Tom Cruise

Season 10, Episode 1009

Original Airdate: January 11, 2004

As Tom Cruise tells the students of “Inside the Actors Studio,” within six months of moving to New York to act, he had landed a role in his first major film, “Taps.” Cruise describes how his original role consisted of barely three lines, and was gradually expanded as director Harold Becker recognized the enormous talent of the young actor.

Audiences around the globe were soon able to see the full scope of Cruise's ability when he landed the lead role in “Risky Business” at the age of twenty-one. In this special two-hour episode, Cruise walks the audience through the decisions that lead him to attend seminary school; try his hand at acting; drop his given surname, Mapother; and learn to shoot champion pool and fly fighter planes.

The discussion unearths so much information, in fact, that Cruise himself learns something: James Lipton clues Cruise in on just how far back his family roots can be traced, as well as the structure of the Mapother family crest.

Cruise, who has been nominated for three Academy Awards and has won as many Golden Globe awards, talks about his experiences filming “Top Gun,” “The Color of Money,” “Rainman,” “Interview with a Vampire,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Magnolia,” “Vanilla Sky,” and “The Last Samurai,” as well as working with acting and directing greats Paul Newman, Martin Scorsese, Dustin Hoffman, Cameron Crowe, ex-wife Nicole Kidman, and Edward Zwick. Despite his lofty accomplishments, Cruise continually connects with the audience of New School masters degree students by offering them applicable and pointed career advice.