With his hilarious turn in Risky Business, Tom Cruise became one of the biggest comedic movie stars of the ‘80s. With his charming turn in Top Gun a few years later, he became a beloved action hero. In the decades since, Cruise has forged a career as one of the most prolific and versatile actors on Hollywood’s A-list, appearing in everything from a spy movie franchise to a sprawling P.T.A. ensemble piece.
In such iconic roles as Top Gun’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and Mission: Impossible’s Ethan Hunt, Cruise has delivered a bunch of memorable lines that fans still quote today.
Maverick Feels The Need In Top Gun
“I Feel The Need... The Need For Speed.”
After months of pandemic-related delays, the long-awaited release of the belated Top Gun sequel is just a few short weeks away. In addition to pulling off a bunch of breathtaking aerial stunts for the film, Cruise will be reprising one of his most iconic roles: Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
One of the coolest protagonists in the history of action cinema, Maverick sums up his approach to aerial combat succinctly in Tony Scott’s 1985 classic: “I feel the need... the need for speed.”
Daniel Kaffee Can’t Handle The Truth In A Few Good Men
“I Want The Truth!”
One of Cruise’s most acclaimed movies is the military courtroom drama A Few Good Men. Adapted from Aaron Sorkin’s play of the same name by Sorkin himself, A Few Good Men revolves around the court-martial of two U.S. Marines charged with murdering a fellow Marine.
Cruise plays Lieutenant (junior grade) Daniel Kaffee of the Navy, while Jack Nicholson plays Colonel Nathan R. Jessup of the Marine Corps. Cruise sets up Nicholson’s most iconic line when he tells him, “I want the truth,” and the colonel replies, “You can’t handle the truth!”
Frank T.J. Mackey Begins His Seminar In Magnolia
“Men Are S***.”
Easily Paul Thomas Anderson’s most polarizing movie, Magnolia is a Robert Altman-style “hyperlink” movie following the disparate adventures of a sprawling star-studded cast.
Cruise plays hilariously against type as Frank T.J. Mackey, a controversial public speaker who claims to know the secrets to seduction. This character was way ahead of the curve on satirizing men’s rights activists.
Charlie Babbitt Warms To His Estranged Older Brother In Rain Man
“I Like Having You For My Brother.”
While Dustin Hoffman is the de facto star of Rain Man as Raymond Babbitt, Cruise gives a fantastic performance as his estranged younger brother, Charlie. This was the first time Cruise showed critics and audiences that he was capable of dramatic depth beyond his well-established action-hero charisma and comedic timing.
Charlie is selfish and has very little patience for his brother, but he slowly warms to Raymond and becomes a better person in the process. Toward the end of the movie, he tells Raymond, “What I said about being on the road with you, I meant. Connecting. I like having you for my brother.”
John Anderton Goes On The Lam In Minority Report
“Everybody Runs, Fletch.”
Steven Spielberg’s breathtaking sci-fi noir Minority Report stars Cruise as John Anderton, the sharpest cop in a futuristic police department that can predict crimes before they take place. Anderton gets a taste of his own medicine when he’s accused of a murder that he’ll supposedly commit in a couple of days.
When Officer Fletcher tells Anderton not to run, Anderton tells him, “You don’t have to chase me.” Fletcher quips back, “You don’t have to run,” and Anderton retorts, “Everybody runs, Fletch.”
Ron Kovic Outlines His Ethos In Born On The Fourth Of July
“I Love America.”
Oliver Stone made a spiritual trilogy of films surrounding the Vietnam War, in which he served. One of these Vietnam-themed movies was Born on the Fourth of July, a biopic of Ron Kovic. Kovic was a staunch patriot who went to Vietnam and became an anti-war activist upon returning home.
His opposition to the war was misconstrued as an opposition to America. Cruise’s Kovic outlines the distinction very clearly in one of his impassioned speeches: “People say that if you don’t love America, then get the hell out. Well, I love America.”
Vincent Explains His Trade In Collateral
“Max, I Do This For A Living!”
Michael Mann’s most beloved L.A.-set noir will always be Heat, the three-hour epic that united Robert De Niro and Al Pacino on-screen for the first time, but the director returned to the sun-drenched city for the slick, stylized thrills of Collateral.
Collateral is a tense two-hander starring Cruise as a sadistic hitman opposite Jamie Foxx as the cabbie whose taxi he commandeers for a night of contract killings.
Les Grossman Has Very Little Patience In Tropic Thunder
“Now, I Want You To Take A Step Back, And Literally F*** Your Own Face!”
Throughout his career, Cruise has only given a small handful of overtly comedic performances, but easily his funniest role is large-handed Hollywood mogul Les Grossman from Ben Stiller’s showbiz satire Tropic Thunder.
Les’ ruthless Hollywood tactics are hilariously contrasted with the threats made by the Flaming Dragon heroin producers in the middle of the Golden Triangle.
Jerry Maguire Wants To See The Money
“Show Me The Money!”
Cruise gave one of his most iconic performances as the titular sports agent in romcom Jerry Maguire. There are plenty of memorable lines in the movie – like the genre-defining “You had me at hello” – but arguably the most famous quote from the film is “Show me the money!”
When Rod Tidwell decides to stay with Jerry as a client, he repeats his family motto, “Show me the money.” Eventually, he gets Jerry saying it over and over again.
Ethan Hunt Completes A Supposedly Impossible Mission
“Mission Accomplished!”
Mission: Impossible was a popular franchise from the very beginning, but it became a must-see blockbuster extravaganza with the fourth movie, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, in which Cruise boldly scaled the facade of the tallest building on Earth for the audience’s entertainment.
In the movie’s final set-piece, after defeating the villain and foiling his plan, Ethan Hunt cries out, “Mission accomplished!” The team later makes fun of him for literally saying, “Mission accomplished,” after accomplishing his mission.