure in all of our lives. Whether through his insane work ethic, his devotion to old-school stunts, or the fact that he’s just so damn watchable, Cruise has defied the odds and continues to be one of the faces of Hollywood, decades after what should have been his prime. The only question now is, when will he stop?
