In a recent interview, Kenneth Branagh — Shakespearean maestro turned Hollywood heavyweight — lit a fire under the industry chatter mill by dubbing Tom Cruise an "underestimated" actor.
However, Branagh wasn’t doling out flattery for Cruise’s high-octane heroics. He praised something deeper — Cruise’s unwavering dedication to character and story. “If he ever tires of wowing the world with action, he’s going to surprise those who view him as only a movie star,” Branagh mused. “What he’s done with ‘Mission’ and ‘Top Gun’ is unique — cinematic entertainment with a serious intent to give you a wonderful time at the movies. But he’s an underestimated actor — for whom a golden age of performance beckons.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Longtime readers already know I’ve been ringing this bell for years: Cruise isn’t just an action star — he’s a dramatic actor who’s been hiding his true potential behind a wall of explosions, death-defying stunts, and franchise loyalty.
Let’s be clear — no shade toward ‘Mission: Impossible’ or ‘Top Gun.’ Some of those films are pure adrenaline-laced popcorn joy. But somewhere along the way, Cruise put away the dramatic gloves, and it’s been nearly a decade since he starred in a non-franchise film.
Remember when Cruise used to chase auteur collaborations? The guy worked with Kubrick, Scorsese, Spielberg, P.T. Anderson, Stone, Mann, Levinson, De Palma, Pollack, Reiner, Ridley Scott — a who’s-who of directorial greatness. Now? It’s all McQuarrie, all the time.
The last real glimpse we got was “American Made” (2017), where Cruise channeled Barry Seal, a crooked pilot with charm oozing from every pore. It was like watching the Cruise of old — sly, unpredictable, human.
If it weren’t for Daniel Day-Lewis’ landmark turn in “My Left Foot,” Cruise would have probably won the Oscar in 1990 for “Born on the Fourth of July.” Cruise delivered a fearless, career-redefining performance as Ron Kovic, a disillusioned Vietnam veteran whose physical and emotional unravelling was impossible to unsee.
He should’ve won the Oscar for “Magnolia.” Full stop. As Frank T.J. Mackey, Cruise detonated every preconceived notion of his screen persona. It was raw. It was explosive. It was art. A foul-mouthed alpha guru with a soul crumbling beneath the surface — that performance was like watching a ticking time bomb.
He also should’ve been nominated for “Collateral,” where he turned the hitman archetype into something elegant, chilling, and weirdly charismatic. And don’t even get me started on “Tropic Thunder” — the comedic brilliance of Les Grossman was so unexpected it practically made us forget it was Cruise acting underneath all that makeup.
So Kenneth Branagh, I salute you. Thank you for reminding everyone that Cruise isn’t just a man with a need for speed — he’s an actor with a need to act. And the sooner he gets back to flexing those dramatic muscles, the better off cinema will be.