The Simpsons has a long history of getting great celebrity guest stars, but Tom Cruise has turned down the opportunity to appear twice. As the longest-running sitcom show in America, it should come as no surprise that the Matt Groening-created series has been able to attract as many guest stars as it has. Everyone from Mark Hamill to Meryl Streep have lent their voices to someone on The Simpsons, and that pedigree has made it much easier for the show to get just about any person they want.
There are exceptions to this though, namely Tom Cruise. As a certifiable movie star that still opens some of the biggest action movies in the world, like Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Cruise is one of the most recognizable actors in the industry. The attention that Cruise and his projects get is undeniable, which has further made him someone that many directors and franchises want to work with. The Simpsons has been in the same boat for years, trying to find the right role for him to appear in, but he's rejected the chance to voice a role multiple times.
The show's first attempt to get Cruise in a role came back in 1993. The hope was that he would voice the role of Tom in the fourteenth episode of season 4, "Brother from the Same Planet." The role was written with Cruise in mind, as Tom is an F-14 pilot for the US Navy and rides a motorcycle who is selected by Bigger Brothers to be Bart's mentor and friend. The show clearly took inspiration from Top Gun to make this character for Cruise, but he declined the opportunity. The Simpsons filled the void left by Cruise by getting Phil Hartman to voice Tom instead.
The next time The Simpsons went after Cruise was for a role in the season 10 episode "When You Dish Upon a Star." The plot of the episode sees Homer get a job as a personal assistant for a Hollywood couple. The episode sees Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger play themselves, but they were not the first choice for the role. Originally written for Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, The Simpsons circled back to Cruise after Willis and Moore turned them down. The idea was for Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who were married at the time in real-life, to voice the couple. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell were also approached.
As the last known time Cruise was approached for a role, it has been 20 seasons since The Simpsons tried to get the star. While they still have yet to bring him aboard the show, it may not be personal. Cruise has never done a voice-only role in his entire career. Luckily, The Simpsons is still able to get great guests to inhabit Springfield. Thor: Ragnarok's Cate Blanchett and Stranger Things' David Harbour will both have voice roles in upcoming episodes. But, only time will tell whether or not Cruise ever joins in on the fun.