Tom Cruise In less than two decades, two-time Academy Award nominee Tom Cruise has become one of the most successful actors ever in Hollywood. So successful, in fact, that he has 20 films to his credit which have garnered a total of 40 Academy Award nominations and have grossed over $3 billion worldwide. Cruise's first major role was in "Taps" (1981) for director Harold Becker. From that springboard, Cruise lept to stardom, captivating audiences in the 1983 hit "Risky Business " for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He went on to create one of the most popular characters of the '80's with his portrayal of `Maverick ' , the daring pilot fighter in the top-grossing film of 1986 "Top Gun". Building on these performances Cruise earned the accolades of his peers and the public alike for his collaborations with many of the entertainment profession ' s most distinguished filmmakers: starring with Paul Newman in Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money" (1986); starring opposite Dustin Hoffman in Barry Levinson's Academy Award winning film "Rain Man" (1988); starring for Academy winning writer/director Oliver Stone in "Born on the Fourth of July"; starring with Nicole Kidmann in the romantic adventure "Far and Away" (1992) for director Ron Howard; starring opposite Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men" (1992) for director Rob Reiner; starring in "The Firm" (1993) with Gene Hackman for director Sydney Pollack and starring in "Interview with the Vampire " with Brad Pitt (1994) for director Neil Jordan. Continuing work with such filmmakers, audiences saw Cruise star in the Paramount Pictures 1996 blockbuster "Mission:Impossible" for director Brian De Palma. Shot on location in London and Prague, "Mission:Impossible " was the first project produced by Cruise, along with partner Paula Wagner, under the banner of their production company, Cruise/Wagner Productions which was set up at Paramount Studios in 1993. The company's second film was the Warner Bros. film "Without Limits". Cruise's accomplishments have been both critically and popularly acclaimed. In 1989, he received his first Academy Award nomination and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ron Kovic in "Born on the Fourth of July". In 1990, he was the recipient of the coveted American Cinema Award for Distinguished Achievement in Film. In 1993, he received his third Golden Globe nomination for his role in "A Few Good Men", the NATO/ShoWest Meritorious Achievement award and the "Actor of the Decade" Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. In 1994, Cruise was honored as the Hasty Pudding Man of the Year at Harvard University and received his second People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Actor. In 1996, Cruise was honored with the prestigious American Cinematique award which is presented annually to an extraordinary artist in the entertainment industry who is currently making a significant contribution to the art of film and video. More recently, Cruise was presented with the John Huston Award from the Artist Rights Foundation in recognition of his advocacy to safeguard the integrity of the artistic process. For his portrayal of sports agent, `Jerry Maguire " , Cruise received his second academy award nomination for Best Actor; won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or a Comedy; the National Board of Review honored him with their highest distinction, Best Actor of the Year; and he received a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role. Among his other film credits include "Endless Love", "The Outsiders " , "Losin ' It", "All the Right Moves" , "Legend" , "Cocktail " and "Days of Thunder " . Cruise made his directorial debut in 1993. He directed a half-hour episode titled "Frightening Frammis" based on a short story by Jim Thompson for the Showtime series "Fallen Angels " .