Tom Cruise has long made a name for himself as a real-life superhero. The actor puts his life on the line to perform outrageous stunts in the Mission: Impossible series and his other action films, and practically every movie he’s made over the past 25 years features at least one scene of Cruise sprinting at full speed away from, or into, danger. But Tom Cruise didn’t always play superhumans whose job it is to save the world. Early on in his career, the guy with the million-dollar smile earned his stripes in comedies and dramas. This Tom Cruise is long gone, but he’s not forgotten. Some of these early films still hold up, like the five below where Tom Cruise is just a regular guy.
1. Risky Business
2. The Color of Money
3. The Outsiders
4. Cocktail
5. Rain Man