汤姆·克鲁斯生于1962年7月3日,父亲是纽约的电气工程师,母亲是个话剧演员,家庭生活充满艰辛。这让克鲁斯养成了一种吃苦勤奋的精神和一种对待生活的乐观态度。他早年的愿望是做一名牧师,在旧金山神学院进修。接触影视文艺是个极其偶然的机会,他参加了校内音乐剧的演出,从此开始对戏剧与演出十分着迷,加入了当地的剧院。后来又将准备到欧洲去旅游的钱用于到纽约寻求演艺圈内的发展。

克鲁斯无疑是21世纪好莱坞人人崇拜的典范:不满40岁的时候,他已跻身2000万美元俱乐部;在票房成绩上他仅次于头发已然花白的哈里森·福特;他拥有自己的制片公司;由他主演的《碟中谍续集》尽管评价一般,但仍然在2000年暑期掀起一场票房狂潮。2001年,他和导演Cameron Crowe继《甜心先生》之后再度合作,拍摄了奇情惊悚片《香草的天空》,而2002年中还有和Steven Spielberg合作的科幻大片《少数派报告》。目前,阿汤哥参演电影的全球累计票房已突破七十亿美元。

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and has won three Golden Globe Awards. Cruise's first appearance in a major film was in 1981's Taps. His first leading role was in the film Risky Business, released in August 1983. Cruise played the role of a heroic naval pilot in the popular and successful 1986 film Top Gun, and also secret agent Ethan Hunt in the series of Mission: Impossible action films.

He has starred in a variety of other successful films such as Rain Man (1988), Days of Thunder (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), Jerry Maguire (1996), Magnolia (1999), Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004) and War of the Worlds (2005). Since 2005, Cruise and Paula Wagner have been in charge of the United Artists film studio, with Cruise as producer and star and Wagner as the chief executive. Cruise is also known for his support of and adherence to the Church of Scientology.