Tom Cruise Transformation: Then and Now Photos of the Actor

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Risky Business, Baby!

Widely considered his breakout performance at 19 years old, Tom starred as the handsome Joel Goodsen in Risky Business. The dance scene from the 1983 film has become iconic, with Tom seen busting a move in only a button-up shirt, briefs and socks. “I grew up dancing in my underwear in my house. Who didn’t?” he told Access Hollywood in 2023. “I had to figure out how to slide across the floor in my socks.”

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Top Gun Tom

By the time Top Gun was released in 1986, Tom was a bona fide Hollywood superstar. In the film, he played Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a young aviator aboard the USS Enterprise. The film’s sequel, Top Gun: Maverick was released 36 years later in 2022, reuniting Tom with actor Val Kilmer.

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His First Marriage

Tom married actress Mimi Rogers on May 9, 1987. Though the couple divorced in February 1990, they attended the 61st Academy Awards together in 1989. Tom sported a buzz cut and megawatt smile in a classic tux alongside his wife when they arrived on the red carpet.

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His Second Marriage

By the end of 1990, Tom was already married again — this time, to actress Nicole Kidman, whom he met on the set of their film Days of Thunder. Young and in love, they attended multiple red-carpet events together and went on to adopt two children: Isabella Jane and Connor Antony. However, things did not last, and the couple’s spokesperson revealed they were separated on February 5, 2001.

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The Mission Begins

In 1996, he began starring as Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible film series, which went on to release seven movies with an eighth currently in the works. In the films, Tom looks like a certified heartthrob playing an agent of the Impossible Missions Force.

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Show Him the Money!

The same year as the first Mission: Impossible film, Tom also starred as the titular role in the 1996 sports drama Jerry Maguire. At that year’s Golden Globe Awards, Tom took home the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

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Cruz-ing Along

Following his divorce from Nicole, the award-winning actor dated his Vanilla Sky costar Penélope Cruz from 2001 to 2004. At the premiere of her film Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Tom joined Penélope on the red carpet, again sporting a buzz cut and looking suave in his 5 o’clock shadow.

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His Third Marriage

By April 2005, Tom was dating actress Katie Holmes. That year, he famously appeared on a TV show and declared his love for Katie by jumping off — and on top of — the set’s couch and telling the talk-show host, “I’m not going to pretend,” adding: “I’m in love.” However, their relationship ended in divorce in 2012.

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Ben Stiller Hand/Footprint Ceremony At TCL Chinese Theatre

Single and Stoic

Seen here in 2013, Tom was single yet again. Still, he looked as handsome as ever as he suited up the hand and footprint ceremony honoring Ben Stiller at TCL Chinese Theatre on December 3, 2013, in Hollywood.

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Mask Up!

Only Tom Cruise can rock a face mask in style. The actor was photographed in October 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic filming the seventh Mission: Impossible film at Via Dei Fori Imperiali in Rome, Italy.

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"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" New York Premiere

Mission: Possible

Who thought it possible that the actor would still be starring as Ethan Hunt in his 60s? Here he is at the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One premiere at Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center on July 10, 2023, in New York City, where he rocked his shaggy hairstyle in a classic suit.

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The Prince Of Wales Attends London's Air Ambulance Charity Gala Dinner

Dressed for the Occasion

The man can certainly clean up well! In February 2024, Tom attended the London Air Ambulance Charity Gala Dinner in London, England, where he was also photographed alongside Prince William. Looking dapper in black and white, it’s safe to say that some things only get better with age.