Tom Cruise’s career started on a high note with a string of successful movies, starting with a string of teenage-themed films, some of which he appeared with full-fledged members of the Brat Pack. Besides a small role in Endless Love, he had several notable performances, starting with Taps, followed by the nearly career-ending Losin’ It, the star-studded The Outsiders, the box office hit Risky Business, and the critically acclaimed Right Moves. By the time 1985 had arrived and the moniker of Brat Packers was being dolled out by David Blum in his article of the same name, Cruise was taking chances on playing non-coming-of-age roles. His best friend Emilio Esteves would eventually go the same route, taking the lead role in Young Guns. So, here are the film choices that let Cruise avoid getting stuck with the Brat Pack label that held back so many young actors’ careers. Here’s how Tom Cruise Avoided the Brat Pack Lable.
Legend (1985)
Legend was a highly stylized fantasy film with some of the best makeup jobs of the time, such as Tim Curry’s Lord of Darkness character. Replete with unicorns, elves, and a plethora of other mythical creatures, Cruises Jack sets out to protect the unicorns who hold the key to the magical realm’s wellbeing and defeat the Lord of Darkness. It was a role that was a hard departure from the coming-of-age films he had been known for.
Top Gun (1986)
Cruises’ next turn at the box office would make him a superstar. Top Gun was not only the biggest movie of 1986; it was one of the top-grossing films of the 1980s. Playing the loose cannon pilot Maverick, Cruise gave a memorable performance in a high-flying, intense movie that subsequent generations of movie watchers have come to love. Cruise’s character was supremely confident and outgoing, something he had never portrayed in a film, and he was a far cry from the angst-filled characters he had been known for playing.
The Color of Money (1986)
Cruise co-started with Paul Newman in this Martin Scorsese-directed sequel to The Hustler. Cruise played the pool shark Vince, taught by Newman’s Fast Eddie how to swindle unsuspecting opponents out of their money. The two go on a six-week trip that ends up in a tournament in Atlantic City. The movie has a bittersweet message to it, but it was Cruise’s performance that was the most memorable. The scene where he struts around a pool table to Werewolves of London further reinforces his cocky on-screen persona, leaving those in the Brat Pack far behind him.
Cocktail (1988)
In Cocktail Cruise’s Brian Flanagan is a young bartender who dreams of opening a franchise of bars to be located in shopping malls around the United States. The movie was another dramatic turn, but again with the self-confident upstart who won’t be deterred role. Aside from the Beach Boy’s song Kokomo in the soundtrack, the most memorable part was watching Cruise juggle bottles as he made drinks for customers, which thousands of bartenders would mimic in real life for the rest of the 1980s.
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Rain Man (1988)
Co-staring with Dustin Hoffman in an Academy Award-winning role as Raymond Babbit, the titular Rain Man. Cruise plays Raymond’s brother Charlie, an importer/exporter who didn’t know his autistic savant brother existed. The two bond throughout the film with memorable scenes like Raymond counting cards at a casino and the line “I’m an excellent driver.” The revelation that Charlie called Raymond “Rain Man” when he was a child that he couldn’t pronounce his name came with another revelation that Raymond was sent away for accidentally burning Charlie when he was a baby bathwater that was too hot. The incident caused Raymond to be sent to a mental institution by his parents. In the end, the brothers bond, and Charlie promises to visit Raymond often.
It was these kinds of roles that slipped Cruise from the bonds that some of his co-stars received by being called members of the Brat Pack. Eventually, Esteves, Robert Downey Jr., and Demi Moore were able to break out of the typecasting they had been facing, mostly by following the path Cruise had blazed for them.
