I’ve seen 44 Tom Cruise films – this is his quintessential role

Tom Cruise is back in cinemas this week with Digger (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage) Tom Cruise is back on the big screen as you’ve never seen him before in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger. The highly anticipated film sees the Mission: Impossible star trade high-octane stunts for layers of prosthetics in the jet-black comedy that’s already turning a lot of heads among movie and Cruise fans alike. It marks a moment for the actor, returning to the kind of auteur-driven roles that defined his earlier career. Cruise has, of course, been a mega star in Hollywood for most of 40 years, emerging in 1980s teen ensemble movies like The Outsiders before rising to leading-man status with Risky Business and Top Gun. He went on to firmly establish himself as a bona fide movie star across the decades, both with blockbusters like the Mission franchise and War of the Worlds, and more dramatic fare like Born on the Fourth of July, For A Few Good Men, and Magnolia. When it comes to his most quintessential role, though? I think that honour belongs to one that lands more in the dramatic camp: 1996’s Jerry Maguire. Show me the money (Picture: TriStar/Moviepix/Getty Images) But I hear you cry, how can it be the quintessential Cruise role if he doesn’t run or dangle from an aeroplane (to be fair, he does still do some panicked running in an airport in Maguire)? Yes, the Cruise that audiences have been used to for the past 20 years is more in the action mode,, But to just limit him to roles which require him to up the ante with a new death-defying stunt doesn’t quite fully express what makes Cruise THE movie star of our times. Don’t get me wrong, those daring-dos are a huge part of why he has endured as a star, but that is only one part of his appeal. To really get a glimpse at the essence of what really makes him a movie star, you need to turn to Cameron Crowe’s romantic drama set in the world of sports agents. It’s far from his most high-octane work; there are no special effects, and it’s not even the most dramatic effort he has ever done. But Jerry Maguire is an example of him fully inhabiting a character in a manner that leans on elements of his persona. You complete me (Picture: Columbia Tri Star/Kobal/Shutterstock Jerry is still a larger-than-life character, a man driven by an innate sense of doing the right thing even if he can’t quite keep his ego in check. He takes bold swings, relies on his big shining grin to get by in sticky situations and lays it all out on the line in the name of his clients, his friends and the woman he loves in Renée Zellweger’s Dorothy. Maguire’s drive and determination have an intensity not unlike Cruise’s career (it’s also not hard to imagine Jerry Maguire going on Oprah and jumping on the sofa). When Jerry has his mind set on something, he goes after it. That drive is what makes him stand out, and what can get him in trouble, particularly when he is fired and forced to go freelance after writing a mission statement to encourage his company to build more meaningful and caring relationships with their clients. Jerry Maguire also feels more unique these days when held up to the more recent output of Cruise. The likes of the latter Mission: Impossible movies and Top Gun: Maverick are very designed to mythologise the figure of Cruise and his status as the last movie star. While there is often passion and determination in the characters, we rarely see a flawed side to him. Jerry Maguire: Key details Director and writer Cameron Crowe Cast Tom Cruise (duh), Renée Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr, Bonnie Hunt, Kelly Preston, Jerry O’Connell, Jay Mohr Age rating 15 Runtime 2 hours and 18 minutes Release date December 13, 1996 Box office $273.6million (£206.8m) Rotten Tomatoes score 86% critics score – 79% audience score Where to watch Jerry Maguire is available to stream on Now Cinema. Jerry Maguire reminds us now of a movie star who wasn’t afraid to reveal more vulnerability and flaws on screen, with Jerry’s own apparent confidence proving to be a shield to protect himself from letting someone truly see him. Behind it is a man who is often overwhelmed by both the new path he’s set himself on and his feelings for Dorothy, often questioning his decisions and denying himself a sense of true connection, constantly battling with himself over what his priorities should be: his career or love. It’s a movie about emotional risks as much as it is a sports movie about career risks both on and off the field. That Jerry is so flawed, confused, and often struggling to keep the wheel steady on his life feels like getting a window into a Cruise that once was, and one who was arguably all the more mesmerising on screen, demonstrating a range that balances vulnerability with his one-of-a-kind movie star charisma. Did you know that the human head weighs 8lbs? (Picture: Rex Features/Moviestore/Shutterstock) Help me, help you (Picture: Andrew Cooper/Columbia Tri Star/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock My top five Tom Cruise movies Jerry Maguire (1996) – haven’t you heard? It’s the quintessential Cruise performance! Magnolia (1999) – Cruise is brash and bold in Paul Thomas Anderson’s sweeping drama Collateral (2004) – Cruise in villain mode is chilling and captivating in Michael Mann’s exceptional thriller Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) – The finest outing of Ethan Hunt with some staggeringly crafted set-pieces Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – Cruise subverts his action-man image in a sci-fi thriller that is perfect for repeat viewings Of course, it helps that he has wonderful material to work with thanks to his writer and director Cameron Crowe. The script is a treasure trove, with many funny and heartfelt moments, as well as iconic quotes that still reverberate to this day, from ‘show me the money’ to ‘you had me at hello.’ It’s arguably also Crowe’s best work, and Cruise’s willingness to give himself all the way over to Crowe’s screenplay makes his performance all the better for it. The role gave Cruise one of his three Oscar nominations for acting (Born on the Fourth of July and Magnolia are the other two). While he didn’t win – I’d argue he was robbed, losing to Geoffrey Rush in Shine – 1996 will always be a banner year for Cruise and his status as a movie star. He arguably hit his peak, having both Jerry Maguire and the first Mission: Impossible released in the same year. The two movies demonstrate two sides of his movie star track: the character actor and the action hero. While Ethan Hunt and the Mission movies gave him his flagship franchise, Jerry Maguire gave him the role of a lifetime. It gave him the space to completely give himself to a character in a way that lets flaws, sincerity, and emotion be laid bare at a time when he seemed much more of an open book on screen. It’s a performance from him that I don’t think we’re ever likely to quite see again. 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