Did You Know This About…Tom Cruise

From training to be a priest to almost cutting lose

Who doesn’t know the name Tom Cruise nowadays? Whether its for his willingness to keep on doing his own stunts at the age of (currently) 58, or for his upcoming project with Elon Musk…in space! Cruise is an actor who has took every leap (figuratively and literally in some cases) he’s encountered. Surely, with a life like that there’s still some bits of trivia you don’t know.

The team at ScreenHeads have put together some of the most surprising facts about the Mission: Impossible lead man. Carry on reading and see if you knew any of these!

He once aspired to be a priest!

Yes, before he aspired to be a big time action star, Mr Cruise aspired to be a pan of the cloth. At the tender age of 14, he enrolled in a seminary to become a priest. Thankfully, after just one year this young man dropped out! From there he lived a normal life until hitting the jackpot as a sought after film star.

Turned to acting due to a knee injury

A very ironic fact about the star of Top Gun. Cruise was actually part of his high school wrestling team, but unfortunately lost his place due to getting a knee injury.

From there, Cruise turned his attention to a new hobby that cater to his injury. That hobby? Acting. From there his love for the craft burst. The irony in this fact? Cruise went on to inflict more injuries than ever on himself (like the above) as one of Hollywood’s leading action stars who won’t hesitate to do his own stunts.

He almost played Neo in The Matrix (1999)

Like many other A-listers in the 90’s, Cruise was up for leading the franchise as Neo in The Matrix. The actor had already kicked off a franchise with 1996’s Mission: Impossible and so was clearly looking to head another franchise with some momentum.

Of course, Keanu Reeves won and role and beat out Cruise and the likes of Will Smith as The One.

Related Article: Did You Know This About…Dustin Hoffman

Left The Oscars to babysit!

Being a father can have responsibilities, but being Tom Cruise means having Tom Cruise-sized responsibilities when it comes to parenting.

After opening the 2002 Academy Awards, Cruise did not stay for the remainder as it was his turn to look after his and ex-wife Nicole Kidman’s children. He reportedly left the Kodak Theatre via a back door and, in true Tom Cruise fashion, rushed home to watch the rest of the event on TV with his two children.

Will not allow his likeness on merchandise

Ever wonder why you’ve never seen an Ethan Hunt action figure in your life? Turns out Cruise is the reason!

Cruise explicitly will not allow his image to be used in the likes of video games or action figure designs. We’ll see how that goes down if he is ever cast in a Marvel film…

He was offered the lead role in Footloose (1983)

The original Footloose from back in 1983 propelled Kevin Bacon’s status for sure. However, he wasn’t the first choice for the role it seems.

Cruise was actually offered the role first. So, why wasn’t it he that we seen dancing illegally? Well, he actually opted to star in All The Right Moves which was released the same year. From there, Bacon won the role.

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Know any extra facts about Cruise that we didn’t mention? Have a suggestion for who/what we should cover next? Let us know in the comment section below!