Ten Things You Didn't Know About Tom Cruise

Last updated on: December 1, 201112:35 IST

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Raja Sen in Mumbai

The biggest movie star in the world is coming to India. Tom Cruise arrives in India on Friday, to promote his latest Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, a film also starring our very own Anil Kapoor.

Cruise is a star of such global magnitude that we know pretty much everything about him, but here's some rather fascinating Tom-trivia I had fun digging out and compiling. Enjoy:

Image: Tom CruisePhot! ographs: Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Last updated on: December 1, 201112:35 IST

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Many, many years before hit sitcom Modern Family came to be, Sofia Vergara -- the gorgeous Gloria on the show -- came into the spotlight because she happened to be the girl Tom Cruise was dating. Yup. Long before she became the object of our devotion, Cruise had hunted her out.

Image: Sofia VergaraPhotographs: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Last updated on: December 1, 201112:35 IST

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In Martin Scorsese's The Color Of Money -- a film about 9-ball where Cruise performed all his own trick shots -- he discussed politics with senior co-star Paul Newman.

So aware became Cruise that he consciously tried to balance out the jingoism of Top Gun with the anti-war Born On The Fourth Of July.

Image: A scene from The Color Of Money

Last updated on: December 1, 201112:35 IST

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Cruise was born dyslexic and suffered from the disability right upto 1990, when he converted to the Church of Scientology, announcing that the Scientology teachings had cured him of dyslexia.

He went on to become one of the most outspoken ambassadors for Scientology.

Image: Tom Cruise

Last updated on: December 1, 201112:35 IST

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Before Scientology happened, however, Cruise was a dedicated Catholic, a devout follower who wanted to be a priest.

For a year, when he was 14, he even attended a Franciscan seminary in Cincinnatti on a church scholarship.

Image: Tom Cruise

Last updated on: December 1, 201112:35 IST

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When Cruise was cast as the Vampire Lestat in Neil Jordan's film adaptation of Anne Rice's novel, Interview With The Vampire, the author was openly strongly critical of the casting decision.

When she saw the film, she paid for a full page ad in Variety magazine applauding him and apologising for having doubted him.

Image: Tom Cruise with costar Brad Pitt in Interview With The Vampire

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Cruise might have easily gone into sports, but something got in the way each time.

He lost his place on a high school wrestling team because of a knee injury, and while he played American football for his varsity team (as a linebacker), was axed from the squad because he was caught drinking beer before a game.

Last updated on: December 1, 201112:35 IST

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Cruise, born in 1962, has been married thrice, and all three of his wives were born exactly eleven years apart: Mimi Rogers was born in 1956,! Nicole Kidman in 1967, and Katie Holmes, his current wife, was born in 1978.

While speaking of the number, in 1974, when Cruise was 11, his parents got divorced.

Image: TomCruise with wife Katie Holmes and daughter Suri

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As filmmakers go, Cruise has had quite the picking.

He's the only actor to have worked with as many master filmmakers of his generation: Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Oliver Stone, Paul Thomas Anderson and, of course, Steven Spielberg.

Image: Tom Cruise in Minority Report

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He and Batman have the same taste in women.

Two of his wives have played love interests to the superhero in Batman movies, Nicole Kidman in Batman Forever and Katie Holmes in Batman Begins.

Image: Tom Cruise with second wife Nicole Kidman

Last updated on: December 1, 201112:35 IST

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He earned over $75 million for Mission Impossible 2 by forgoing all upfront salary and cutting a deal for 30 percent of the film's gross.

Producers would feel he's worth every penny he charges, considering Forbes in 2007 calculated that for every dollar Cruise was paid, the films grossed $11.

Image: Movie poster of Mission Impossible 2