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Since making his big screen debut in little-seen 1981 romantic drama Endless Love, Tom Cruise has become one of the biggest movie stars in history.
It only took him two years to find his breakthrough role in comedy Risky Business, before securing his status as Hollywood royalty in 1986’s Top Gun.
Not only is he one of the highest-paid and most profitable actors of all time (his films have grossed over $12 billion), he’s also critically-acclaimed and laden with prizes, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Golden Globe Awards.
Far from being the typical action movie star, he’s made numerous interesting choices during his career, working with the likes of Oliver Stone in Born on the Fourth of July, Stanley Kubrick on Eyes Wide Shut, and Paul Thomas Anderson on Magnolia.
The one award that has eluded him is an Oscar, with acting nominations for Magnolia, Jerry Maguire and Born on the Fourth of July, and a nomination for Best Film as a producer on Top Gun: Maverick.
His Mission: Impossible films, in which he stars as secret agent Ethan Hunt, have been a box office juggernaught.
The final instalment, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, is released next week and is tipped to be one of the biggest films of the year.
We thought that would be a good excuse to look back at the 15 critical highlights of his career so far - according to review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
9. Rain Man
Tom Cruise's most awards-laden film remains 1988's Rain Man, which won Oscars for best film, director, lead actor and screenplay. The fact that Cruise didn't even get a nomination for Best Supporting Actor seems now to have been a grave oversight by the Academy. He plays a selfish yuppie who discovers that his father has left his entire estate to his autistic older brother, played by Dustin Hoffman, that he didn't know existed. The two end up going on a road trip together. It has attracted 88 per cent positive reviews since its release. | Contributed
10. The Color of Money
Martin Scorsese's 'The Color of Money' once again saw Cruise miss out on an Oscar nomination, watching on as his co-star - Paul Newman in this case - picked up the Best Actor gong. A sequel to the 1961 film 'The Hustler', cruise plays a pool hustler making his way to a big-money tournament in Atlantic City. It has an 87 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. | Contributed
11. Collateral
Just missing out on a place in the top 10 is Michael Mann's tremendously stylish 2004 neo-noir thriller 'Collateral', with a rating of 86 per cent. Cruise plays a grey-haired hitman who hires a taxi driver (played by Jamie Foxx) to drive him around LA while he carries out a killing spree. | Contributed
12. Born on the Fourth of July
Tom Cruise finally got his first Oscar nominations for 1989's 'Born on the Fourth of July', but ultimately missed out on the Best Actor award. Oliver Stone's anti-war film sees Cruise play real-life Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic, following him through his childhood, military service, paralysis and peace activism. It has a Tomatometer rating of 84 per cent. | Contributed