Tom Cruise has been one of Hollywood's leading stars for many years now, and he's recently made somewhat of a resurgence with his thrilling action flick, Top Gun: Maverick. The film sees Cruise return as the iconic Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell, over 35 years after the original film was released.
Cruise's career has been a long and prosperous one, with many of his projects going down as all-time classics from the moment they hit the screen. Without his constant hard work and intrinsic charm, audiences would have missed out on plenty of today's most popular and beloved movies. To celebrate his career, Ranker has put together a list of the actor's best fictional characters to date for fans to vote on.
Note: Ranker lists are live and continue to accrue votes, so some rankings may have changed after this publishing.
Vincent in Collateral
Michael Mann's Collateral marks a distinct change for Tom Cruise, who plays a character completely unlike anybody else that he's ever played before. Vincent is a ruthless, calculating hitman whose charm and charisma make him one of Mann's most interesting and entertaining characters to date.
Cruise stars opposite Jamie Foxx for the majority of the film, and the way that these two actors bounce off each other is nothing short of incredible. Their unique dynamic drives the film forward at a breakneck pace, which is a trademark of most of Michael Mann's works.
Charlie Babbitt in Rain Man
Rain Man is probably one of Tom Cruise's most famous films of all, with its popularity reaching much further than dedicated cinephiles and gaining plenty of mainstream attention. His character, though morally ambiguous and mostly unlikable, is one of the film's strongest assets.
Babbitt was one of the first roles to really cement Tom Cruise's position as one of cinema's most talented figures and biggest draws. The film proved that he can do so much more than just lead an action movie, but rather provide a deep and thoughtful performance that has many layers.
Brian Flanagan in Cocktail
Tom Cruise plays one of Jamaica's most talented barmen in 1988's Cocktail, which serves mostly as a spectacular showcase of Cruise's power as a leading man. This iconic romance is full of both laughs and tears, seemingly injected with a sense of '80s charm that allows it to hold up today.
Many people cite Cocktail as one of Tom Cruise's most underrated performances, and that's probably a fair assertion of the film's unique charm. Although its quaint narrative and low stakes often leave it omitted from lists of Cruise's best films, it's still an incredibly fun film that audiences shouldn't forget about.
Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is often named one of the funniest comedies of this century, and it's thanks to the film's unique script and A-list cast that this is the case. With hilarious performances from Cruise, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, and Jack Black, it's no surprise that the film is held in such high regard by so many people.
Although it's hard to pick a standout from the cast, Tom Cruise's character has so many iconic quotes and memorable lines that definitely have stood the test of time and become an irrevocable part of pop culture today. Because of this, his character is probably the one that audiences the most.
Lestat de Lioncourt in Interview With The Vampire
The character of Lestat de Lioncourt is quite unlike anything that Tom Cruise has ever done before, and probably ever will do again. The whole film adopts an overwhelmingly dark and gothic atmosphere, which allows Cruise to play around with a performance that pushes the limits of his own comfort.
Brad Pitt stars opposite Tom Cruise in the film, and it's surprising that the pair don't work together more often based on their incredible on-screen chemistry here. They manage to build a dark and complex relationship that engages and beguiles the audience in a way that few horror films have managed since.
Jack Reacher in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Although there was initially a lot of controversy surrounding Tom Cruise's casting in Edward Zwick's Jack Reacher series, there's no denying that he soon managed to quell these complaints with his dynamic and charming portrayal of the iconic character.
Based on Lee Child's original novels, the Jack Reacher films explore the adventurous life of the titular army veteran, as he tours the states in search of crimes to solve and mysteries to bring to light. Reacher is one of the most famous literary characters of all time, so it's no surprise to see the cinematic adaptations so high up this list.
Jerry Maguire in Jerry Maguire
Every actor has that one role that they'll always be ed for, even long after their career has taken them to greater successes and heavier accolades. For Cruise, that role is probably the titular character in Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire.
Jerry Maguire is one of Tom Cruise's greatest and most iconic rom-coms of the 1990s, mostly thanks to Crowe's uniquely personal screenplay and Cruise's uniquely eccentric lead performance. Crowe and Cruise work perfectly together, crafting the kind of relatable story that finds its home in the hearts of all kinds of audiences.
Lt. Kaffee in A Few Good Men
For much of his career, Tom Cruise had been viewed by the public as a simple, reliable actor who was confined only to action flicks and cheesy romances. A Few Good Men completely dispelled this myth, proving that his acting power was strong enough to rival even his veteran co-stars, Jack Nicholson and Kevin Bacon.
A Few Good Men is not only one of screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's best projects to date, but also one of the most captivating and engaging legal dramas ever made. It navigates its complex plot in a surprisingly simple way, telling a shocking story about law, crime, and the dangerously indistinguishable border between the two.
Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible
There are very few people out there that are unfamiliar with the Mission: Impossible franchise, which has somehow grown from a simple spy thriller into one of the highest-grossing and most internationally popular series of all time. It's also widely regarded as Cruise's finest work to date, with the actor becoming almost synonymous with the thrilling danger of Ethan Hunt's missions.
Tom Cruise has been working with director Christopher McQuarrie for a long time now on several different projects, but their collaborations on the Mission: Impossible franchise are undoubtedly some of their best work together. They both bring such contagious energy to the films that make them easy to love and impossible to forget and Cruise continues to flesh out Hunt's character.
Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell in Top Gun
Tom Cruise's performance as Maverick in the original Top Gun is undoubtedly one of the film's strongest and most memorable features, which has been made even more beloved and poignant by the actor's return in the recent legacy sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.
Both films feature thrilling action set pieces that make them stand out from the crowd, with Cruise's character constantly putting himself in danger in order to strive in his career and save his friends. Above all else, it's his work in Top Gun that really put Cruise on the map as the next big Hollywood action star.
