Tom Cruise revealed that his 1991 underrated film, Taps, made him realize just how desperately he wanted to be a part of the film industry.
Tom Cruise has been a crucial part of the film industry for decades now. Although he has gained a reputation for his work in the Mission: Impossible series, he has been a part of several genres, establishing a reputation outside of Ethan Hunt. This success did not come as a sudden change of luck but from a deep-rooted love for cinema.
Cruise has always been very vocal about his love for Hollywood, loving everything about movies and all that comes with the process of filmmaking. During an interview, the actor was asked about his priorities and if they ever changed as his career grew.
Looking back at the second film that he ever starred in, Cruise talked about how he realized how desperately he wanted to walk through the gilded gates of Hollywood.
Tom Cruise and the Tap of Possibilities
In 1981, Tom Cruise starred in the second film of his career, Taps. The film featured several well-known actors like Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, and Giancarlo Esposito, and has turned into quite an underrated gem from Cruise’s career. However, it would seem that there was a lot more to the film than fans might know.
In an interview with Hamish and Andy, the actor talked about a very significant realization he had while he was making the film. Starting off, he revealed that he was feeling a lot when he was on the set of the project. His only previous acting credit was playing a small role in Endless Love. With this in mind, it is safe to say that playing a central character in a big project was an impressive feat for the actor.
I remember I was making Taps, and there I am, on set with these guys, and I thought, “If I don’t get to make another film again, I just want to see how it is, and I went to every single department, and really studied and asked a gazillion questions.
Considering the fact that he did not have a lot to show when it came to an acting portfolio, it is not surprising that the actor was concerned if he would get another opportunity to be a part of a film. Cruise revealed that due to this, he ended up approaching every department on the set to learn as much as he could about the industry.
Tom Cruise Knew What He Wanted to Do With His Career
Having a realization about how temporary his success could be wasn’t the only thing that Tom Cruise learned when he was working on Taps. During the interview, the actor also revealed that he realized just how much he loved the film industry.
He confessed that after learning as much as he could from all of the departments, he wanted more. He wanted to be in everything and try everything. This was a want that continued on as he started to rise through the ranks of the film industry.
I remember sitting there, I thought, I just. If I could do this for the rest of my life, I’d be so grateful. As I started working more and more, and I realized, like, what my desire was, to be able to challenge myself, in every kind of genre of filmmaking and just try to push this art form for myself as hard as I can.
Cruise wanted to try his hand at everything and understand as much as he could about how the film industry worked. Specifically, the actor mentioned that he wanted to work in every genre of filmmaking and push himself as much as he possibly could.
Looking at Cruise’s entire filmography, it is safe to determine that he explored a lot of different genres until he settled on the one he found most comfortable.