Hollywoods Leading Man

In 1992, Cruise proved once more that he could hold his own opposite a screen legend when he co starred with Jack Nicholson in the military courtroom drama, A Few Good Men. The film grossed more than $15 million its first weekend, and earned Cruise a Golden Globe nomination. Over the next several years, Cruise made several more well received movies, including The Firm (1993) and Interview with a Vampire (1994) co starring Brad Pitt.Next, Cruise hit the big screen with two huge hits the $64 million blockbuster, Mission Impossible (1996), which Cruise also produced, and the highly acclaimed Jerry McGuire (1996), directed by Cameron Crowe. For the latter, Cruise earned a second Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe for Best Actor.

Cruise and Kidman spent much of 1997 and 1998 in England shooting Eyes Wide Shut, an erotic thriller that would be director Stanley Kubricks final film before his death in 1999. The movie was released in the summer of 1999 to mixed reviews. That same year, Cruise appeared in the ensemble film Magnolia. His performance in the movie as a self confident sex guru earned him another Golden Globe award and an additional Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.Cruise then starred in the long awaited smash hit Mission Impossible 2 in 2000 alongside Anthony Hopkins, Thandie Newton, and Ving Rhames. In 2002, he starred in his second collaboration with director Cameron Crowe, Vanilla Sky, as well as Stephen Spielbergs Minority Report.Cruise began 2003 with a trip to Australia to shoot the $100 million film, The Last Samurai. Then in 2005, he teamed up with Steven Spielberg again for the mega hit, War of the Worlds