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This Is The Worst Tom Cruise Cameo, According To Movie Critics

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• Tom Cruise's short cameo in Young Guns was not well-received, but the movie was still a box office success.
• Even in his uncredited role in Young Guns, Tom Cruise displayed his early interest in performing stunts.
• Known for his daring stunts in Mission: Impossible, Cruise's early days of heart-stopping action started with Top Gun.

Tom Cruise has delivered many memorable roles over his four decades on-screen. He's not just known as a leading man, he has also made numerous cameos and uncredited appearances in movies.

Despite successful cameos in Tropic Thunder, Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Outsiders , not all his minor roles have landed. His appearance in 1988's Young Guns is one of Cruise's less successful appearances. Although it allowed him to showcase his love of stuntwork and starred some of the hottest actors of the generation, the film was poorly received.

With just 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, Young Guns was considered a disappointing Western that chose style over substance. Despite the less-than-stellar reviews, the movie grossed $45.7 million in the US and Canada and was a box office success.

In the following, we take a look at Tom Cruise's uncredited role in Young Guns and why movie critics say it's Tom Cruise's worst cameo. We also reveal how Cruise's small role in Young Guns was actually major for his career performing his own stunts.

Tom Cruise's Worst Cameo In 1988's Young Guns

Tom Cruise makes a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in Young Guns . The 1988 film is a fictionalized version of Billy the Kid's adventures during the Lincoln County War. Due to its star-studded cast, which featured Kiefer Sutherland, Emilio Estevez, and Charlie Sheen, the film is associated with the brat pack.

For a brief moment, the Tom Cruise appears as a henchman for Jack Palance's character Lawrence Murphy. Cruise is on screen for a short time, hidden behind a mustache and a cowboy hat , before he is shot down. If you didn't know it was the Mission Impossible actor in the role, he would be easy to miss.

Does Kelly McGillis Still Keep In Touch With Tom Cruise After Playing His Love Interest In Top Gun?

Kelly McGillis and Tom Cruise had such intense chemistry on Top Gun, fans were convinced that the two had been a real-life couple at some point.

Tom Cruise's appearance in the movie is uncredited. It is thought that Cruise was just on set visiting when the director, Christopher Cain, thought it would be fun to add him to the movie for the final battle. Although his cameo adds nothing to the story, it's a nice little slice of trivia for movie fans.

Compared to his Tom Cruise's other cameos , Young Guns is an insignificant addition to his filmography. His other cameos use Cruise's star power and charisma to make an impression. In Tropic Thunder, he plays a morally corrupt Hollywood exec; in Austin Powers in Goldmember , he appears as a meta version of himself; in Rock Of Ages , he briefly appears as a flamboyant rockstar.

Although Young Guns was met with mixed reviews, the 1988 movie did well at the box office, and a sequel was made in 1990 with the principal cast returning.

Why Tom Cruise's Young Guns Cameo Was Important To His Career

Although Tom Cruise's role in Young Guns is unremarkable and far-fleeting, it does display his early interest in stunt work . Since his appearance in the movie about gunslingers seeking revenge, Cruise has become known for his dangerous stunt work.

Cruise admitted that he has always loved doing dangerous things , spending his childhood doing "flips off of [his] house into the snow" and performing precarious bicycle jumps over ditches.

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Cruise explained to Graham Norton on his chat show that he has "always loved fast cars, motorcycles, hiking, and climbing."

“I feel that [when] acting you’re bringing everything, you know, physically and emotionally, to a character in a story, And I’m able to do it [stunts], and I’ve trained for 30 years doing things like this that it allows us to put cameras in places where you normally are not able to.”

During an appearance at Cannes in 2022, Cruise admitted he doesn't intend to give up the dangerous stunts anytime soon .

“No one asked Gene Kelly, ‘Why do you dance? Why do you do your own dancing?’”

How Tom Cruise's Stunt Work Has Grown Over The Years

Tom Cruise has become known for performing death-defying stunts in many of his movies, most notably the Mission: Impossible franchise. Over the last two decades, the Minority Report actor has climbed the world's tallest building, hung from helicopters, and held his breath underwater for a significant amount of time.

Even before he took on the role of Ethan Hunt, he was doing his own stunts in 1986's Top Gun . The scene in which Maverick (Cruise) and Goose (Anthony Edwards) are ejected from the jet and parachuted into the water nearly caused the Rain Man star serious injury.

Actor Barry Tubb told the New York Post on the film’s 25th anniversary that “Cruise came as close to dying as anybody on a set I’ve ever seen.” Cruise almost drowned during the scene as his parachute filled with water, and the actor started to sink.

“They were refilling the camera or something, and luckily, one of the frogmen in the chopper saw his chute ballooning out,” Tubb, who played Wolfman in the movie, explained.

“He jumped in and cut Cruise loose right before he sank. They would have never found him. He would have been at the bottom of the ocean.”

Tom Cruise Pushes For ‘Top Gun 3’ After Nearly Losing His Life During 'Mission: Impossible' Stunt

Tom Cruise is ready to risk his life again for a Top Gun movie, but his schedule may be a hindrance.

One of Tom Cruise's earliest Mission Impossible stunts involves his character, Ethan Hunt, blowing up a huge aquarium in the 1996 film. The stunt saw the actor running with 16 gallons of water following behind him. He followed this up in the sequel with his rock climbing stunt, where the actor had only a safety cable to help soften any impact.

In Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, director Brad Bird referred to watching Tom Cruise take on death-defying stunts as “just another day at work." Most noticeable on the set of the 2011 movie, the actor scaled Dubai’s 163-floor Burj Khalifa.

Tom Cruise's love of doing his own stunts has also caused him some issues over the years . When filming Mission: Impossible Fallout, the actor broke two bones in his ankle when leaping between two buildings. The video footage of the accident soon went viral, with many praising him for the lengths he goes to for cinema.

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12 actors you forgot appeared in the young guns movies.

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Where Was Young Guns Filmed? (Every Location)

Tom cruise & bon jovi share a bizarre western cameo trend in common, how sonic the hedgehog 3 can set up the two biggest missing sonic characters.

• The Young Guns movies featured a star-studded ensemble cast, including Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, and Lou Diamond Phillips.
• Notable actors such as Tom Cruise, Terry O'Quinn, Viggo Mortensen, Christian Slater, and Terence Stamp also appeared in the films.
• Rock music legend Jon Bon Jovi made a cameo and provided the end credits theme for Young Guns 2.

The Young Guns movies featured a wealth of acting talent, including some surprisingly familiar faces. 1988's Young Gun featured an all-star ensemble cast for its action-adventure Western. The sequel, 1990's Young Guns 2 , expanded the cast even further with a packed line-up of famous actors.

Young Guns starred Emilio Estevez as William H. "Billy the Kid" Bonney in an adaptation of the infamous gunslinger's life. After their benefactor is slain, Billy and his troupe of renegades (known as the Regulators) enact a violent revenge which leads to them becoming the hunted. Young Guns 2 depicted the further exploits of Estevez's Billy the Kid, specifically the years leading up to his death. Estevez was praised for his performance and was even hoping for a Young Guns 3 . However, he's hardly the only notable cast member in The Young Guns films.

Young Guns is set in the Wild West during the late 1870s and tells the tale of legendary outlaw Billy the Kid. Here’s where the western was filmed.

12 Kiefer Sutherland

Kiefer Sutherland appears in both Young Guns and Young Guns 2 , as Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock - Billy's second in command. During the first Young Guns , Josiah has a romance with Yen Sun (Alice Carter) and spends much of his time composing poetry. In Young Guns 2 , Josiah is gunned down as he attempts to save the Regulators from an ambush. Sutherland is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in 24 , and the wildly different Rabbit Hole Hero . Sutherland's other notable roles include Phone Booth and Melancholia .

11 Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen appears throughout the first half of Young Guns , as Richard "Dick" Brewer, the founder and original leader of the Regulators. Dick and Billy clash frequently in the first act of Young Guns , until Dick is slain by Buckshot Roberts and Billy assumes the leadership. Sheen is a particularly famous actor, known for starring in the movies Hot Shots , and The Three Musketeers , and the television sitcom Two and a Half Men .

10 Lou Diamond Phillips

Lou Diamond Phillips plays another main character from Young Guns and Young Guns 2 , Jose Chavez y Chavez. Chavez's most memorable scene occurs in the first Young Guns when he passionately and emotionally describes the injustices his people suffered on Native American reservations. Lou Diamond Phillips is also known for appearing in Courage Under Fire , La Bamba , and Stand and Deliver ​​​​​.

9 Dermot Mulroney

Dermot Mulroney stars as one of the Regulators, known as "Dirty" Steve Stephens. Steve is gunned down during the climactic ending of Young Guns while rescuing a wounded Chavez. Mulroney is rather unrecognizable as Steve, but audiences will know him for his movie roles in My Best Friend's Wedding , The Family Stone, and Scream 6 . Mulroney also appeared as Dusty in Arrested Development and as the despicable news anchor, Bob Thompson, in American Horror Story: Cult ​​​​​.

8 Tom Cruise

The star of Mission Impossible and countless other blockbuster movies, Tom Cruise has a brief cameo in Young Guns . Tom Cruise plays an unnamed minion who besieges the Regulators during the final scene. He is fairly obscured by smoke but can be observed taking aim at the Regulators, before being shot and collapsing on the floor. Cruise's appearance in Young Guns came just two years after Top Gun , meaning the actor had made his big break at that point but wasn't quite the household name he is today.

7 Terry O'Quinn

Terry O'Quin is probably best known for his role as John Locke in the ABC television series Lost . He has also made notable appearances in The X-Files , The Stepfather , and Heaven's Gate . In Young Guns , O'Quinn plays lawyer Alexander McSween, the man who deputizes the Regulators. Alexander is gunned down during the final shootout in Young Guns after assisting several Regulators in their escape.

6 Viggo Mortensen

Viggo Mortensen joined the cast ensemble for Young Guns 2 , playing John W. Poe. Mortensen's most memorable appearance in Young Guns 2 was as one of the men who ambush the Regulators and was subsequently knocked down by Hendry William French. Mortensen is most famous for playing Aragorn throughout The Lords of the Rings trilogy, but is also known for his roles in Daylight and G.I. Jane .

5 Christian Slater

Christian Slater also joined the cast for Y oung Guns 2 , playing "Arkansas" Dave Rudabaugh. Dave is a reckless outlaw who joins the Regulators and fights alongside them throughout, becoming one of the movie's central characters. Christian Slater has had several highly-regarded roles throughout his career, his most notable movies include True Romance , Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves , and Broken Arrow.

4 Terence Stamp

Terence Stamp is a critically acclaimed actor known for his performances in The Limey , Song for Marion , and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert. Stamp only appears during the opening act of Young Guns , portraying John Tunstall. John is the English rancher and benefactor who has employed the main characters, and whose death instigates the revenge plot and the formation of the Regulators.

3 Alan Ruck

Alan Ruck appears in Young Guns 2 , playing Hendry William French. Hendry is initially employed by the Regulators as a farmhand but is soon caught up in gunslingers' antics and becomes an essential member of the gang. Alan Ruck is perhaps best known for playing Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off . Ruck has, however, appeared in a litany of other film roles, including Speed , Bad Boys , and Twister.

2 Bradley Whitford

Bradley Whitford also joins the roster for Young Guns 2 , portraying Charles Phalen. Charles Phalen only appears in the opening scene, as the attorney contacted by a man claiming to be the real Billy the Kid, and to whom the movie's narrative is being relayed. Whitford would subsequently star in the political drama The West Wing , and Jake Peralta's father in Brooklyn Nine-Nine . Whitford has also appeared in many movies, most notably Get Out, Saving Mr. Banks , and The Cabin in the Woods.

1 Jon Bon Jovi

Rock music legend Jon Bon Jovi makes a brief cameo in Young Guns 2 . The Bon Jovi lead singer plays a bandit attempting to escape during the prison scene. He has no lines, but does provide the Young Guns sequel with its end credits theme, "Blaze of Glory." Interestingly, Jon Bon Jovi has had several other acting appearances, including New Year's Eve , No Looking Back , and an extended role in the television series Ally McBeal .

10 Movie Cameos So Well-Hidden Everybody Missed Them

9. tom cruise (young guns).

Even though he's one of the biggest, most bankable stars in Hollywood history, Tom Cruise doesn't mind having a bit of a laugh by taking on a smaller cameo role.

His brief stints in Austin Powers and Tropic Thunder are completely and utterly legendary, and though those rumours of him playing an Iron Man variant in Doctor Strange 2 didn't pan out, it's easy to imagine that he would've jumped at the chance to add another cool cameo to his already impressive lineup.

One of his earliest cameos occurred during the 1988 western Young Guns, but unlike his bit-parts in those aforementioned comedy hits, Cruise is totally unrecognisable here.

Sporting a moustache, some sideburns, and a large hat that helps conceal his identity, Cruise - who happened to be visiting the set that day - appears for a handful of seconds as a rootin'-tootin' gunslinger who is quickly shot down by his opponents.

You can sort of make out his facial features underneath all that costuming, but because he doesn't appear onscreen for very long, it's a very easy cameo to miss.

WhoCulture Channel Manager/Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture. Can confirm that bow ties are cool.

Top Gun 2: Why Tom Cruise Wasn't Allowed To Fly An F-18 Fighter Jet

• Tom Cruise insisted on prioritizing practical effects over CGI in Top Gun: Maverick , adding authenticity to the aerial action.
• Cruise originally wanted to fly a real Boeing F-18 fighter jet in the film, but the US Navy denied his request due to insurance concerns and the high cost of the plane.
• Cruise's dedication to doing his own stunts enhances the storytelling and creates a level of authenticity that can't be achieved in any other way.

Given the actor's reputation for wild stunts, it's not surprising that many viewers were wondering did Tom Cruise actually fly in T op Gun: Maverick . Joseph Kosinski's sequel has surpassed the original 1986 Top Gun with its box office success and a Best Picture nomination. Much of this has to do with how the movie prioritized practical effects over CGI, adding authenticity to the aerial action. That said, while it's no secret that Tom Cruise does his own stunts a lot, some of the tricks proposed for Top Gun: Maverick were a little too ambitious, even by Cruise's standards.

When it came to the long-awaited sequel, Cruise signed on for the project only with the assurance that the film's effects would not be reliant on CGI. Cruise was so ambitious, in fact, that he had initially hoped to fly a real Boeing F-18 fighter jet. A certified pilot, Top Gun: Maverick's Cruise is well-accustomed to high-octane aviation stunts . Many Cruise fans will already be aware that many of the more impressive helicopter stunts in 2018's Mission: Impossible - Fallout were performed by Cruise. However, Bruckheimer maintains that the US Navy ultimately denied Cruise's requests to fly the Super Hornet, which boasts a price tag in excess of $70 million.

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Why Its Sensible That Tom Cruise Wasnt Allowed To Fly A Fighter Jet

The navy denied his application.

The Super Hornet jet does feature in the sequel, but Tom Cruise did not fly them in Top Gun: Maverick as those scenes were all completed with assistance from Navy pilots. According to producer Bruckheimer, Cruise does fly a P-51 propeller-driven fighter plane, as well as some helicopters. With the assistance of skilled editing, the action sequences are convincing to even the best-trained eye.

There's no confirmation about why the US Navy might have denied Cruise's aspirations to pilot a Super Hornet , even though the actor has experience flying Top Gun 's supersonic military aircraft . However, the most logical reason would be insurance concerns, which is always enough of a consideration to prevent actors from doing their own stunts.

The cost of the plane also figures into this – a real F-18 Super Hornet would make up roughly half of Top Gun: Maverick 's $152 million budget. That would be likely to create logistical nightmares for the insurance of the film. That's not even to mention insuring Cruise himself, who, though already a certified pilot, may not have the specific training required to fly the F-18 safely.

Insurance woes aside, should an inexperienced pilot such as Cruise lose control of a high-speed aircraft, it could also mean peril for civilians and/or military personnel on the ground. Besides, while Tom Cruise does his own stunts to great effect, the real Navy pilots in Top Gun: Maverick 's brought more than enough authenticity to the sequel.

Top Gun 2: All 6 Jet Fighter Planes That Appear In Maverick

Top Gun: Maverick put Tom Cruise back in the cockpit after three decades, but which specific jet fighter planes appear in the followup to Top Gun?

Why Does Tom Cruise Like To Do His Own Stunts?

A passion for story telling is why tom cruise doesn't use stunt doubles much.

The real reason why Tom Cruise does his own stunts is simple: it's the best way to tell whatever story is at hand . In the actor's own words, “It has to do with storytelling… It allows us to put cameras in places that you’re not normally able to do.” Indeed, if the lead actor in an action movie is able to physically perform the character's stunts, this removes the necessity to shoot from strange angles or use editing tricks to make dangerous scenes appear real. This ultimately translates to smoother action sequences and scenes closer to the writer, stunt coordinator, and director's vision.

Moreover, whenever Cruise puts himself in danger for a risky stunt, everyone involved - from the film crew to the audience - is much more invested in the results, a level of authenticity that simply can't be achieved in any other way. Outside of the Top Gun series, this stunning effect can also be observed in the stunt-filled Mission Impossible franchise .

The F/A-18 Super Hornet Requires An Advanced Pilot

The aircraft in top gun: maverick are among the hardest to fly.

While Tom Cruise did really fly in Top Gun: Maverick with certain aircraft, confirming his exceptional pilot skills, the F/A-18 Super Hornets are not the kind of plane just anyone can jump into and take off . It requires specially trained pilots to operate these aircraft given their immense power and the danger involved. Some of the impressive specifics about the plane (via: Military.com ) include its maximum speed of 1,190 mph and the ability to climb 45,000 ft per minute. Such power is needed as the Super Hornets have a 30,500 lb weight while empty which can increase to 66,000 lbs with its maximum weapons load.

It seems as though Tom Cruise will do anything for his stunts , and that likely includes the necessary training to handle an aircraft like this. However, even if he was denied that opportunity, the Super Hornets didn't come at a discounted price. It was reported (via Bloomberg ) that the movie r ented the Super Hornets from the U.S. Navy for over $11,000 an hour . However, given that Top Gun: Maverick more than surpassed box office expectations, it seems as though it was a price worth paying.

How Much Of Top Gun 2 Is Real & How Much Is CGI

Top Gun: Maverick features plenty of thrilling flying sequences and stunts. Here's what was done for real by Tom Cruise and the cast and what was CGI.

Top Gun: Maverick Isn't The Only Movie To Feature Tom Cruise Really Flying A Plane

Cruise really flew in mission: impossible - fallout and american made.

While Tom Cruise didn't get to fly an F18 in Top Gun: Maverick, he did get to pilot his own P-51 in the Top Gun sequel, and Maverick isn't the only movie that used real footage of him in the cockpit of an aircraft. He's flown various helicopters and planes throughout the Mission: Impossible franchise, for example. Notably, he spent hours learning to become an expert helicopter pilot for a single stunt in Mission: Impossible: Fallout in 2018. Marc Wolff, the aerial coordinator on Mission: Impossible - Fallout, revealed that Cruise spent upwards of 2000 hours in the cockpit training for the sequence ( via Quartz ):

Flying a helicopter takes a lot of skill, to put someone like Tom into a situation like this is almost impossible to imagine.

Another added:

Most pilots wouldnt attempt this, you make a mistake, somebodys going to die from it."

However, it's not just in his franchise movies like Top Gun: Maverick and the Mission: Impossible franchise that Tom Cruise flexed his skills as a pilot. In the 2017 action-comedy American Made, Tom Cruise played Barry Seal, a real airline pilot who became a drug smuggler for a cartel. While playing Seal, Tom Cruise performed several stunts flying a twin-engine Piper Smith Aerostar 600.

Tom Cruises's stunts in American Made came with some controversy though. While he wasn't directly involved in the incidents, two stunt pilots on set unfortunately passed away during a plane crash while filming. A lawsuit followed, and while Cruise wasn't directly implicated, the family did partially blame him and director Doug Liman for encouraging a culture of pushing boundaries at the expense of safety in order to get the best shots possible.

Tom Cruises Wildest Stunt

Top gun: maverick isn't his most dangerous filming experience.

By Tom Cruise's own reckoning, the wildest and most dangerous stunt he's ever performed is when he hung on to a moving plane in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation , the fifth movie in the MI series. Not surprisingly, for Tom Cruise, flying a Super Hornet would qualify as a less dangerous stunt, as that would have at least required the actor to be inside the plane.

Although Cruise was harnessed to the plane in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation , no amount of safety precautions could account for all the inherent dangers involved with a person wearing virtually no protection while hanging onto a moving aircraft. This just goes to show the level of sheer dedication Cruise brings to his movie projects.

However, recently Cruise has suggested a new stunt in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1 might be his wildest stunt yet, which involves Cruise jumping a motorcycle off of a cliff and then parachuting to safety. It is a stunt that took years of planning and training to get right and promises to be another spectacle from the dedicated actor. Clearly, even if Tom Cruise didn't really fly the F-18s in Top Gun: Maverick , he is not slowing down at all when it comes to his onscreen stunts.

Top Gun: Maverick

Release Date May 27, 2022

Director Joseph Kosinski

Cast Manny Jacinto, Raymond Lee, Val Kilmer, Miles Teller, Ed Harris, Monica Barbaro, Danny Ramirez, Jake Picking, Lewis Pullman, Tom Cruise, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell

Rating PG-13

Runtime 130 minutes

Genres Action

Writers Zack Stentz, Ashley Miller, Justin Marks, Peter Craig

Franchise(s) Top Gun

Tom Cruise (born July 3, 1962) is an American film actor and producer whose notable films include Taps , Top Gun , A Few Good Men , Minority Report , The Last Samurai and Collateral in addition to the Mission: Impossible franchise of films. He has also been nominated for Academy Awards for his roles in the films Born on the Fourth of July , Magnolia , and Jerry Maguire . He also is the cousin of actor William Mapother and the adoptive father of Connor Cruise . Due to his height of 172 cm tall, Cruise is rarely seen using firearms with non-adjustable stocks.

Tom Cruise can be seen using the following weapons in the following films :

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Tom Cruise and Sean Penn Teased Their Star Power in This Thrilling Military Drama

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The Big Picture

• Taps , a 1981 drama starring George C. Scott and Timothy Hutton, marked the arrival of two future Hollywood heavyweights in Tom Cruise and Sean Penn.
• The story of rebellious cadets fighting to save their military academy from closing, the film features Cruise and Penn in supporting roles.
• Working on Taps was a formative experience for the young actors, particularly Cruise, who took advantage of the opportunity to learn as much as he could about filmmaking.

When Taps hit theaters on December 18, 1981, audiences likely had little or no idea that they were witnessing the arrival of two future stars. The military-themed drama stars George C. Scott and Timothy Hutton , the latter of whom had recently won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ordinary People . Starring alongside Scott and Hutton, however, were Tom Cruise and Sean Penn . For Cruise, Taps marked the actor's second big screen credit, while Penn was making his debut in the military drama. Though they played supporting roles, their work on the film would ultimately prove fateful and fruitful, landing them on the radar of major Hollywood players and paving the way for two of the most prolific and acclaimed careers of a generation .

Taps (1981)

What is the military drama 'taps' about.

Based on the 1979 novel Father Sky by Devery Freeman , Taps tells the story of rebellious cadets enrolled at Bunker Hill Military Academy who, upon discovering their school will close the following year and fall into the hands of real estate developers , forcibly overtake the institution in an attempt to preserve it. When a fatal accident leads to the academy's General Harlan Bache's arrest and subsequent heart attack, the decision to immediately close the school is made. Having recently been promoted to the rank of Major, Brian Moreland (Hutton) rallies his troops, including Captain David Shawn (Cruise) and Captain Alex Dwyer (Penn), and leads a campus-wide mutiny after taking up arms in defiance of the academy's dean and local authorities.

As the situation escalates, police and the National Guard descend on Bunker Hill, but the cadets initially show no signs of surrendering. The mounting pressure ultimately causes some of the young men to give up on their mission and flee the grounds, while the most staunch cadets remain and become even more determined to defend their beloved academy. For his part, Moreland eventually considers standing down if an order comes directly from General Bache, but news of the commander's tragic death lowers morale among the young men . The final straw, however, is the accidental killing of a cadet at the hands of the National Guard, leading to a showdown resulting in multiple deaths.

Tom Cruise's 'Taps' Character Is Wildly Unpredictable

Though Taps was only Tom Cruise's second film role, hot on the heels of his appearance in 1981's Endless Love , the military drama served as a masterclass in cinematic education, as he explained to People in 2018 . At 19-years-old, he landed the role of fanatical cadet David Shawn after moving to New York City and booking various auditions, and was beside himself with excitement over the prospect of acting in a film. Taking full advantage of the experience, Cruise devoted himself to learning as much as he could about the performative, logistical, and technical efforts required to bring a story to the big screen . "I remember even back then, saying, 'Just do the best I can,'" adding, "All I can do every day is do the best I can. And learn."

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Curious, diligent, and persistent, each of which were qualities that would serve him well for decades after Taps , Cruise wasted no time in amassing valuable knowledge about the filmmaking process. "I couldn’t believe I was making a movie," he'd later admit. "I went to every single department and asked questions. I drove everyone crazy. The director Harold Becker was so lovely to me because he knew I was so passionate." According to Cruise, Becker even allowed the young actor to view rushes, footage shot on the previous day's work, to gain insight into what makes the final cut and what hits the cutting room floor. All things considered, working on Taps provided Cruise with not only the pure thrill of acting in a film, but an overall experience that proved essential in establishing the ardent work ethic he'd become known for as an actor and hands-on producer.

Aside from learning as much as he could about filmmaking, Cruise delivers a memorable performance as David Shawn in Taps . In playing the unpredictable loose canon, whose fervor and dedication to his mission solidifies as the film barrels toward its violent conclusion , the actor brings a level of intensity and hardened focus to the character that would become commonplace in his varied profile of performances . Donning an often furrowed brow and intense gaze, he steals scenes left and right despite having limited screen time, particularly in Taps ' final moments when his character takes impulsive, reckless action that proves tragically consequential for him and his fellow cadets. Just 19-years-old when the film hit theaters, Cruise made the absolute most of his appearance in his second feature, giving unsuspecting audiences a brief but promising glimpse of things to come.

'Taps' Foreshadows Sean Penn and Tom Cruise's Hollywood Success

According to The Hollywood Reporter in its original review of Taps , the film's young supporting players displayed "potential for future assignments." With hindsight clear as day, such a statement is laughable on its face, but it nevertheless provided an undeniably fair and accurate assessment of the film's rising stars. Though Timothy Hutton was already established , having just won an Academy Award at the age of 20, Taps marked his first lead role in a feature film, and what followed was a slew of credits for years to come alongside some of Hollywood's biggest stars and most renowned filmmakers.

Similarly, Sean Penn's appearance in the 1981 drama marked a pivotal moment in the beginning of a decades-long career chock-full of stellar performances. In Taps , which was " the first big movie " of Penn's career, he, like Cruise, made the most of his screen time as Alex Dwyer, elevating a supporting player to the fore in an emotionally-charged yet measured performance that culminates with the actor chewing the scenery in the film's final moments. While Penn would ultimately be renowned as one of his generation's powerhouse performers, famous for brushing subtlety to the side in favor of theatrics, his turn in Taps displayed a more restrained — albeit affecting — sensibility.

Within just two years of playing the unhinged David Shawn in Taps, Tom Cruise's star also ascended with his supporting role in 1983's The Outsiders and, in the same year, with his memorable turn as Joel Goodson in Risky Business . While 1983 was a big year for the actor, it paled in comparison to 1986, which saw the release of the iconic blockbuster Top Gun , solidifying Cruise's star power, and The Color of Money alongside legends Paul Newman and Martin Scorsese . Similarly, Sean Penn became a household name on the heels of Taps thanks to a star-making performance as the surfing stoner Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High , catapulting him into the limelight for years to come via largely dramatic work. They may have been fresh faces in 1981, but Cruise and Penn's commanding presence in Harold Becker's military drama swiftly transported the pair of young actors into Hollywood's upper echelon , marking the last time their names would be relegated to obscurity.

Taps is available to watch on Hulu in the U.S.

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