Tom Cruise returned to one of his most iconic roles in Top Gun: Maverick in 2022 and fans have their own opinions on his most likable characters.
As the end of 2022 draws near, the success of Top Gun: Maverick remains one of Hollywood’s biggest stories of the year. The critical and box office success of the movie exceeded all expectations and a lot of that was due to audiences wanting to see Tom Cruise return to one of his most iconic roles.
With his long and successful career, it shouldn’t be surprising that Maverick is just one of Cruise’s many likable characters. Though there are a lot to choose from, fans on Reddit have given their own choices for the Cruise characters they love and want to root for.
Roy Miller – Knight And Day (2010)
Though it is not as well-known as some of Cruise’s bigger movies, Knight and Day has plenty of fans who see it as a fun departure for the actor. Cruise plays Roy Miller, a disgraced spy who inadvertently gets innocent bystander June (Cameron Diaz) mixed up in his world-saving mission.
Redditor The-Go-Kid admits to loving the character of Roy because it’s unclear if he is “either sincerely charming or utterly unhinged.” These are two clashing personalities that Cruise can play so well. As great as he is as the polished spy in the Mission: Impossible movies, fans like seeing him as a bit more of a messy yet determined hero.
Lestat – Interview With A Vampire (1994)
Though fans are binging the Interview with a Vampire show, there are many who got hooked on the story first as the movie adaptation starring Cruise as Lestat. It follows this seductive and ruthless vampire and his relationship with fellow vampire Louis (Brad Pitt).
Redditor ampersands-guitars praised Cruise for “such a fun performance” that helps make Lestat likable despite his darker qualities. Cruise has played the villain before to great effect like in Collateral. But whereas that character is cold and intimidating, Lestat is charming and entertaining to the point that fans cheer for this monstrous creature of the night.
Barry Seal – American Made (2017)
Even when tackling true stories about complicated characters, Cruise can be counted on to bring that likability factor. The crime movie American Made stars Cruise as Barry Seal, an American pilot who worked as a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s.
It is a fascinating story that hinges on how the audience perceives Barry and one Redditor insists that “every step of the way I’m onboard with his character.” It takes an actor of Cruise’s star quality to achieve this as the audience wants to follow Barry on this journey even if they are against just about everything he does in the movie. He is a criminal, but he is clever and bold to the point of almost being heroic.
Charlie Babbitt – Rain Man (1988)
Cruise’s skills as an actor are such that he can take the audience on a journey with a character and seeing him go through a significant arc over the story. Rain Man stars Cruise as Charlie, a selfish young man who kidnaps his autistic brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) for a cross-country trip in the holds of getting the inheritance from his estranged father.
Though Hoffman earned an Oscar for the movie, one Redditor was more interested in Charlie’s arc from the self-involved jerk to a “humbled brother who genuinely wants to do something good.” In the hands of lesser actors, audiences might have given up on Charlie in the first act. Instead, Cruise is able to make him unlikable initially and bring the audience around to liking him through his growth.
Major William Cage – Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)
As one of the best science-fiction movies of the 2010s, Edge of Tomorrow focuses on the world at war with alien invaders. Cruise plays Major William Cage, a military man with no combat experience who is thrust to the frontlines where he finds himself caught in a time loop which restarts each time he dies.
It is another instance of Cruise playing against type as an initially cowardly and self-involved protagonist. Redditor RedditOfUnusualSize finds that Cage is likeable “precisely because Cruise’s character starts out as such a weenie.” It is hard to make a star like Cruise the underdog and seeing him play the scared and insecure warrior makes Cage’s transformation into a hero all the more satisfying.
Stacee Jaxx – Rock Of Ages (2012)
The musical Rock of Ages is certainly not one of Cruise’s most acclaimed movies, but many feel he is the sole reason to watch it. Cruise plays Stacee Jaxx, a wild 80s rock star performing at a benefit concert in a small-town.
Redditor TerrytheMerry feels that Stacee is “the only proper character in the entire film.” While some fans might not be entertained by an all-star cast lip-synching popular ’80s tunes, Stacee stands out as a funny and energetic addition to the story. With a less interesting movie around him, Stacee seems to bring a spark to every scene he’s in with Cruise fully committing to the performance.
Jerry Maguire – Jerry Maguire (1996)
Some fans feel that Jerry Maguire is the role Cruise should have won an Oscar for and it is not hard to see why. Cruise plays the titular sports agent who finds himself starting over with one client, the obnoxious football player Rodd Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and falling for his only employee, Dorothy (Renee Zellweger).
Redditor TheyCallMeTBone had high praise for Cruise in the role, claiming that it is “hard for me to think of a more charismatic performance by anyone ever.” Jerry is made an endearing yet flawed character fans are rooting for to win in the end. From his relationship with Dorothy and her young son to his loyalty to Rod to him looking like a fool on more than one occasion, he is a grounded and relatable protagonist.
Ethan Hunt – Mission: Impossible Franchise (1996 – Present)
Ethan Hunt is Cruise’s longest-running role in his career with the Mission: Impossible franchise spanning nearly 30 years at this point. Cruise is front and center in the movie as IMF agent Ethan Hunt who jumps from one chaotic mission to another, racing against the clock to prevent disaster at all costs.
While the action sequences are the real thrill, Redditor Toe500 points out that Hunt’s likability as a hero comes from “his commitment to save the world.” He is able to match or even surpass fellow movie spies like James Bond or Jason Bourne because he will throw himself into any situation without hesitation in order to see the mission accomplished. The commitment is matched by Cruise himself as his increasing death-defying stunts for these movies.
Source: screenrant
