Tom Cruise simply doesn’t age. While he may be turning 60 years old in 2022, the actor still has the youthful visage that helped rocket him to stardom in 1983’s classic Risky Business. He’s remained physically active, still doing his own stunts in his films, and that seems to have helped Tom stay looking so young.
The Jerry Maguire star has always maintained a strict level of privacy when it comes to his ageless appearance. He has never discussed plastic surgery or gone into great detail about his diet and exercise routine. While there has been speculation, as well as anonymous movie set sources who have claimed to know his food regimen, Tom himself has not shared it.
The film superstar is celebrating 40 years in the movie industry, making his debut in 1981 in Endless Love and Taps. But it was his star turn in Risky Business — and lip-synching to Bob Seger in his tighty whities — that made him a bonafide heartthrob. He reached full-fledged movie superstar status three years later playing fighter pilot Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in 1986’s Top Gun. Shirtless beach volleyball in skin-tight jeans, anyone?
Tom has gone on to have one of the most prolific film careers in Hollywood but pivoted as he gets older into action-packed, highly physical roles. He’s a fan of extreme sports activities including rock-climbing, sea-kayaking, caving, fencing and so many other heart-pounding activities. But what really gives him a rush is flying and doing his own movie stunts. One of his most famous included Tom dangling off a military plane in mid-flight during 2015’s Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. He didn’t just do the daring stunt in one take … he was up for eight mid-air takes to get the perfect shot!
In the highly anticipated sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed that certified pilot Tom flies a P-51 propeller-driven fighter plane, as well as some helicopters. The actor wanted as much real aviation action as possible without the use of CGI but was denied clearance by the U.S. Navy after he requested to fly an F-18 Super Hornet in the film.
Before filming even began, Tom let the movie’s studio Paramount know that he had high expectations. “I said to the studio, ‘You don’t know how hard this movie’s going to be. No one’s ever done this before,’” the star laughed to Empire magazine in 2020. “There’s never been an aerial sequence shot this way. I don’t know if there ever will be again, to be honest.” Maybe it’s being in all of that G-force that helps keep Tom’s face so darn youthful looking!
Scroll through the photos of Tom Cruise throughout his Hollywood career.