From Newcomer to Name: Tom Cruise’s Debut in Endless Love

Tom Cruise is a familiar face in Hollywood, but even the greatest actors all start with their debut film. The iconic Cruise is no different, with his debut a small part in Endless Love. The movie starring Brooke Shields and focusing on teenage love failed to inspire critics, but it did provide an intriguing glimpse into his first moments as an actor.

In Endless Love, Cruise plays an awkward teenager named Billy recalling his attempts at arson as an eight-year-old. He shares how the neighborhood actually thought he was trying to put the fire out instead of start it, and he was pegged as a hero.

The scene is awkwardly scripted, but he manages to get through the lines smoothly. He sparks in David the idea to set his girlfriend’s house on fire (in hopes he will also be a  hero) by sharing the story of his childhood arson attempt.

Unfortunately, he is more likely to be remembered for his short-shorts and his wrestling muscles than the depth of the character he plays. There’s not much to Billy besides his arson attempt, but Cruise still manages to make it work. His part is over in just 45 seconds, but the scene  still manages to leave an impression.

• A Flop at the Box Office

Though Endless Love is technically Tom Cruise’s movie debut, many people remember him in “Taps”, his second movie, instead. This is in part because the director, Franco Zeffirelli, wholly misunderstood the novel he was attempting to adapt.

The result was a steamy (so steamy cuts had to be made to get it from an X rating to R) but somehow tediously slow-moving movie with relatively modest box office earnings.

Taps on the other hand, did slightly better, and Tom Cruise also had more screen time in it compared to his few seconds in Endless Love.

Despite the movie only garnering a modest $33,000,000 at the box office and doing poorly with critics, Cruise himself has never criticized the film. When directly asked about it in a 1992 interview, he blamed himself for shortcomings in the film. “I didn’t know anything about it,” he said in reference to what marks were or how to handle the scene.

He ended up visiting different parts of the movie sets to learn how everyone’s roles worked to create a movie. Speaking with everyone about their role on the set helped him learn all the different terms and grow as an actor. It’s clear his attention to detail and interest in film paid off, since Cruise is now one of the most well-known names in Hollywood.

• Beaten for Lead Role

Tom Cruise initially tried for the lead role in Endless Love, playing a troubled teen named David. It was a bold move for a young actor, since over 5,000 actors auditioned for the role. Although he was considered for the part, he lost it to another unknown actor, Martin Hewitt. What might have seemed like bad luck to Cruise at the time ended up being his saving grace.

The poor reception to the movie ended up dooming young Martin Hewitt’s career. He only appeared in B-rated movies after that, and eventually quit acting altogether.

Tom Cruise only had a small role in Endless Love however, and went unnoticed by the critics. This allowed him a second chance at stardom. The role itself went unnoticed by the world until he broke out with his incredible performance in the 1983 film Risky Business.

As his fame and catalog of successful movies continued to build, the performance of the first movie he starred in became less important. Today, Endless Love can be seen as a formative part of his career, and a lucky start at that.

• Rise to Fortune

The part of Billy was small but pivotal to the movie. Despite Tom Cruise’s screen time being very limited here, the role provided a lot of opportunity. In the movie, Billy gives David the idea to set the fire that would later be David’s downfall.

As the role introduced Cruise to feature films, it gave him the chance to see how it all works behind the screen and might have presented him to some important people in the film industry. Getting a small role also helped him avoid the heat of the critics, and escape unscathed to go on to the next movie.

Thanks to Endless Love, he launched his career and was able to go on to an enormously successful career.

Today, Tom Cruise is in his sixties, but still continues to act and put out incredible performances every year.  Although Endless Love was not the same smash hit his other movies ended up being, it is no less an important part of his acting career.