Editing Tom Cruise (section)

=== 1980s: Breakthrough and stardom ===
[[File:1985 Tom Cruise.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Cruise in 1985 at a reception hosted by First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]] at the [[White House]]]]
At age 18,<ref name="foxnews.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/tom-cruise-biography-filmography|title=Tom Cruise Biography, Filmography|date=March 25, 2015|website=Fox News|access-date=May 21, 2020|archive-date=December 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229041528/https://www.foxnews.com/story/tom-cruise-biography-filmography|url-status=live}}</ref> with the blessing of his mother and stepfather, Cruise moved to New York City to pursue an acting career.<ref name="cnbc.com"/> After working as a [[busboy]] in New York, he went to [[Los Angeles]] to try out for television roles. He signed with [[Creative Artists Agency|CAA]] and began acting in films.<ref name="foxnews.com"/> He made his film debut in a [[bit part]] in the 1981 film ''[[Endless Love (1981 film)|Endless Love]]'', followed by a major supporting role as a crazed military academy student in ''[[Taps (film)|Taps]]'' later that year. Cruise was originally supposed to appear as a [[Extra (acting)|background actor]] but his role was expanded after impressing director [[Harold Becker]].<ref name="Taps">{{cite magazine |last1=Higgins |first1=Bill |title=How Tom Cruise and Sean Penn Got Their Big Breaks |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/tom-cruise-sean-penn-mission-impossible-274947/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=January 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813081608/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/tom-cruise-sean-penn-mission-impossible-274947/ |archive-date=August 13, 2022 |date=December 17, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1983, Cruise was part of the ensemble cast of [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s ''[[The Outsiders (film)|The Outsiders]]''. That same year he appeared in ''[[All the Right Moves (film)|All the Right Moves]]'' and ''[[Risky Business]]'', which has been described as "A [[Generation X]] classic, and a career maker for Tom Cruise."<ref name="rottentomatoes">{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1017641-risky_business/ |title=Risky Business|work=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=May 10, 2006 |archive-date=June 19, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619163126/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1017641-risky_business/ |url-status=deviated }}</ref> He also played the male lead in the [[Ridley Scott]] film ''[[Legend (1985 film)|Legend]]'', released in 1985.<ref>{{cite news|date=October 9, 2015|title=Ridley Scott's beautiful dark twisted fantasy: the making of Legend|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/legend-ridley-scott/tom-cruise-making-of/|access-date=April 2, 2018|archive-date=January 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118060442/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/legend-ridley-scott/tom-cruise-making-of/|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1986's ''[[Top Gun]]'', his status as a [[superstar]] had been cemented.<ref>{{cite news|title=Obituary: Tony Scott|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19316140|access-date=October 9, 2015|newspaper=BBC News|date=August 20, 2012|archive-date=August 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821082108/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19316140|url-status=live}}</ref>

Cruise followed up ''[[Top Gun (franchise)|Top Gun]]'' with [[Martin Scorsese]]'s ''[[The Color of Money]]'' (1986), which came out the same year, and which paired him with [[Paul Newman]]. Their chemistry won praise among critics with ''[[The Washington Post]]'' writing, "One of the subtle achievements of both Cruise's and Newman's performances is that you feel that both of them are genuinely top-notch pool hustlers".<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/thecolorofmoneyrattanasio_a0ad63.htm|title= The Color of Money (R)|newspaper= The Washington Post|accessdate= June 22, 2022|archive-date= October 13, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221013152330/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/thecolorofmoneyrattanasio_a0ad63.htm|url-status= live}}</ref> In 1988, Cruise starred in ''[[Cocktail (1988 film)|Cocktail]]'', a film that was a box office success but failed with critics. His performance earned him a nomination for the [[Razzie Award for Worst Actor]]. Later that year he starred with [[Dustin Hoffman]] in [[Barry Levinson]]'s ''[[Rain Man]]'', which won the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]].<ref name="Oscars1989">{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 |title=The 61st Academy Awards (1989) Nominees and Winners |access-date=July 31, 2011 |work=oscars.org |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502001817/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Tom cruise 1989.jpg|thumb|upright|Tom Cruise at the 61st [[Academy Awards]] in 1989]]
In 1989, Cruise portrayed real-life paralyzed [[Vietnam War]] veteran [[Ron Kovic]] in [[Oliver Stone]]'s war epic ''[[Born on the Fourth of July (film)|Born on the Fourth of July]]''. Film critic [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' wrote, "Nothing Cruise has done will prepare you for what he does in ''Born on the Fourth of July''&nbsp;... His performance is so good that the movie lives through it. Stone is able to make his statement with Cruise's face and voice and doesn't need to put everything into the dialogue."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/born-on-the-fourth-of-july-1989|title= Born on the Fourth of July movie review|website= Rogerebert.com|accessdate= June 22, 2022|archive-date= November 14, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221114135504/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/born-on-the-fourth-of-july-1989|url-status= live}}</ref> The performance earned him a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]], the [[Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor]], the [[People's Choice Award]] for Favorite Motion Picture Actor, a nomination for [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]], and Cruise's first Best Actor [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination.<ref name="Oscars1990">{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990|title=The 62nd Academy Awards (1990) Nominees and Winners|date=October 5, 2014 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=June 8, 2018|archive-date=May 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510162908/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990|url-status=live}}</ref>