He took up acting after losing his place on a high school wrestling team, due to a knee injury;

He and Nicole Kidman had two adopted children, Isabella and Connor;

Is right handed when writing, but does most things left handed;

Enjoys skydiving, scuba diving, and piloting his Pitts Special S-2B stunt plane;

Has three sisters: Marian, Lee Anne and Cass; < At age 14, he enrolled in a seminary to become a priest... he dropped out after one year; Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1990, 1991 and 1997; Chosen as People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 1990; Stopped to help a hit and run victim and paid her hospital bills. The victim was aspiring Brazilian actress Heloisa Vinhas; Voted Best Dressed Male Movie Star; Ranked #3 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list in 1997; Cruise and Nicole Kidman donated to Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign for a seat in the U.S. Senate representing New York; Cousin of actor William Mapother; Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#41) in 1995; Caused a stir in the medical community when he claimed, in an interview, that Scientology cured him of his dyslexia; While he was working with Paul Newman in the Color of Money, The (1986), he engaged in much conversation with the politically active actor. The resulting conscious raising changed him from an actor who ignored the jingoistic tone of Top Gun (1986) to a performer who chose a film with a strong anti-war tone, Born on the Fourth of July (1989) to counter his contribution to the former film; Graduated from Glen Ridge High School in June 1980; Recently restored an older home in the township of Biltmore Forest, a town within the city limits of Asheville North Carolina; Received the John Huston Award for Artists Rights in 1998; Was considered for the lead in The Matrix; Cruise earned roughly $75 million for Mission: Impossible II (2000). He did this by turning down any upfront salary, for instead taking a back-end deal that landed him 30% of the film's gross for both his producing and acting duties; Attended Packanack School in Wayne, New Jersey from first through third grade; Dated Melissa Gilbert; Filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Michael Davis, a man who allegedly offered to sell videotapes of himself having sex with the actor. The lawsuit accuses Davis of making the statements "in order to hurt the plaintiff and gain widespread publicity for himself." [May 2001]; Filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against porn star Kyle Bradford, who claimed he had a homosexual affair with Tom, although Bradford later claimed that he never said such a thing to the French magazine, "Actustar", that supposedly quoted him. [2 May 2001]; Dated "Vanilla Sky" co-star Penélope Cruz. [2001-January 2004]; Conor Antony (adopted son) born January 17, 1995; Isabella Jane (adopted daughter) born December 22, 1992; Instead of his affair with Penélope Cruz damaging both their careers, it only boosted it; Suffers from dyslexia; Earned his pilot's license in Toronto in 1994; He didn't stay for the remainder of the 2002 Academy Awards after opening them because it was his turn to look after his and ex-wife Nicole Kidman's children. He reportedly left the Kodak Theatre by a back door after opening proceedings and dashed home to watch the rest of the event on TV with his adopted kids Connor and Isabella; For 1988, he became the first actor to have the distinction of starring in both the year's Oscar winner for Best Picture, Rain Man (1988) and the year's Razzie "winner" for Worst Picture, Cocktail (1988); Ranked #14 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #16 in 2002; Ranked #4 in Star TV's Top 10 Box Office Stars of the 1990s (2003); Father, Thomas Mapother III (15 October 1934 - January 1984), was an electrical engineer; Has two dogs called Basil and Murray and a cat called Harvey; First actor in history to star in five consecutive films that grossed $100 million in the USA: Few Good Men, A (1992), Firm, The (1993), Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), Mission: Impossible (1996), Jerry Maguire (1996); Briefly attended St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky and was a paperboy for the Louisville Courier-Journal; Wore braces on his flashy, million-dollar smile in 2002 to correct a misaligned bite; Announced that his relationship with Penélope Cruz had ended in January 2004. Has appeared in films opposite five directors who have also directed his films. Sydney Pollack, who directed The Firm, appeared in Eyes Wide Shut. Stanley Kubrick, who directed Eyes Wide Shut, makes a cameo appearance in all of his films. Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed Magnolia, appeared as an extra in Minority Report. Minority Report director Steven Spielberg appeared in Vanilla Sky and Austin Power in Goldmember. Cameron Crowe, who directed Jerry Maguire and Vanilla Sky, appeared in Minority Report; Will not allow his likeness to be used in video games or for action figures; While filming "Days of Thunder" at Daytona International Speedway, he enjoyed playing football with the truck drivers. He was the receiver - he loved going deep to catch a pass; While filming "Days of Thunder" at Daytona International Speedway, he drove one of the Hendricks Motorsports R&D cars around the track. The best time recorded was a lap at 205 MPH.