Despite his close ties to the controversial Church of Scientology and past odd behavior like the Oprah Winfrey couch-jumping incident during a discussion about his then-girlfriend Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise has managed to maintain his own mission to not let anything get in the way of entertaining his fans.
Because of that, he’s remained one of Hollywood’s biggest stars and kept the support of the movie-going public.
Despite Bad Press, Cruise Continues to Sail With the Hollywood Current
Now as his seventh installment of the Mission Impossible franchise titled “Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One” is set to be released in theaters July 12, some might say his staying power in the fickle world of entertainment is as impressive as the ability of the 61-year old actor to continue to do his own stunts in his many action films.“Audiences will ignore a star’s off-screen behavior, to a point. Many actors embrace curious positions or actively antagonize movie goers, like Samuel L. Jackson routinely does to his general audience critics,” Christian Toto, host of “The Hollywood in Toto Podcast,” told The Epoch Times. “Tom Cruise represents a throwback movie star, someone who takes that unofficial title seriously. He’s a relentless advocate for movie-going, and he has a keen understanding of what the average ticket holder wants to see.”
Conversation Centering on Cruise’s Stunt Work Continues to Create Movie Buzz
That “relentless commitment to fans by putting it all on the line” that Mr. Dergarabedian speaks to partly refers to the fact that Mr. Cruise is notorious for doing all his own stunts in the action pictures he’s become so well known for later in his career. At age 61, he continues to do even the most harrowing of feats during filming. Talk of his dedication to such dangerous antics has seemed to supersede any negative press about him.“It shows famous actors and their stunt doubles, then you get to the square where it’s Tom Cruise and it’s the only frame where it’s just one person … in so many ways that is why Americans love Cruise,” he explained, noting that Mr. Cruise’s films have created the template for successful action movies by checking off three key boxes: action, ability and aspiration.
Audiences Appreciate Cruise’s Commitment to Woke-free Content
Others like Mr. Toto say it’s because Mr. Cruise hasn’t gone woke on Americans like so many other celebrities have.Mr. Toto also said that because Mr. Cruise controls his projects as both star and producer, it allows the actor to dedicate himself to each project and all its accompanying challenges. And like in “Top Gun: Maverick,” the films don’t reject the source material but they instead embrace it.
Latest MI Installment Set to Prevail After Surviving Pandemic and Constant Pivoting
It’s been five years since the franchise’s last film “MI-Fallout” came out. Since that time, the world and the film set and crew of “Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One” itself had to suffer a pandemic, with its many stops and starts. In December 2020, an audio recording leaked of Mr. Cruise yelling at a couple crew members for not obeying COVID-19 protocols made negative headlines for the A-list actor and left some wondering about the film’s status.This installment features character Ethan Hunt and his secretive espionage agency, the Mission Impossible Force, trying to track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands, and is directed by Christopher McQuarrie. The film also stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Esai Morales.
Despite the obstacles, Mr. Toto said audiences are ready and a big part of that is due to Mr. Cruise himself.
“He never phones in a performance and understands that woke storytelling tropes hurt the finished product. He isn’t making smaller, art-house films. He’s obsessed with mainstream entertainment that takes us away from our troubles for two-plus hours,” said Mr. Toto.
“Lately, he’s taken it upon himself to prop up Hollywood, Inc., to repeatedly thank fans for seeing his movies and for granting him the movie star career he craves. That attitude, that bond, supersedes issues regarding his Scientology faith or various romantic entanglements. Audiences are a forgiving lot. Deliver rollicking adventure, and do with a gracious smile, and they'll follow you anywhere.”