Tom Cruise’s Star Power Attributed to Devotion to Movie-Making and Content, Say Experts

Tom Cruise attends the Australian premiere of "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" in Sydney on July 3, 2023. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

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.

With movie credits that include 1986’s “Top Gun,” 1994’s “Interview With the Vampire,” 1996’s “Jerry Maguire,” and 2003’s “The Last Samurai,” Mr. Cruise has been considered one of Hollywood’s A-listers for years. It was just last summer that he ruled the box office with “Top Gun: Maverick,” which took in a whopping $1.5 billion worldwide.

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.”

“Considered to be the last real old-school movie star, Tom Cruise has also become a leading champion of the movie theater experience while simultaneously showing a relentless commitment to fans around the world by literally putting it all on the line to deliver the best possible moviegoing experience,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for media measurement and analysts company Comscore, told The Epoch Times. “With ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ coming just over a year after the box office juggernaut that was “Top Gun: Maverick,” Cruise has become laser-focused on producing and starring in the movies that are hugely entertaining and boast raves from critics and fans alike while steering clear of some of the personal speed bumps that happened earlier in his career.”

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.

A video shared on Paramount Pictures’ YouTube channel shows one such stunt in the latest installment of “Mission: Impossible” as Mr. Cruise rides a motorcycle off a cliff and free falls before releasing a parachute. The video notes the numerous times he attempted the move, eventually doing 13,000 motorcycle jumps and 500 skydives. Other stunts include free-climbing a cliff, scaling the world’s highest building, and free-climbing a cliff without a safety net.

Achilles PR Founder Doug Eldridge recently noted to Fox News Digital a meme that shows famous actors and their stunt doubles, pointing to why Mr. Cruise stands apart.

“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.

“His dramatic roles showcase his often overlooked depth of acting ability. His characters often play to our aspirational view of our ideal self,” he added.

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.

“He’s apolitical and driven, eager to make populist movies with talented colleagues. Cruise delivers … without the lectures, social media hate or other trappings some actors embrace,” Mr. Toto wrote for sports media company OutKick back in May of 2022. “And, like fellow superstar Clint Eastwood, Cruise understands what audiences crave.”

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.

When it comes to the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, it has a history of sitting at the top of the Hollywood heap, both commercially and critically. According to Mr. Dergarabedian, the film is on track to deliver the best opening Friday-Saturday-Sunday three-day weekend of the franchise surpassing “Mission: Impossible-Fallout” and could approach $100 million for the five-day time period starting this Wednesday.

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.”