Tom Cruise Has Been Candid About His Life and Career! See His Best Quotes and Messages

Tom Cruise will celebrate his 62nd birthday on July 3! The star of Risky Business, Mission Impossible and so many more iconic films has had a long, successful acting career and an eventful life, so we’ve gathered some of his words of wisdom and compiled 50 of his best quotes! 

Tom Cruise’s quotes about hard work and his passion for acting

• “I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person, and when I become interested in something, I give it my all.”

• “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.”

• “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.’”

• “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’ve spent many birthdays on a movie set, all great days.”

• “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.” 

• “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.” 

• “The exciting part of acting, I don’t know how else to explain it, are those moments when you surprise yourself.” 

• “I like to work with people that I like hanging out with, that I admire, that are really smart and talented, and we can problem solve together.”

• “I always look for a challenge and something that’s different.”

• “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.”

• “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.”

• “My choices are sometimes dictated by many considerations. I’m interested in making different kinds of movies. My path is very simple: I want to challenge myself, find something that lifts me up and makes me want to get out there and work out.”

• “I want to make great films that entertain an audience and hold up. I can control only the effort I put into it and the experience we all have making it. After that, it is what it is.”

• “Action is action, but if it doesn’t have story and character it’s not involving.”

• “The important thing is to be relaxed in your work. Same in life. Don’t make everything too intense. Then you can let everything go and not ‘act.’”

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• “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.”

• “I love adventure movies, I just love action adventure films. It’s pure cinema and you go in and you’re lost to it. To me, it’s that challenge – I want to give an audience that ride, that entertainment.”

• “I remember getting through high school and thinking, ‘Boy, I’m glad I got that behind me!’  Then, when I was 19, I got Risky Business (1983), and I realized, ‘Ah, so this is life – it’s a little bigger than I thought!’”

• “Every single time I start to do a picture, without fail, I feel as if I don’t know what I’m doing.”

• “I love movies that ask, ‘If you did have to live your life over again, what would happen?’”

• “In life, I always wanted adventures and to learn different fields of endeavor. The great thing about being an actor is I’ve gotten to see what a fighter pilot’s life is like and a race car driver’s. I’ve gotten to fly airplanes, race cars, learn about motorcycles. In Rock of Ages (2012), I studied music, learned how to sing and see it from a singer’s vantage point. I carry those interests and lessons through my own life. I guess I am always striving to be competent.”

• “Flying is something that has always been a lifelong passion. As a kid I used to have a photo of a Spitfire and a photo of a P-51. I’d put them up on the wall right where my bed was so that I could stare at them, because I just wanted to fly.”

• “That is what cinema does. It bridges walls, it breaks them down and allows people to be able to share that kind of commonality and experience.”

• “In the beginning, when people were looking at me, it could be unnerving. People just start looking at you, staring at you. I used to get nervous.”

• “I felt that the people rejecting me were there to help me in the long run. Sometimes it hurts, but I truly believe that there are parts I’m supposed to get and parts I’m not supposed to get and something else is going to come along.”

• “Making a movie is like a chess game. It’s about constantly changing patterns, adapting to new things. It’s not just black and white as you know.”

• “I hope the public and everyone realize that I’m still growing. I’m still feeling my oats here. I’m working toward the long range of what I can be as an artist.”

• “When I made [Born on the Fourth of July (1989)] people said, ‘This is going to ruin your career. Why are you doing this after you did Top Gun? Why not just do Top Gun 2?’ I wanted to challenge myself.”

Tom Cruise’s quotes about life and family 

• “When you have to cope with a lot of problems, you’re either going to sink or you’re going to swim.”

• “I don’t care who you are, life has challenges.”

• “I want a world without war, a world without insanity. I want to see people do well. I don’t even think it’s as much as what I want for myself. It’s more what I want for the people around me. That’s what I want.”

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• “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 passionate about learning. I’m passionate about life.”

• “I love kids. I was a kid myself, once.”

• “If you have kids, it is the most important thing to create good times.”

• “I would live with all of my sisters if I could. We’ve always been very close, my sisters and me.”

• “I’m always around my mother and sisters. I always wanted to be a father, a husband.”

• “Whether it’s making a film or raising my children, personally I’m striving to do the right things and to learn.”

• “I’ve always had the same values. Family for me has always been important. When I shoot, everybody comes.”

• “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.”

• “I believe in life. I know that life comes in at your heart and it doesn’t matter if you’re an actor, a filmmaker or a gentleman on the street, it comes at you.”

• “The important thing with a child is that you love them, you protect them and you help them to grow and find out who they are. And as a parent, it’s my responsibility to help them to become independent and get all the knowledge and a broad view of the world and life.”

• “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.”

• “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.”

• “Relationships are hard. You have to know when you’re going to be in a different place from someone else, you have to have the strength to separate.”

• “I feel lonely at times, but I don’t want to get into a relationship with someone if it is not right. I’m not the type of person who just does things to do them.”

• “I have cooked turkeys in my day, but when Mom’s around I let her do it.”

• “I didn’t have a lot of friends. The closest people around me were my family. I think they felt a little nervous about me because I had a lot of energy and I couldn’t stick to one thing. I feel good about the fact that I finally found something I love.”

• “I’ve had a very interesting life. There are ways of handling the complexities. I’m willing to take on responsibilities as a father, as a producer, as an actor – and I enjoy that. I’ve always been changing and evolving and growing. There’s no pinnacle of power where you can sit back and rest.”

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