Tom Cruise will forever be a Hollywood heartthrob.
The action star turns 63 on July 3, 2025, and to celebrate, we’re going to kick back with a Cocktail, turn on the latest Mission: Impossible and maybe engage in some Risky Business. Or, we could just look back on these 20 dreamy throwbacks of the Hollywood all-star!
All-American Guy
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A popped collar and double denim? Tom Cruise circa 1980 was totally dreamy. Cruise wouldn’t get his acting break until 1981, when he appeared in the film Endless Love, but he was already a star!
Totally Preppy
Barry King/WireImage
A young Tom Cruise wearing a corduroy jacket with elbow patches makes us wish he could tutor us after school.
Greaser Dude
Nancy Moran/Sygma via Getty
Cruise hit the big screen in 1982 as Steve Randle in The Outsiders.
The Outsiders
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At the premiere of the film in 1982, Cruise, Rob Lowe and Emilio Estevez made a pretty great-looking trio.
Cool and Casual
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At a screening for Risky Business, Cruise had us swooning with his long locks, T-shirt and jeans.
Long Hair, Don’t Care
Barry King/WireImage
Cruise let his luscious locks fly free at the premiere of The Breakfast Club in 1985.
Tough Guy
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Is there anything more attractive than Tom Cruise going incognito in a leather jacket and sunglasses in 1985?
An Officer and a Gentleman
Paramount Pictures/Archive Photos/Getty
Well, okay, his character in Top Gun was technically a lieutenant, but you get the picture.
On the Dot
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Cruise had a head of hair that defied physics and a jaw that could cut glass at the 1986 Top Gun premiere afterparty.
Suit Yourself
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He sported an eccentric suit at The Color of Money N.Y.C. premiere that evoked the film’s title.
Stare Down
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Sorry, we forgot what we were saying, we got lost in Cruise’s blue eyes!
Cruise Control
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
A natural-born speaker, Cruise was full of charisma as he took the podium for the 1987 NATO/ShoWest Convention in Las Vegas.
Black Tie Affair
The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
Cruise looks just as good dressed to the nines as he does dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.
Thirsty?
Mondadori via Getty
How about a Cocktail? Cruise starred in the film (and rocked this blue floral shirt) in 1988.
Buzzcut Season
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At the 1989 Oscars, where he presented Best Actress with Dustin Hoffman, the actor opted for a daring buzzcut.
Winner, Winner
The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
In 1990, Cruise won the People’s Choice Award for his role in Born on the Fourth of July.
Cover Star
People Magazine
In 1990, PEOPLE aptly named the Days of Thunder star the Sexiest Man Alive.
Poster Boy
Patrick Riviere/Getty
Along with Days of Thunder, he starred with his then-wife Nicole Kidman in the 1992 romantic drama Far and Away.
Standing Firm
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Cruise starred in the 1993 legal thriller, The Firm, in which he played a Harvard-educated lawyer, a.k.a. the man of our dreams (despite his character’s shady business dealings).
