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Tom Cruise was nominated for four Oscars and three of the nods were for his acting performances. It is sad to see his losing streak at the Academy Awards, especially since he bagged the Golden Globes for these three roles.
There were also a couple of other performances from the actor that truly deserved all the recognition in the world.
There was an accusation that Cruise was intentionally pushed out of the competition one time. Fans hope that hisupcoming project with Alejandro G. Iñárrituwill finally break his losing streak. Iñárritu had a hand in Leonardo DiCaprio’s first Oscar win after he was snubbed of the award for years.
5Born on the Fourth of July(1989)
Oliver Stone, who is often associated with controversial films centered around American politics, directed this masterpiece starringTom Cruise. TheJack Reacheractor played the real-life character of Ron Kovic in the film. The film is based on the autobiography of Kovic, who is a former US Marine Corps sergeant who was wounded and paralyzed in the Vietnam War.
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The anti-war film is the second installment in Stone’s trilogy of war-based films, followingPlatoonand precedingHeaven & Earth. Cruise put forth his best acting work in the film and received an Academy nod for the film, the first for the actor. However, he lost the Best Actor Oscar to Daniel Day-Lewis, who won forMy Left Foot.
Stone believed that Cruise’s raw and emotional portrayal of a war-torn Kovic wasrobbed of the Best Actor award. During an interview withThe Independent, Stone claimed that Harvey Weinstein played dirty politics and pulled the strings to ensure that Day-Lewis took home the award. Stone shared,“I think he robbed Cruise of the Oscar, frankly.”
Stone won the Best Director Oscar for the film, which received a total of eight nominations. Cruise won the Best Actor award at the Golden Globes Awards that year. The film grossed a total of $162 million at the box office.
Born on the Fourth of Julyis now available for rent on AppleTV.
4Rain Man(1988)
Rain Manwas mostly noticed forDustin Hoffman‘s portrayal of the autistic savant, Raymond, rather than Tom Cruise’s Charlie Babbitt. Hoffman received praise for how he portrayed autism in the film and went on to win the Best Actor Oscar for the year. In fact, the film earned a total of eight nominations and won four, including Best Picture and Best Director.
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Sadly, Cruise’s award-worthy role didn’t receive a nod from the Academy. Cruise’s character Charlie is the one who shows real growth in an arc throughout the film. He is a selfish wheeler-dealer at the beginning who, by the end of the film, turns into a caring brother who wants a relationship with his estranged autistic brother.
Moreover, Cruise also had to endureone disgusting moment with Hoffmanin the film. The movie was a huge success, earning $354 million at the box office at the time. It was also the highest-grossing film of 1988. Barry Levinson directed the film, based on a story by Barry Morrow. Hans Zimmer served as the music composer of the film.
Rain Manis now available for streaming on The Roku Channel.
3Magnolia(1999)
Tom Cruise’s role inMagnoliawas one of the biggest acting risks he took in his career. At a time when he was becoming every director’s top choice for the leading man, Cruise played pickup artist Frank T.J. Mackey in a supporting role inPaul Thomas Anderson’s film.
Cruise took on the role after he badly wanted to work with Anderson after watchingBoogie Nights. The director wrote the role for Cruise. Upon reading the script,The Mummyactor was nervous about the role. He was convinced by Anderson, who met him with the then-boss of New Line Cinema, Michael De Luca.
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At the time, Anderson believed that the character was based on a real-life character Ross Jeffries, who conducted s*x seminars for men and talked trash about women (via Creative Screenwriting). Cruise portrayed the role perfectly based on the material provided by Anderson. However, it turned out thatJeffries was allegedly a personacreated by a man named Paul Ross.
Real or not, Cruise risked his good boy image to play the manic and misogynistic role. However, he managed to add a layer of vulnerability to the character, especially in the scene where Frank is confronted with his life’s reality.
He was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar but didn’t win. He won the award in the same category at the Golden Globes that year and many critics consider it to be the most nuanced performance in Cruise’s repertoire.
Magnoliais now available for streaming on Paramount+ with AppleTV.
2Jerry Maguire(1996)
Jerry Maguirehad one of the most memorable performances from Tom Cruise, who was nominated for an Oscar for the eponymous role. While fans want to see Cruise mostly in action movies now, there was a time when he was known for his romantic roles.Renée Zellwegerand Cruise’s chemistry was one of the best things that came out of the movie.
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Cameron Crowe’s film was about the experience of a sports agent in the 1993 NFL season. Fans still rememberCuba Gooding Jr.‘s line,“Show me the money,”which would go on to rank as the 25th best movie quote of all time in 2005 by the American Film Institute. Gooding Jr., who played Rod Tidwell, won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Sadly, it was the only win out of the five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Cruise. TheTop Gunactor lost the award to Australian actor Geoffrey Rush that year.
Interestingly, Cruise’s love confession scene in the filmleft Zellweger and a bunch of the crew members in tears.Jerry Maguirewas a critical and commercial success, earning $273 million against a budget of $50 million.
Jerry Maguireis now available for streaming on Paramount+.
1Tropic Thunder(2008)
InBen Stiller’sTropic Thunder, Tom Cruise played an over-the-top movie producer. Stiller’s offer came at a time when Cruise was struggling in his career. Cruise was offered the role of Rick Peck, which later went to Matthew McConaughey. TheMission: Impossibleactor suggested that the film add a new character, thus creating the unhinged Les Grossman.
Cruise was part of the creative process that helped bring Grossman to the screen. He contributed to the behavior, mannerisms, and costumes. Many noted that Cruise’s character in the film had resemblances to Hollywood producer Scott Rudin andthe infamous Harvey Weinstein.
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The actor wore a fat suit, prosthetic hands, and a bald head to portray his character. Cruise’s portrayal also received criticism for allegedly appropriating a Jewface. He received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance, while his co-starRobert Downey Jr.went on to earn a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Cruise should’ve been a contender in the Oscar category too.
A Les Grossman spinoff was initially teased by Paramount, stating that they had“secured the life rights to Grossman”(via EW). Later,Deadlinereported that Cruise and producer Christopher McQuarrie were very much interested in the character.
Tropic Thunderis now available for streaming on Paramount+.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3017
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
