Tom Cruise is one of the biggest current actors, but he generally plays action heroes or arrogant handsome leads. When he doesn’t, it’s great.

Tom Cruise is one of the biggest names in Hollywood. For a few decades now, he has become primarily known for his roles in action movies. He is a reference point for actors in the genre, and he appears to have as much fun filming these movies as the audience has when watching them. His characters in Top Gun and Mission Impossible influenced numerous action movies that came after. Cruise’s love for action is so grand that most of his ridiculously dangerous stunts are done by the actor himself.

However, it may get lost in the midst of airplane chases and gun fights the fact that Cruise has also done some dramatic roles that don’t involve escalating one of the tallest buildings in the world. Then again, a lot of these roles feature the exact same type of character, which becomes a bit of a common thread in his non-action movies — the handsome yet extremely cocky (almost arrogant) guy who changes his ways, and who the audience can’t help but root for. Cruise has done some great acting in these movies (Rain Man, Risky Business, Cocktail, Jerry Maguire), but they are often the exact same role, just in different situations.

He does have a handful of great movies where he steps outside his comfort zone. They may not be the first ones that come to mind once the actor’s name is mentioned, as they diverge from the types of roles the audience is accustomed to seeing him play, but they often allow Cruise more room to do something interesting. Here is a list of every time Tom Cruise played a character who is neither an adrenaline addict action hero nor the handsome jerk lead.

Eyes Wide Shut

In Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of a novella by Arthur Schnitzler, Eyes Wide Shut, Cruise is the main protagonist alongside his then-wife, Nicole Kidman. The actor plays the role of Dr. William Harford, who is married to Alice Harford (Kidman). In this strange psychosexual narrative that flirts with the nature of dreams, desire, and male expectations, the couple struggles to deal with possible infidelity and, most importantly, trusting one another

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is a jukebox musical comedy directed by Adam Shankman. Cruise is not, as in most movies he has been a part of, the lead. He has a somewhat small role in a cast full of stars, playing Stacee Jaxx, an almost constantly intoxicated rock star. The actor not only actually sings on the soundtrack, but he surprisingly performs the songs with an energy that is intoxicating to watch. The actor stated how much fun he had playing the character, just like the audience has when he is on-screen.

Interview with the Vampire

Interview with the Vampire, an adaptation of Anne Rice’s debut book, marks Cruise’s first significant foray into the horror genre. By co-starring with Brad Pitt as the vampire Lestat, Cruise entirely moves outside of his comfort zone, with a blonde wig and a menacing appetite for human blood.

Few people could have predicted that Cruise would turn into the antagonist of a gothic vampire story at this point because he was well recognized for playing the likable but conceited guy. The author was very vocal about how he felt his casting as the character was inappropriate. Rice first thought differently after witnessing his performance. Even after 22 years, many still like Lestat and the actor’s portrayal of the character.

Magnolia

Magnolia, a three-hour epic study of human behavior by Paul Thomas Anderson, covers the tale of several characters and their problems as Los Angeles residents. There are roughly ten stories total. Frank T.J. Mackey, a chauvinist motivational speaker, is played by Cruise. He gives lectures on how to seduce women, which is nothing more than treating them as objects of his desire. It goes without saying that it is quite difficult to relate with him, and it almost looks as though he is portraying a parody of the type of haughty man he was frequently cast as.

But the actor really excels when it appears that he is utterly superficial and honestly quite pitiful. The character’s profound trauma is revealed to the audience, which does not absolve him of his beliefs but rather provides the actor room to express the roiling rage inside of him. Tom Cruise received an Oscar nomination for the role of Ross Jeffries, a real-life inspiration for the character who preaches the “Seduce and Destroy” maxim.

Tropic Thunder

Tom Cruise is a very handsome man. His good looks are something everyone expects to see when they watch a movie with him. However, none of this is on display with his appearance in Tropic Thunder, directed by Ben Stiller. He is the studio executive overseeing a movie that ends up losing its director mid-shoot, and the actors become prey for the drug lords in the area.

Collateral

Collateral is a thriller that dances with the horror genre, transforming the actor into Vincent, the villain of a story that shares elements with a beloved horror subgenre: the slasher. Michael Mann’s great 2014 movie fools the audience into thinking that this is the Tom Cruise we all had seen before until he transforms himself. In the midst of violence, he is a cold and vicious person with a goal: complete his one-night killing spree. This is one of his darkest characters and stories, and it makes fans eager to see Cruise do a bloodthirsty role like this again.

Born on the Fourth of July

Oliver Stone’s film Born on the Fourth of July earned Cruise his first Oscar nomination and the director’s first Oscar victory. Although it’s not difficult to picture Tom Cruise in an action-packed war film, this fantastic account of the Vietnam War is nothing like that. In his role as Ron Kovick, a soldier who suffers paralysis in Vietnam and later develops into an anti-war activist, Cruise is superb.

The character’s journey is not an easy one, not only from a physical point of view but an emotional one. Cruise had to play deeply into one of the worst feelings a person could feel: betrayal. Betrayal from a country and an idea of what war was integrated into the core of this naive character, who sees everything he believed in, and his sense of self with a greater purpose, being destroyed.

Soucre; movieweb.com/