Tom Cruise quotes: mega millionaire actor and producer on money, power, family, Scientology, and more.
“I’m passionate about learning. I’m passionate about life.”
“No dream is ever just a dream.”
“In this life, it’s not what you hope for, it’s not what you deserve – it’s what you take!”
“I don’t care who you are, life has challenges.”
“Individuals have to decide what is true and real for them.”
“When you have to cope with a lot of problems, you’re either going to sink or you’re going to swim.”
“Nothing ends nicely, that’s why it ends.”
“Do I make mistakes? Yeah.”
“I disagree with people who think you learn more from getting beat up than you do from winning.”
“Perception and reality are two different things.”
“I have respect for what other people believe. What I believe in my own life is that it’s a search for how I can do things better, whether it’s being a better man or a better father or finding ways for myself to improve.”
“When I was about seven years old, I had been labeled dyslexic. I’d try to concentrate on what I was reading, then I’d get to the end of the page and have very little memory of anything I’d read. I would go blank, feel anxious, nervous, bored, frustrated, dumb. I would get angry. My legs would actually hurt when I was studying. My head ached. All through school and well into my career, I felt like I had a secret. When I’d go to a new school, I wouldn’t want the other kids to know about my learning disability, but then I’d be sent off to remedial reading.”
“I had to train myself to focus my attention. I became very visual and learned how to create mental images in order to comprehend what I read.”
“I’m a good listener. I think it’s the one characteristic that’s most important. I’ve always been that way. Not that I take all the advice, but you’ve got to listen to it and have the courage to make your own decision. And just go for it.”
“As a young actor, people were trying to define who I was before I really knew that for myself. But I still remember thinking, ‘This is what I love doing, and I hope I’m going to be able to do it forever.'”
“I demand a lot of myself. I want to learn. I can’t sit back. I like a challenge, so I create a lot of challenges for myself.”
“When I work, I work very hard. So I look to work with people who have that level of dedication. And I depend on that from everyone. From the director to my crews that I work with.”
“I’ve never made a film that I didn’t believe in, you know? However the picture turns out, I’ve always given everything to it. That’s kind of how I approach life. I can’t help it. There’s no part-way with me on anything in any area of my life.”
“I don’t pretend to be the character… I am the character.”
“I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person, and when I become interested in something, I give it my all.”
“I’ve gotten very good at scheduling my life, scheduling the scene and preparing myself for knowing, saving the energy, consuming the energy, knowing when to go for it and having the available reserves to be able to do that. You have to think about that, because it’s endurance.”
“I’m always around my mother and sisters. I always wanted to be a father, a husband.”
“I would live with all of my sisters if I could. We’ve always been very close, my sisters and me.”
“I love kids. I was a kid myself, once.”
“I always look for a challenge and something that’s different.”
“I love what I do. I take great pride in what I do. And I can’t do something halfway, three-quarters, nine-tenths . If I’m going to do something, I go all the way.”
“The thing about film-making is I give it everything, that’s why I work so hard. I always tell young actors to take charge. It’s not that hard. Sign your own checks, be responsible.”
“I’m not greedy. I just want my half.”
“Awards are wonderful. I’ve been nominated many times and I’ve won many awards. But my journey is not towards that. If it happens it will be a blast. If it doesn’t, it’s still been a blast.”
“I’ve never done work for money ever. If your choices are based on grosses and the film doesn’t do well, what does that mean? It leaves you with nothing.”
“When you become successful in any type of life, there are people who are not contributing to the motion.”
“It’s well known I’m a Scientologist, and that has helped me to find that inner peace in my life and it’s something that has given me great stability and tools that I use.”
“I’m very careful in choosing things. I’m not one of those people that’s in, that’s out. Once I make a decision, nothing will stop it. It’s not something that takes me months to make a decision either, but I evaluate it very carefully, specifically, at the time, taking into account a lot of things.”
“I don’t really keep counsel with others. I’m the kind of person who will think about something, and if I know it’s right I’m not going to ask anybody. I don’t go, ‘Boy, what do you think about this?’ I’ve made every decision for myself – in my career, in my life.”
“Here’s how I’ve lived my life: I’ve never been late to a set. I make films I believe in. I feel privileged to be able to do what I love.”
“I didn’t become an actor to have power, but it just happens that I have it and so I have a lot of opportunities.”
“I feel good about the decisions that I made and I’m happy. You know, I’m really happy.”
“But my friends are happy for me. The people who know me are happy. My mom is happy. My family is happy.”
“For me as a man, philosophically, when you talk about honor and integrity, that’s the way I want to live my life. It moved me.”
“I have to tell you something. It really is, you know, it’s rough and tumble. It’s wild and woolly. It’s a blast… it’s a blast. It really is fun, because dammit, there’s nothing better than going out there and fighting the fight.”
“I feel the need… the need for speed.”
“Everybody dies, Sally. The thing is to die well.”
“Who hasn’t danced in their underwear?”
You’ll probably wanna read Tom Hank’s words of wisdom next.
