Why Did Tom Cruise Change His Name?

Over the last 40 years, Tom Cruise's name has been prominently featured in the center of billboards and posters for classic films like "Mission Impossible," "Interview with the Vampire," and "Top Gun." Perhaps, in an alternate universe, a slightly longer name would have been displayed, as Cruise's birth certificate actually reads Thomas Cruise Mapother IV. It's been reported that the "Rain Man" star's talent agent urged him to be credited as Tom Cruise for his projects, presumably due to the name's undeniable catchiness. The agent may have also correctly surmised that Cruise enjoys stunt work, specifically cruising on fast-moving vehicles.

While it does not seem to have been confirmed by the actor, Cruise may have also amended his surname because he is the namesake of his father, Thomas Cruise Mapother III. Cruise stated he harbored resentment toward his father and alleged he inflicted abuse in a 2006 Parade interview. "He was a bully and a coward. He was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life—how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang! For me, it was like, 'There's something wrong with this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him,'" stated the star. 

Cruise also shared that his late mother, Mary Lee Pfeiffer, eventually fled from her then-husband. "My mother finally had the courage to stand up to my dad and go, 'No more! I'm not taking it. So long,'" stated the actor. 

During the Parade magazine interview, Tom Cruise stated he agreed to have a face-to-face conversation with Thomas Cruise Mapother III in his early 20s after he discovered he had been hospitalized for terminal cancer. The "Top Gun" star shared he found the situation upsetting despite his decade-long estrangement from his father. "When I saw him in pain, I thought, 'Wow, what a lonely life.' He was in his late 40s. It was sad," shared the actor. 

In a 2004  "Inside the Actors Studio" interview, Cruise revealed he gifted his dad a figure in the likeness of Mark Twain's beloved character Tom Sawyer. "It had the music from 'The Sting' on it ... because he and I, we loved that movie. We saw that movie together. I gave him that as a gift, and he laughed," shared Cruise. 

While speaking to Barbara Walters in 1992, Cruise stated that his father asserted that he wanted to get to know him better after his hospital visit. "He said, 'Look, when I get out of here, we'll go out and we'll have a beer. And we'll talk about everything.' And then he died," he related.

While the exact reason for the actor's choice of Hollywood name is unclear, it's difficult to deny that the name Tom Cruise makes a big impact when the credits are rolling.