'80s
Risky Business 1983
The movie that made him a star; Rebecca De Mornay, whom he dated for a year after.
The Big Picture · Draft
The Tom Cruise Movie Draft
May 16, 2025/ 126 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Van Lathan · Chris Ryan · Bill Simmons
Five drafters snake through Tom Cruise's 46-film career across eight categories, from '80s and '90s to Mission: Impossible and 'Tom Cruise does a sports thing.'
40 films across 1 segment.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The teams drafting Tom Cruise's filmography
Sean Fennessey
21st century
American Made 2017
The other Doug Liman film, about a pilot turned smuggler who loses his mind.
Oscar nominee
Born on the Fourth of July 1989
Oliver Stone; Cruise's Best Actor nomination and a hard watch.
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 2015
The McQuarrie era begins; Ilsa arrives and Cruise hangs off the plane.
Tom Cruise does a sports thing
All the Right Moves 1983
The last real sports thing on the board; one of the best football sequences in the genre.
Blockbuster
The Last Samurai 2003
Down-and-out alcoholic Cruise; Ken Watanabe and the battle sequences carry it.
Amanda Dobbins
'80s
Endless Love 1981
Franco Zeffirelli; Cruise's screen debut, two scenes, gives a guy the idea to burn a house down.
'90s
Magnolia 1999
The Frank T.J. Mackey performance; his best dramatic swing and the start of the auteur run.
21st century
Edge of Tomorrow 2014
A good movie nobody believed during his down period; cult status with Emily Blunt.
Oscar nominee
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One 2023
The franchise's first Oscar nominations; the cliff jump and the tiny car in Rome.
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible 1996
The Langley drop and the knock list; the whole franchise in one image.
Wild card
Knight and Day 2010
Drafted just to needle Bill; Cameron Diaz fixes cars, gets roped into the mission.
Van Lathan
'90s
Far and Away 1992
Taken over Interview with the Vampire on principle; the worst Irish accent he's ever seen.
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible - Fallout 2018
The one that made him all in on the franchise; still the best.
Tom Cruise does a sports thing
Days of Thunder 1990
The rental-car race beats anything on the track; Kidman as a 24-year-old neurosurgeon.
Blockbuster
Interview with the Vampire 1994
The last blockbuster left; first Cruise-and-Pitt pairing.
Chris Ryan
'90s
Eyes Wide Shut 1999
Kubrick asks him to turn the charisma down; holds up on rewatch, shaped a lot that came after.
Oscar nominee
The Firm 1993
John Grisham paranoid thriller; the last 15 minutes with the suitcase still land.
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible III 2006
The J.J. Abrams one; Philip Seymour Hoffman is the franchise's best villain.
Tom Cruise does a sports thing
The Color of Money 1986
King twerp opposite Paul Newman; the Werewolves of London scene.
Blockbuster
Minority Report 2002
Spielberg Hitchcock thriller; Cruise as the wrongly-accused man on the run.
Wild card
Mission: Impossible II 2000
The John Woo motorcycle fight alone; having a little resurgence.
Bill Simmons
'90s
Jerry Maguire 1996
Peak-powers Cruise; in the running for best sports movie of the last 30 years.
21st century
Jack Reacher 2012
Too short for the role and it still works; a book fan base in revolt.
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol 2011
The Burj Khalifa climb; got the franchise younger and sexier.
Tom Cruise does a sports thing
Top Gun 1986
The volleyball scene; he checks his watch and ends the game.
Wild card
Oblivion 2013
Kosinski's first Cruise film, which begat Maverick; the drones and Morgan Freeman underground.
On the board, undrafted honorable mentions
Also mentioned raised along the way
Also mentioned The VerdictThe RevenantTenetSinnersGhostThe DeepMasqueradeMiseryWhen Harry Met Sally...The Princess BrideThis Is Spinal TapThe American PresidentThe Sure ThingThe Life of ChuckFerris Bueller's Day OffJFKCasualties of WarThe TownDo the Right ThingPoint BreakRoad HouseDirty DancingToy SoldiersLucasFast Times at Ridgemont HighThe Breakfast ClubPretty in PinkShooterOpen Your EyesThe CounselorDances with WolvesRoxanneBasic InstinctPulp FictionTwinsThe RaptureAustin Powers in GoldmemberCrimson TideTrue RomanceEnemy of the State
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV The BearAliasthirtysomethingInterview with the Vampire (AMC series)Reacher (Amazon series)Quarterback Princess
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