JimRochester

Streep has never been one of those people that I went to see a movie because she was in it. She is supposed to be this amazing actress but she never really did anything for me. Maybe it was so effortless for her she made it look TOO easy.

Hanks has been consistent and is always a draw.

DeNiro stopped being a great actor after Meet The Parents. He was funny and good in MTP but then went on to do the sequels. Now the joke's on us with movies like Dirty Grandpa, Last Vegas and The Intern. Not exactly meaty actor's roles. I guess he's earned the right to do crap but I don't think many people are going to run to see The Intern because it has the guy from Raging Bull and Taxi Driver

There are many with resurgent careers with ebbs and flows. But I'll agree with the OP. Cruise has been one of the most consistent performers for decades. And the fact that he still does all those stunts at 56 years old is amazing. By that age a ton of those martial arts actors had gotten old and fat like Segal.

Ash Ketchum

Hong Kong cinema. Since the '70s, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. Since the '80s, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, Andy Lau and Chow Yun Fat. I'm leaving out a few that are not as well known here.

JeffTheAlpaca

If there was a thread for 90's stars still relevant today Matt Damon would be on that list though he came into the public eye in the late 90's.

GoldenJCJ

Stallone has a pretty dismal decade in the 90s though. Cliffhanger was good and then he had a small come back in ‘97 with Cop Land but everything else that decade was pretty shitty (I don’t care how much you try to convince me Demolition Man was good, it wasn’t).

Even the first decade of the 2000s was pretty rough. Rocky Balboa and Rambo were good enough to propel his career into what it is today though so I’ll give him props for that.

stingermck

Idk, I think Stallone did OK in the 90s. Demolition man is cool, and I really like Assassins. Even the Specialist is a good action flick

fujishig

That helps a ton I'm sure, but he also stars in other movies and is still a huge draw. I'm not sure they were even involved in the last few MI movies, for instance.

Part of it is that the guy doesn't age. Also I'm not sure if it's just the sheer power of Scientology or something but he's had his fair share of public snafus (jumping on the couch) and Scientology rumors and it has never really affected his box office draw.

But seriously, he looks the same. A lot of these 80s actors/actresses would continue to get work if they aged like Cruise did, whether it's plastic surgery or magic or whatever.

rw2516

His eternal youth, keeping him a blockbuster action movie star is probably a major factor.

Cruise has produced all the MI movies, the Jack Reachers, and the upcoming Top Gun sequel Maverick. Probably around 50/50 self produced.
He has complete control over his career. He's not at the mercy of studios. He can keep himself on top by originating blockbusters starring himself. He doesn't have to get hired, he's top boss.
Cruise is in bed with Paramount. His company probably has it's offices at Paramount. Paramount owns the franchises but aren't going to take them away from him as long as he continues to deliver.

fujishig

Are you sure his production company produced the last few?

He and Paramount had a pretty vicious split after his couch antics and the Brooke Shields thing, with Redstone saying that it cost MI3 some box office. Obviously they made up (some would say taking that role in Tropic Thunder saved his career) but I thought Bad Robot and some other production companies took over, and not Cruise/Wagner, unless Cruise has a stake in one of those companies as well.

rw2516

Cruise/Wagner seems to be defunct. Have not made a film since 2008. Cruise is listed as producer for last three MI and both Jack Reacher. One of the companies is TC Productions which is probably him. TC is his nickname. Those are the only movies credited to TC productions.
He's also listed as producer on upcoming Maverick, but TC productions is not. One company they all have in common is Skydance. Don't know if he is part of Skydance or not.

When Paramount severed with Cruise over couch jumping/MI III the deal they had was that Paramount advanced Cruise 3M per year to develop projects. At the same time Paramount severed all other deals they had also. Speculation is that Paramount was having cash flow problems. Paramount went public with the Cruise separation, blaming MI III box office. At the time Cruise was earning Paramount more money than anybody else.

JeffTheAlpaca

But Cruise will turn 60 in 4 years and he can't do MI movies forever. He will need to find a new franchise to continue since his other projects have not been that successful.

This is coming from a guy who loved War of the Worlds and thought it was one of the best movies of the 2000's.

rw2516

That's where he has an edge. He's in the position to personally purchase the screen rights to a video game, book series, etc. with the intent of producing it and starring in it.

orangerunner

As an internationally recognized name-above-the-title mega-star, I don't think anyone has consistently held that position for as long as Tom Cruise.

Sure he's had a few hills and valleys but no other star has that kind of consistent success for what is 32 years now - at least since Top Gun in 1986. I think he's always surrounded himself with great talent and always had a penchant for choosing good scripts with good directors in either "tent-pole" films or smaller films.

JeffTheAlpaca

I remember back in 2005 everybody hated him for jumping on Oprah's couch and his Scientology beliefs.

Shannon Nutt

Why not? 76-year-old Harrison Ford is about to suit-up for Indiana Jones again.

That said, I'm not sure Cruise WANTS to do many more MI movies...although he does seem to enjoy them.

orangerunner

It's funny how some celebrities can publicly conduct themselves with much more questionable behavior and yet receive a fraction of the public outrage.

He enthusiastically jumped on Oprah's couch which was strange but hardly worth the public shunning he received for it. But I guess he pressed the wrong buttons at the wrong time.

fujishig

It wasn't just that; at around the same time he got into an online feud with Brooke Shields about postpartum depression and went on the Today show to say that psychiatry was dangerous and psychiatric medicine to cope with depression was a hoax, all based on his Scientology beliefs. Then there were all the rumors about Katie Holmes being his beard, and that Southpark episode that he sued over. And I personally don't believe that his image really recovered until he took that role in Tropic Thunder.

Nick Danger

That has worked great for Clint Eastwood. He's purchased the rights and sat on them for a decade, waiting to age into a role.

DRG

Tom Cruise is probably the most consistent... he has only had three movies gross less than $50 million domestically since 1986, and one of those was an indie that never had a wide release (Magnolia). The other two were Lions for Lambs and Rock of Ages, and it could be argued those are both more ensemble pieces than true Cruise vehicles, although he was front and center in the marketing.

Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis have been less consistent in the 2000s, although both can have still had hits.

Harrison Ford, big franchise revivals aside, has had good luck landing supporting roles in hits like Anchorman 2 and 42, but he's not the 'star' of those films. Between Crystal Skull and Force Awakens he's been in three wide releases where his face was on the poster, and only one (Cowboys vs Aliens) was a hit. The other two (Extreme Measures and Paranoia) were complete bombs, grossing $12 mil and $7 mil.

movieguru

If they don't have to be the leading role a lot of others would fit. Warrick Davis, Frank Welker, John Ratzenberger.

Groucho

Christian Bale:

hdnmickey

His only big movie during the 80's wasn't even a big box office success.

Mabuse

My take on atom Cruise

Ever since he began producing his own films I feel that his singular creative drive is to make himself look cool. He builds the films in which he stars in the same manner one might pick a sports car: "I want something that I'll look cool getting out of." That's how he makes his films, "I want to be in a movie that makes me look cool all the time." So he's always on a motorcycle or in sweet car or piloting an exotic vehicle. He's always dressed in clothes that flatter his sweet build. He always has awesome sun glasses. His leading lady is always someone who perfectly compliments his look or is the perfect opposite. He always showcases himself running. Boy does that fucker love to run.

Decker

I know he's pretty short, but do we really have to give him a cruel nickname?

fujishig

That's kind of his draw, though. It's like complaining about Jackie Chan starring in movies where he does martial arts. But it's also why a role like Tropic Thunder tends to stand out.

orangerunner

I agree that, especially the last ten years or so, the Tom Cruise machine has become more of slick brand than an actor. Every role is carefully chosen and marketed to accelerate the brand further.

For instance when was the last time you saw Tom Cruise play an insecure loser? Never. That doesn't feed the positive brand that is Tom Cruise.
He can play flawed characters but they always have redeemable and positive characteristics.

It's not necessarily a bad thing and given the global demand for big-scale action films that have little dialogue, there's no else is playing that role better right now.