Tom Cruise is among the upper talent of Hollywood. His films attract people, many of which are fans and number in millions This is the story of a powerful man who started out an average person like you or I and became a superstar. Tom Cruise's real name is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, born July 3, 1962. His father was an electrical engineer and monther Mary Ann, was a talented Actress. A school production of "Guys and Dolls" got Tom interested in acting. . He lived his early life in the small town of Syracuse, New York, and in Ottawa, Canada. This is where he first learned of acting at this young age. As a teenager Tom's movies, ads, and tv roles attracted the attention of many fans and he earned the status of a teenage "hunk". In 1981 Cruise started his Hollywood film career as an actor. This is when he starred in the movie Endless Love, and Taps. At this point he was more than just a teen star with a relatively small cult following.. he was taking the first step towards becoming a superstar. Two years later Cruise starred in Risky Business as a young man about to enter college. His parents were away for the weekend and he was about to have the time of his life. This movie made Tom Cruise, this was what brought in his core fans. Those fans, of course, being mostly young women interested in his sex appeal on the big screen. He dressed up in shades and underwear in one particular scene and danced around to the song "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll". His next movie was All The Right Moves, which did well at the box office and increased his status as an actor. And then Legend in 1985 which did very poorly. Top Gun was the ultimate move for Tom Cruise. Taking on this role as the defiant navy jet pilot Maverick he increased his fans to include a larger amount of men. In his next few roles Cruise would play similar characters to Maverick. Those type of characters being young, cocky exciting people that could relate to the viewer of the movie. Cruises next movies were Cocktail, The Color Money, and Days of Thunder. In these movies Tom played similar roles to that of Maverick and continued his appeal to a broad range of audiences. In The Color of Money he went for a deeper role and gained respect among critics for this role. Rain Man is widely considered to be Tom's best acting role. Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July gave Tom a nomination for a best actor oscar due to the strong and powerful role of Ron Kovic, an activist fighting against the war.