Tom Cruise | Born in 1962

Tom Cruise has done it all for decades, from his teen idol days in the early 1980s to his current status as a marquee-lighting leading man. He has completed impossible missions, driven the highway to the danger zone in Top Gun, and done wonders for Bob Seger’s royalty statements in Risky Business.

The actor wanted to be a priest as a child and even enrolled at a Franciscan seminary. However, once there, the acting bug bit. Cruise scored his first job in a Franco Zeffirelli film, Endless Love, and was at the top of every director’s wish list within five years. On the other hand, he has a reputation for wanting to be involved in whatever he does. He’s always wanted to do more than act. With box office credits like Mission Impossible, Cruise increased his remuneration to about $15 million for each film, making him one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. He became one of the few celebrities who could ask for and receive a cut of the revenues.