American Made: Does The Real Life Barry Seal Look Anything Like Tom Cruise?

Tom Cruise isn't the chameleon that he thinks he is. 

Over the last decade, Cruise has primarily found himself boxed in on action pictures. Long gone are the contemplative, moody roles he excelled in, like Vincent from Michael Mann's hitman film "Collateral." Instead, the Oscar-nominated actor has become obsessed with action-oriented films, dedicating the last decade of his filmography to pushing the boundaries of action cinema. From the "Mission: Impossible" films to the crowd-pleasing, box office-igniting "Top Gun: Maverick," Cruise has cemented himself as a full-on action junkie. 

In 2017, he took a somewhat daring role, calling back to some of his earlier, less-action-oriented gigs. He headlined Doug Liman's biopic-thriller "American Made," which centers on the exploits of Barry Seal, a pilot who smuggled drugs for the Medellin cartel while working with the CIA. "American Made" is (mostly) based on a true story, and much of what Seal is shown doing actually happened in real life. However, the real-life Seal doesn't look much like the "Vanilla Sky" actor. Seal weighed around 300 hundred pounds and was given the nickname "El Gordo," which translates to "The Fat Man" in Spanish. While Nola.com says that Cruise did gain weight for the role, the actor's fictional take on the character doesn't have the same towering presence as the real-life inspiration. 

When you compare both individuals side-by-side, it's obvious that Cruise looks nothing like Seal. No attempt was made to present a realistic depiction of Seal's appearance, which seems to be the point.

The promotional poster for "American Made" aptly has the tagline: "Based on a true lie." While a portion of the Tom Cruise picture is based on Barry Seal's real-life and chaotic exploits, a lot of it has been spun for the sake of entertainment. Perhaps one of the biggest inaccuracies is how Cruise's version of the smugger looks literally nothing like the real guy. 

This wasn't an oversight on director Doug Liman's part. While speaking with Vulture, the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" director candidly discussed how Cruise and Seal are polar opposites in terms of looks. "You know, we're not making a biopic," Liman admitted. "Tom Cruise doesn't look like Barry Seal." Instead, Liman says that his film is inspired by stories surrounding Seal, which is an interesting creative decision for a film that tackles real-life events that helped shape both the CIA and the Medellin cartel. 

If anything, Liman admits that his picture is more about playing around with Cruise's image as a movie star. For one, Liman acknowledges that Cruise isn't playing a traditional hero in "American Made." Beyond that, the director is aware of how Cruise has always been associated with flying since 1986's "Top Gun," a connection he was eager to make fun of. "It was like, 'Let's poke fun at the whole Tom Cruise image!' It's not a sketch, he is an extraordinary actor and in a way 'American Made' takes him back to his roots," Liman told Metro.