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Why Does Tom Cruise Have the Same Facial Cuts in Every Movie?

Paramount Pictures

This article originally appeared in Vulture .

The trailer for this week’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back begins in the aftermath of what looks like a particularly bloody brawl. Reacher, played once again by Tom Cruise, sits handcuffed in a diner, spouting tough-guy dialogue at the (presumably corrupt) cops who’ve come to arrest him. But don’t pay attention to his words. Pay attention to his controversial face . If you’re a longtime Cruise fan, you may notice something familiar: In the scene, the actor sports a slim horizontal cut on the bridge of his nose, as well as a bloody patch on his right cheekbone—the same exact facial injuries Cruise’s characters have been sporting for years .

The trend was first pointed out to me by my friend Blake , and it’s one of those things that, once you see it, you notice it everywhere. Here’s Cruise and his facial cuts menacing Jamie Foxx on the subway in Collateral :

Here’s Cruise and his facial cuts giving their best puppy-dog eyes in Mission Impossible III :

Here’s Cruise and his facial cuts strapping in for a sci-fi adventure in Oblivion :

Universal Pictures

And here’s Cruise and his facial cuts rescuing Rebecca Ferguson in Mission Impossible—Rogue Nation :

David James/Paramount Pictures

(A similar facial-cut pattern also shows up about two hours into Mission Impossible 2 , but there’s no good still.)

Clearly, this is more than mere coincidence. Something is going on, but what is it? Here are the only explanations that I’ve been able to come up with:

It’s vanity.

Stars depend on their faces for their livelihood, and so it’s only natural that some of them are extremely obsessive about the way their faces are shown. Ariana Grande only wants to be shot from the side of her face that she considers more attractive. Did Cruise similarly discover that his face looked extremely fetching with one particular set of wounds and demand that makeup artists give him the same set for every film thereafter?

He was dipped in the River Styx as a child.

In Greek mythology, the legendary hero Achilles got a ceremonial dunk in the River Styx after his birth, which left him essentially arrow-proof—except for his heel, which is where his mother held onto him. Did Cruise receive a similar boon from his own mom, who perhaps dipped him in feet first, making his nose and cheekbones the only part of his body that could show harm? It’s unlikely, yes, but how else do you explain Cruise’s seemingly magical aging process?

The cuts are actually ancient runes, sending secret messages out into the universe for some dark eldritch purpose.

You never know.

In all likelihood, this is a mystery that will probably never be solved. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn anything, for in their own special way, these facial cuts disprove the odd notion that great acting is about range. These barely bleeding wounds can only do one thing—give Cruise’s characters an aesthetically pleasing vulnerability—but they do it quite well.

See also:  It’s Time to Start Liking Tom Cruise Again

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Face transplant movies: the good, the bad, and the silly (video).

Hollywood has long toyed with the idea of the life-altering surgery.

By Sofia M. Fernandez

Sofia M. Fernandez

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Face/Off Still - H 2011

Hollywood toyed with the idea of face transplants long before Charla Nash ‘s new look was revealed publicly on Thursday. Nash, who was mauled by a chimpanzee in 2009, had the surgery in May but before that — and the first face transplant in 2005 — movies such as John Woo ‘s Face/Off and the 1991 Tom Berenger thriller Shattered addressed the issue.

Nash says she will eventually be able to do things she “once took for granted” such as eat normally and smell once she’s fully recovered; in cinema, similar procedures are usually done quickly and for nefarious reasons.

SPOILER ALERT: The five face transplant movies below usually involve a plot twist related to the surgery.

There isn’t just one, but two (!) face transplants in John Woo ‘s 1997 film. In order to find out important info, John Travolta ‘s FBI agent takes Nicolas Cage ‘s face when Cage’s character is knocked unconscious. But when Cage’s bad guy wakes up, he forces doctors to give him Travolta’s face, thereby causing double the trouble. The plot is summed up on video below.

MINORITY REPORT

The joke when Steven Spielberg’ s 2002 sci-fi came out was that the only way for Tom Cruise to be ugly was for him to medically alter his face, as his character does in the movie to avoid being recognized by face scanners. Cruise made Minority Report right after Vanilla Sky , another film that messes with the actor’s famous face.

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

No operating room needed for this face transplant: Anthony Hopkins ‘ Hannibal Lecter performs the procedure himself in order to escape from captivity. The scene is described in song below:

Tom Berenger ‘s face is reconstructed as someone else’s after he’s disfigured in a car accident in this 1991 film by Wolfgang Petersen . His character suffers from amnesia and the thriller’s twist ending was both loved and hated. Roger Ebert called it “inconceivably implausible.”

THE TOURIST

An American tourist played by Johnny Depp is mistaken for a white-collar criminal because he’s spending time in Venice with Angelina Jolie ‘s well-dressed Brit. She feels sorry for tangling him up with her deadly associates and stands up to a Russian mobster alone. A major plot twist occurs towards the end of the movie involving reconstructive surgery.

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A Face to Die For

Film details, brief synopsis, cast & crew, jack bender, ricky paull goldin, rosalind ayres, james wilder, yasmine bleeth, technical specs.

A young woman with a disfiguring facial scar gets a second chance at life when she undergoes plastic surgery.

Robin Givens

Christopher franke.

Richard Beymer

Jo dewinter, ian abercrombie, michael clark elias, kelly jo minter, phillip simon, toni sawyer.

Elisabeth Ryall

Chandra west, mary ellen trainor, jimmy adams, peter austin, nicholas batchelor, tom bellissimo, jayne bieber, susan bluestein, matthew j clark, eagle egilsson, kevin foster, bobby foxworth, j randolph harrison, cheri jacobs, april janow, katherine kallis, nancy karlin, dennis kirk, frank konigsberg, andrea lapins, robert levinson, robert lorenz, mark melnick, rocky moriana, stacey pianko, elmo ponsdomenech, duane poole, edgar rothermich, dodi rubinstein, dalia saydah-dokter, richard sherman, orly sitowitz, marty wereski, mark werlin, marvin werlin, michael white, miscellaneous notes.

Aired in United States March 11, 1996

Alternate title: "The Face."

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The Mummy review – Tom Cruise returns in poorly bandaged corpse reviver

Framed as more of a superhero origin movie than ancient curse mystery, a messy plot unravels fast

B e afraid, for here it is … again … emerging waxily from the darkness. This disturbing figure must surely be thousands of years old by now, a princeling worshipped as a god but entombed in his own riches and status; remarkably well preserved. It is Tom Cruise, who is back to launch a big summer reboot of The Mummy, that classic chiller about the revived corpse from ancient Egypt, from which the tomb door was last prised off in a trilogy of films between 1999 and 2008 with the lantern-jawed and rather forgotten Brendan Fraser in the lead. And before that, of course, there were classic versions with Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee both variously getting the all-over St John Ambulance treatment.

Traditionally, The Mummy is a scary movie (though unserious) about taboo and transgression, based on the made-up pop myth about the mummy’s “curse” – which has no basis in the history of ancient Egypt, but is a cheeky colonialist invention, which recasts local objection to our tomb-looting as something supernatural, malign and irrational.

Yet that is not what this Mummy is about. It brings in the usual element of sub-Spielberg gung-ho capers, but essentially sees The Mummy as a superhero origin movie; or possibly supervillain; or Batmanishly both. The supporting characters are clearly there to be brought back as superhero-repertory characters for any putative Mummy franchise, including one who may well be inspired by Two-Face from The Dark Knight.

This has some nice moments but is basically a mess, with various borrowings, including some mummified bits from An American Werewolf in London. The plot sags like an aeon-old decaying limb: a jumble of ideas and scenes from what look like different screenplay drafts. There are two separate ancient “tomb-sites” which have to be busted open: one in London and one in Iraq. (The London one, on the site of the Crossrail excavation, contains the remains of medieval knights identified as “crusaders” who have in their dead Brit mitts various strategically important jewels they have taken from Egyptians: who were subsequently buried in what is now Iraq. Erm, Egyptians in Iraq? Go figure. Perhaps it’s because they are evil and had to be taken out of the country, like CIA rendition of terror suspects.)

The Cruisemeister himself is left high and dry by plot lurches that trigger his boggle-eyed, WTF expression. In one scene, he is nude so we can see what undeniably great shape he’s in. The flabby, shapeless film itself doesn’t have his muscle-tone.

Cruise plays Nick Morton, an adorable rascal in the Iraqi warzone who goes around in a TE Lawrence headdress stealing antiquities to sell; well, it’s that or let them be destroyed. He’s helped by his exasperated buddy Chris (Jake Johnson), while Nick has already seduced beautiful expert Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) who in spite of herself is entranced by Nick’s distinctive cherubic handsomeness. Then they blunder across the extraordinary tomb of evil Egyptian sorceress Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) who has some kind of weirdo mind-meld experience with Nick. Her creepy spirit accompanies him back home where she is intent on getting that precious jewel to unlock her full power. Nick’s plane crashes, giving him the opportunity for some Mission: Impossible-type midair acrobatics, those gorgeous chops pulling some serious Gs.

Russell Crowe lumbers on at one stage, amply filling a three-piece suit, playing an archaeological expert and connoisseur of secret burial sites, who has some sinister connection with government agencies. Unlike Nick, he has no Indiana Jones-type heroism, and that formal attire of his signals that he does not have Nick’s kind of heroic looseness. He is a figure to be mistrusted, although when he reveals his name and his destiny, he is just a distraction – and silly.

In the end, having encouraged us to cheer for Tom Cruise as an all-around hero , the film tries to have it both ways and confer upon him some of the sepulchral glamour of evil, and he almost has something Lestat -ish or vampiric about him. Yet the film really won’t make up its mind. It’s a ragbag of action scenes which needed to be bandaged more tightly.

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Why Does Tom Cruise Have the Same Facial Cuts in Every Movie?

The trailer for this week’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back begins in the aftermath of what looks like a particularly bloody brawl. Reacher, played once again by Tom Cruise, sits handcuffed in a diner, spouting tough-guy dialogue at the (presumably corrupt) cops who’ve come to arrest him. But don’t pay attention to his words. Pay attention to his controversial face . If you’re a longtime Cruise fan, you may notice something familiar: In the scene, the actor sports a slim horizontal cut on the bridge of his nose, as well as a bloody patch on his right cheekbone — the same exact facial injuries Cruise’s characters have been sporting for years .

The trend was first pointed out to me by  my friend Blake , and it’s one of those things that, once you see it, you notice it everywhere. Here’s Cruise and his facial cuts menacing Jamie Foxx on the subway in  Collateral :

Here’s Cruise and his facial cuts giving their best puppy-dog eyes in Mission Impossible III :

Here’s Cruise and his facial cuts strapping in for a sci-fi adventure in Oblivion :

And here’s Cruise and his facial cuts rescuing Rebecca Ferguson in Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation :

(A similar facial-cut pattern also shows up about two hours into Mission Impossible 2 , but there’s no good still.)

Clearly, this is more than mere coincidence. Something is going on, but what is it? Here are the only explanations that I’ve been able to come up with:

It’s vanity. Stars depend on their faces for their livelihood, and so it’s only natural that some of them are extremely obsessive about the way their faces are shown. Ariana Grande only wants to be shot from the side of her face that she considers more attractive. Did Cruise similarly discover that his face looked extremely fetching with one particular set of wounds, and demand that makeup artists give him the same set for every film thereafter?

He was dipped in the River Styx as a child. In Greek mythology, the legendary hero Achilles got a ceremonial dunk in the River Styx after his birth, which left him essentially arrow-proof — except for his heel, which is where his mother held onto him. Did Cruise receive a similar boon from his own mom, who perhaps dipped him in feet first, making his nose and cheekbones the only part of his body that could show harm? It’s unlikely, yes, but how else do you explain Cruise’s seemingly magical aging process?

The cuts are actually ancient runes, sending secret messages out into the universe for some dark eldritch purpose. You never know.

In all likelihood, this is a mystery that will probably never be solved. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn anything, for in their own special way, these facial cuts disprove the odd notion that great acting is about range. These barely bleeding wounds can only do one thing — give Cruise’s characters an aesthetically pleasing vulnerability — but they do it quite well.

• jack reacher
• jack reacher 2
• tom cruise's face
• mission impossible rogue nation

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Inside Tom Cruise’s dramatic face transformation as fans praise his youthful looks at Jubilee after ‘swollen’ pics

• Alison Maloney
• Published : 5:03 ET, May 16 2022
• Updated : 11:31 ET, Aug 31 2023

TOM Cruise fans have been left agog at the star's youthful looks.

The Top Gun 2 actor, who turns 60 in July, was interviewed by Phillip Schofield  and Julie Etchingham during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebration.

Many viewers remarked how good he looked, with one tweeting: "Tom Cruise is stopping me nodding off. He still looks hot."

Another wrote: "Crikey, Tom Cruise looks like Tom Cruise again" - after photos of the star at a baseball game in San Francisco last year showed him sporting a much fuller-face.

At the time fans questioned whether he'd had botched fillers, with one tweeting: "What has Tom Cruise done to his face?"

With his boyish good looks and absence of frown lines, plastic surgery rumours have dogged the actor for years.

READ MORE ON TOM CRUISE

Queen raises nation's spirits with first Platinum Jubilee appearance

Although he has consistently denied going under the knife, fans have speculated the ever-youthful star has had a nose job, hair transplant and Botox, as well as veneers on his teeth.

Alice Henshaw, owner and practitioner of Harley Street Injectables , previously told The Sun rumours of a hair transplant might be spot on.

"At almost 60, Tom's hairline has remained relatively the same, although slightly thinning, which does suggest he may have had hair transplants."

As the debate is reignited, here we look at how the star's face has changed over the years.

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Tom's signature smile has always been part of his charm but he wasn’t born with a perfect grin.

When he starred in The Outsiders, in 1982, his teeth were visibly yellowed and misaligned, with a pronounced overbite.

He also removed a cap on a chipped front tooth to appear even more menacing.

But when leading man status beckoned, with roles like Maverick in Top Gun, he had his teeth whitened to improve the look.

As his career reached dizzying heights, with the release of Top Gun in 1996, the 24-year-old still had much of his boyish charm and lean face.

His role as young naval aviator Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell cemented him as a Hollywood heartthrob.

In an unusual look for the clean-cut movie legend, Tom mixed it up in 1996 with some rugged facial hair and long flowing locks.

That year he took on the title role in Jerry Maguire, for which he earned a Golden Globe and his second nomination for an Academy Award.

It wasn’t until 2001, after splitting from Nicole Kidman, that Tom got braces to rectify his overbite, proudly showing them off at the premiere of Minority Report. 

But fans still commented on his asymmetrical teeth, which saw one front tooth aligned with the centre of his face.

At 44, Tom looked less gaunt than he did in his youth, having grown into his face.

His chiselled jaw and killer smile had female fans falling at his feet.

By 2010, Tom's face was beginning to change, occasionally looking chubbier, possibly due to weight flunctuation.

The superfit star pushed himself to the limit whenever he was filming a stunt-filled action role but would also put on a few pounds between movies.

Rumours the star had undergone a nose job began back in 2012 but, asked by Playboy magazine if he had ever had surgery, he replied: “I haven’t and never would.”

But pal Cuba Gooding Jr fanned the flames by insisting Tom had “absolutely” had work done.

Cuba told a US TV show: "I don’t know what he’s had done, but I remember I surprised him at his house one day and he had all of these dots all over his face.

"I was like, 'You all right?' and he goes, 'I didn’t know you were coming' and I was like, 'I can see why.'"

Alice Henshaw explained the dots could indicate many types of surgical or non surgical procedures to make the skin tighter and younger-looking.

She said: "Often dots or markings are drawn on whilst we mark out injection points on the face, but we do this for filler injectables, Profhilo (a collagen stimulator) or even a skin tightening procedure using radio frequency such as Thermage, or a medical grade ultrasound skin tightening like ultraformer."

Tom's appearance at the 2016 BAFTAs had fans commenting on how he looked "inflated" and "puffy" - a common sign of both Botox and fillers.

"Tom looked as if he had undereye filler and filler around his mouth and nasal labial fold in 2016," said Alice.

"But the recent pictures at the baseball match show swelling that doesn't come with fillers."

Dental experts also suggested he had veneers added to make his dazzling smile even whiter.

At the Mission Impossible: Fallout premiere in 2018, Tom looked leaner, with more lines showing on his forehead.

While this could be down to a punishing exercise regime and work schedule for the film, which he also produced, it could also mean he ditched fillers and Botox after the 2016 pictures attracted unwanted attention.

Snaps of the star at a baseball game last year raised eyebrows once again. They came hot on the heels of snaps of Tom at a Birmingham curry house where his face also looked "puffy".

Alice said it could be Tom - like many of us - just put on a few pounds during lockdown.

"It would be hard to say whether it was weight gain without seeing full photo of his body," she added.

However he didn't appear to be carrying excess weight during summer appearances at Wimbledon and Wembley.

Alice said the Mission Impossible star looks "swollen" - potentially after going under the knife.

"Tom definitely looks swollen and puffy, which could be due to filler, post procedure swelling or weight gain," she explained.

"I believe he's had fillers under his eyes and around his mouth and nose in the past, but this time is different.

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"A side profile view of him shows his neck is also quite swollen. Filler would not be placed in this area, which signifies it would not be filler but rather swelling or weight gain.

"Often surgical procedure such as a platysmal plasty, or neck lift, combined with a mid-facelift could create this type of swelling in these areas, and scars are easily disguised."

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Slick Tom Cruise Deepfakes Signal That Near Flawless Forgeries May Be Here

Emma Bowman

Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert at UC Berkeley, says the dangers in sophisticated phony videos called "deepfakes" are amplified in their potential to travel rapidly across social media. Ben Margot/AP hide caption

Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert at UC Berkeley, says the dangers in sophisticated phony videos called "deepfakes" are amplified in their potential to travel rapidly across social media.

In a crop of viral videos featuring Tom Cruise, it's not the actor's magic trick nor his joke-telling that's deceptive — but the fact that it's not actually Tom Cruise at all.

The videos, uploaded to TikTok in recent weeks by the account @deeptomcruise, have raised new fears over the proliferation of believable deepfakes — the nickname for media generated by artificial intelligence technology showing phony events that often seem realistic enough to dupe an audience.

Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told NPR's All Things Considered that the Cruise videos demonstrate a step up in the technology's evolving sophistication.

"This is clearly a new category of deepfake that we have not seen before," said Farid, who researches digital forensics and misinformation.

Deepfakes have been around for years, but, Farid says, the technology has been steadily advancing.

"Every three to four months a video hits Tik Tok, YouTube, whatever, and it's just — wow , this is much, much better than before," he said.

To the trained eye, Farid says a distortion of Cruise's pupils in the videos was a red flag for spotting the fakery.

@deeptomcruise I love magic! ♬ original sound - Tom

The clues were much easier to spot in a glitchier 2018 deepfake video of an uncanny Barack Obama, later unmasked as comedian Jordan Peele impersonating the former president. The following year, a video of Nancy Pelosi, doctored to make the House speaker sound intoxicated through slowed-down speech, made for a more believable deepfake, if only technically.

In 2020, the warnings that deepfakes would be leveraged as a dominant disinformation tool during the presidential election cycle went largely unrealized . But cybersecurity experts say that was only because less sophisticated tactics , like lies, crude video edits and memes, have been working just fine as a source of deception.

Plus, deepfakes are time-consuming and require some technical prowess.

2020 Election: Secure Your Vote

Why fake video, audio may not be as powerful in spreading disinformation as feared.

Chris Ume, a visual effects artist who created the Cruise deepfakes, told The Verge that each video clip was the product of weeks of work. He also relied on the talents of actor Miles Fisher, a Cruise lookalike, to impersonate the movie star before giving Fisher a digital face transplant.

Using open-source deepfake software, existing editing tools and his own visual effects expertise, Ume said, "I make sure you don't see any of the glitches."

Still, he told the website, it took a couple of months to train a machine learning algorithm by feeding a trove of Hollywood footage of Cruise through high-end graphics processors.

Ume credits Fisher for nailing Cruise's likeness, from the intense eye contact to his signature laugh. "He's a really talented actor," Ume told The Verge. "I just do the visual stuff."

The artist, who told CNET that his videos are strictly a creative pursuit, also wanted to bring awareness to the advancement of deepfakes.

Ume said he is less convinced we've arrived at an ominous point in which the technology can be readily abused.

"It's not like you're sitting at home and you can just click on a button and you can create the same thing we did," he told the tech publication.

Investigations

Where are the deepfakes in this presidential election.

While Ume's videos have been made with tongue very much in cheek, there are more nefarious cases in which deepfakes have been used, including nonconsensual deepfake pornography. A 2019 report from Sensity , a company that tracks visual threats, found that nonconsensual deepfake pornography accounted more than 90% of all deepfake material online.

UC Berkeley's Farid cautioned that it's not just the content that poses risks, but the ease of how quickly misinformation can travel online through social media. Deepfakes, he said, are "now throwing jet fuel onto that already burning fire."

He offered a hypothetical example: Say he created a deepfake video to show Amazon executive Jeff Bezos saying that the company's profits have taken a hit. If that video goes viral, he posited, "How long does it take me to move the market to the tune of billions of dollars?"

What's more, Farid said, AI tools that were once in the hands of academics are now widely available through apps and open-source code — as demonstrated with Ume's videos.

"Now you have the perfect storm," he said. "I can create this content easily, inexpensively and quickly, I can deliver it en masse to the world, and I have a very willing and eager public that will amplify that for me."

NPR's Vincent Acovino and Patrick Jarenwattananon produced and edited the audio version of this story.

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How to Watch ‘Scary Movie’ in Order

Famous for its tongue-in-cheek irreverence, the  Scary Movie  series mirrors the often ludicrous and melodramatic domain of horror films and the broader cultural milieu.  Scary Movie  began its cinematic antics in 2000 and didn’t just stop at lampooning horror; no genre was safe. The satirical tour through popular culture that began with a few lighthearted digs at  Scream  and  I Know What You Did Last Summer  quickly snowballed into a parodying romp through everything from  The Matrix   to  The Exorcist ,  with the occasional romantic comedy or hip-hop feud thrown in for good measure. 

As the critics rolled their eyes and muttered about the franchise’s occasional flirtation with lowbrow humor, one couldn’t help but acknowledge the undeniable cultural impact of these cinematic gems. They were like living time capsules, embodying the spirit of their times. After all, nothing screams “turn of the millennium,” quite like seeing Carmen Electra being chased by a masked killer while she dribbles a basketball in stilettos. The franchise, in its audacity, became a barometer for pop culture’s ebb and flow. The more sacred a film or trend seemed, the more ripe it was for a  Scary Movie  parody. 

But what made the series particularly astute was its awareness of the absurdities within the very culture it parodied. It didn’t just mock the tropes of the movies; it shed light on our collective obsession with them. Why do we enjoy seeing teenagers chased by a killer? Why do we repeatedly return to haunted houses and alien invasions?  Scary Movie  didn’t just laugh at the films; it laughed at us, the audience, and our sometimes inexplicable cinematic appetites. If you’re in the mood for a good ol’ trip down memory lane, ready to laugh at your favorite horror flicks, here are all the entries in the  Scary Movie  franchise. 

Scary Movie  (2000)

Folks thought they’d seen it all when the year 2000 rolled along with its millennium bugs and Y2K anxieties, but then  Scary Movie  came along to remind us that the actual terror was … our insatiable need for teen slashers. The Keenen Ivory Wayans-directed uproarious parody took the pomposity out of films like  Scream , and  I Know What You Did Last Summer , merrily popping their suspenseful bubbles with a sharpened pin of satire. 

With a cast led by the indefatigable Anna Faris and the poker-faced Regina Hall, the film wasn’t just content with tongue-in-cheek moments; it practically laughed at its own absurdity. Scenes that once had us biting our nails in the original movies were turned into moments where we choked on our popcorn from laughter. Underneath the onslaught of crude jokes and over-the-top performances,  Scary Movie  was a witty, though unruly, critique of the formulaic nature of the horror genre. 

Scary Movie 2  (2001)

Just as we were dusting off the confetti from the millennium party and beginning to believe that we’d seen the pinnacle of parody,  Scary Movie 2  came strolling onto the screen with the swagger of a sequel on a mission.  Scary Movie 2, b uilding on the success of its predecessor, was less of an encore and more like a gleefully chaotic second act. The illustrious Wayans Brothers delved deeper (or should I say, even more shamelessly) into the treasure trove of cinematic clichés. 

Whereas the first film skewered teen slasher flicks, this romp took on the haunted house genre with gusto. Remember the sinisterly sensual possessed hand? Or the frenetic exorcism that made one question the sanctity of mashed potatoes forever?  Scary Movie 2  took   things that go bump in the night and made them snort with laughter. While some might’ve thought the franchise would lose its edge the second time, it was clear that this series was only warming up its satirical muscles. 

Scary Movie 3  (2003)

2003 arrived, and with it, the third installment of a franchise that refused to be boxed in (or, perhaps, just refused to leave the party).  Scary Movie 3  was like that audacious friend who, after telling two hysterically funny jokes, feels the need to land a third against all odds. Veering away from its haunting and slashing forebears, the film bravely decided to dance with aliens and, for good measure, throw in a cursed videotape. 

With director David Zucker at the helm, the spoof expert behind  Airplane!  and  The Naked Gun , one could anticipate the genre-bending chaos that was about to ensue. Remember Anna Faris’s harrowing showdown with a TV? Or the sarcastic jabs at pop culture, ranging from rapping farmers to perplexed news anchors?  Scary Movie 3  left no stone—or cornfield—unturned in its quest to mock early 2000s films. In a world where sequels often reek of redundancy, this third chapter not only broke the mold but laughed at the very concept of molds. 

Scary Movie 4  (2006)

After three movies, most franchises would’ve reclined into the comfort of their laurels, but not our dear  Scary Movie . Instead, it strutted on with the confidence of a catwalk model dressed in knock-offs.  Scary Movie 4 , in its ever-audacious spirit, decided to tap dance on the horror genre’s toes and pirouette across the floors of sci-fi and disaster movies. Directed yet again by the seasoned satirist David Zucker, the film took on Tom Cruise’s couch-jumping antics and  War of the Worlds . 

It gave us a unique perspective on what would happen if  The Village  met  Saw  in a twisted comedic universe. Anna Faris, our perennial parody queen, once more navigated this medley of madness, unearthing laughs in the most unexpected corners.  Scary Movie 4  reminded us all that even in the face of alien invasions and possessed dolls, a good chuckle is never amiss.

Scary Movie 5  (2013)

By 2013, one might’ve thought the  Scary Movie  franchise had gleefully exhausted its bag of tricks. But lo and behold, we were gifted with Scary Movie 5 . This fifth romp, clearly in no mood for restraint, frolicked through parodies of films like  Black Swan  and  Paranormal Activity  and even ventured into the insufferable universe of  Fifty Shades of Grey . 

Having bid adieu to Anna Faris, the series welcomed Ashley Tisdale as the hilariously harried protagonist navigating haunted houses and ballet backstabs. Some might say the franchise was pushing its comedic luck, but then again, wasn’t that always its charm? 

(featured image: Miramax Films)

Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher Scars Were 'Meticulously Placed' For Book Fans, Who Never Noticed

Adapting a book into a movie always comes with a massive weight of fan expectations. So when a 5’8 Tom Cruise stepped into the role of Jack Reacher in 2012, some fans were let down by the production’s ignorance of the source material. The movie’s flack has resulted in a reboot being developed over at Amazon Studios with the search for another Jack underway.

But, Jack Reacher writer and director Christopher McQuarrie is reminding fans of a few meticulous details his team made sure to stay true to the books. Check it out:

So there! The Mission Impossible filmmaker regularly takes to Twitter to answer fan questions and the topic of his 2012 film came up this week. As he states, Tom Cruise was given specific scars to match points throughout the book series… but nobody noticed! The actor may not have been the right look for the investigator, but they certainly put some work into keeping his appearance true to the novels.

One fan asked him if a specific bullet wound from the source material was in Jack Reacher as well, he responded as such:

Pretty crazy, huh? It sounds like Christopher McQuarrie and the crew worked really hard to put in these details and felt they were overshadowed by other issues taken with the film franchise. However, some fans did respond to McQuarrie to tell the filmmaker they did notice these details and appreciated them being placed in Jack Reacher .

The 2012 release was a big hit – making $218 globally on a $50 million budget. It marked the first of many collaborations between Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie, who made Edge of Tomorrow , Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation , and Fallout . The pair are gearing up to shoot the Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 back-to-back for summer 2021 and 2022 release dates.

McQuarrie did not return for 2016’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and the sequel wasn’t received well among audiences and critics. Now, the author of the Jack Reacher books, Lee Child, is working on the reboot television series for Amazon. A big factor the executives are making sure of this time is to get the character’s 6’5 build right .

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Lee Child recently called Tom Cruise “too old” to continue Jack Reacher anyway, advising him to step away from action projects and do character work . Despite being 57, the actor has certainly shown his ability to impress – frequently doing his own stunts. Will Smith even tried to emulate the actor for Bad Boys For Life and couldn’t do it .

Stay tuned for more details on the Jack Reacher series! Tom Cruise will soon reprise his Top Gun role in Maverick on June 26, 2020.

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.

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Tom Cruise Movies List

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Top Gun (1986)

PG | 109 min | Action, Drama

As students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Tim Robbins , Kelly McGillis , Val Kilmer

Votes: 502,433 | Gross: $179.80M

2. Taps (I) (1981)

PG | 126 min | Drama

Military cadets take extreme measures to ensure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.

Director: Harold Becker | Stars: George C. Scott , Timothy Hutton , Ronny Cox , Sean Penn

Votes: 20,090 | Gross: $35.86M

3. The Outsiders (1983)

PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama

In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: C. Thomas Howell , Matt Dillon , Ralph Macchio , Patrick Swayze

Votes: 97,502 | Gross: $25.60M

4. Losin' It (1982)

R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama

Set in 1965, four rowdy teenage guys travel to Tijuana, Mexico for a night of partying when they are joined by a heartbroken housewife who is in town seeking a quick divorce.

Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jackie Earle Haley , John Stockwell , John P. Navin Jr.

Votes: 5,227 | Gross: $1.25M

5. Risky Business (1983)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.

Director: Paul Brickman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Rebecca De Mornay , Joe Pantoliano , Richard Masur

Votes: 99,809 | Gross: $63.50M

6. All the Right Moves (1983)

R | 91 min | Drama, Romance, Sport

An ambitious young football star is trapped in a dying mill town--unless his gridiron skills can win him a way out.

Director: Michael Chapman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Lea Thompson , Craig T. Nelson , Charles Cioffi

Votes: 20,393 | Gross: $17.23M

7. Legend (1985)

PG | 94 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Mia Sara , Tim Curry , David Bennent

Votes: 72,453 | Gross: $15.50M

8. The Color of Money (1986)

R | 119 min | Drama, Sport

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Paul Newman , Tom Cruise , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio , Helen Shaver

Votes: 93,247 | Gross: $52.29M

9. Cocktail (1988)

R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.

Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Brown , Elisabeth Shue , Lisa Banes

Votes: 91,833 | Gross: $78.22M

10. Rain Man (1988)

R | 133 min | Drama

After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.

Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman , Tom Cruise , Valeria Golino , Gerald R. Molen

Votes: 546,465 | Gross: $178.80M

11. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War

The biography of Ron Kovic . Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Larkin , Raymond J. Barry , Caroline Kava

Votes: 115,912 | Gross: $70.00M

12. Days of Thunder (1990)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, Sport

A young hot-shot stock car driver gets his chance to compete at the top level.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Robert Duvall , Randy Quaid

Votes: 96,382 | Gross: $82.67M

13. Far and Away (1992)

PG-13 | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance

A young Irish couple flee to the States, but subsequently struggle to obtain land and prosper freely.

Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Thomas Gibson , Robert Prosky

Votes: 68,317 | Gross: $58.88M

14. A Few Good Men (1992)

R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller

Military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jack Nicholson , Demi Moore , Kevin Bacon

Votes: 287,247 | Gross: $141.34M

15. The Firm (1993)

R | 154 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.

Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeanne Tripplehorn , Gene Hackman , Hal Holbrook

Votes: 147,661 | Gross: $158.35M

16. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.

Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Brad Pitt , Tom Cruise , Antonio Banderas , Kirsten Dunst

Votes: 347,372 | Gross: $105.26M

17. Mission: Impossible (1996)

PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jon Voight , Emmanuelle Béart , Henry Czerny

Votes: 470,192 | Gross: $180.98M

18. Jerry Maguire (1996)

R | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cuba Gooding Jr. , Renée Zellweger , Kelly Preston

Votes: 286,973 | Gross: $153.95M

19. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

R | 159 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Todd Field , Sydney Pollack

Votes: 375,003 | Gross: $55.69M

20. Magnolia (1999)

R | 188 min | Drama

An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jason Robards , Julianne Moore , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 328,405 | Gross: $22.46M

21. Mission: Impossible II (2000)

PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt is sent to Sydney to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera".

Director: John Woo | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dougray Scott , Thandiwe Newton , Ving Rhames

Votes: 377,613 | Gross: $215.41M

22. Vanilla Sky (2001)

R | 136 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Penélope Cruz , Cameron Diaz , Kurt Russell

Votes: 285,639 | Gross: $100.61M

23. Minority Report (2002)

PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Crime, Mystery

John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Colin Farrell , Samantha Morton , Max von Sydow

Votes: 584,226 | Gross: $132.07M

24. The Last Samurai (2003)

R | 154 min | Action, Drama

Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.

Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Ken Watanabe , Billy Connolly , William Atherton

Votes: 470,951 | Gross: $111.11M

25. Collateral (2004)

R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jamie Foxx , Jada Pinkett Smith , Mark Ruffalo

Votes: 433,010 | Gross: $101.01M

26. War of the Worlds (2005)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dakota Fanning , Tim Robbins , Miranda Otto

Votes: 475,111 | Gross: $234.28M

27. Mission: Impossible III (2006)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his fiancée in response.

Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise , Michelle Monaghan , Ving Rhames , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 390,655 | Gross: $134.03M

28. Lions for Lambs (2007)

R | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Injuries sustained by two Army rangers behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and a professor.

Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Tom Cruise , Meryl Streep , Robert Redford , Michael Peña

Votes: 52,694 | Gross: $15.00M

29. Tropic Thunder (2008)

R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, War

Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller , Jack Black , Robert Downey Jr. , Jeff Kahn

Votes: 447,917 | Gross: $110.52M

30. Valkyrie (2008)

PG-13 | 121 min | Drama, History, Thriller

A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bill Nighy , Carice van Houten , Kenneth Branagh

Votes: 259,203 | Gross: $83.08M

31. Knight and Day (2010)

PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

A young woman gets mixed up with a disgraced spy who is trying to clear his name.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cameron Diaz , Peter Sarsgaard , Jordi Mollà

Votes: 210,297 | Gross: $76.42M

32. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeremy Renner , Simon Pegg , Paula Patton

Votes: 528,348 | Gross: $209.40M

33. Rock of Ages (2012)

PG-13 | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

A small-town girl and a city boy meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams.

Director: Adam Shankman | Stars: Julianne Hough , Diego Boneta , Tom Cruise , Alec Baldwin

Votes: 81,659 | Gross: $38.52M

34. Jack Reacher (2012)

PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller

A homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper responsible for a mass shooting.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise , Rosamund Pike , Richard Jenkins , Werner Herzog

Votes: 364,971 | Gross: $80.07M

35. Oblivion (I) (2013)

PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.

Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Tom Cruise , Morgan Freeman , Andrea Riseborough , Olga Kurylenko

Votes: 553,028 | Gross: $89.02M

36. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

PG-13 | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.

Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Emily Blunt , Bill Paxton , Brendan Gleeson

Votes: 736,636 | Gross: $100.21M

37. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

PG-13 | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

Ethan and his team take on their most impossible mission yet when they have to eradicate an international rogue organization as highly skilled as they are and committed to destroying the IMF.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise , Rebecca Ferguson , Jeremy Renner , Simon Pegg

Votes: 410,860 | Gross: $195.04M

38. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Crime, Drama

Jack Reacher must uncover the truth behind a major government conspiracy in order to clear his name while on the run as a fugitive from the law.

Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cobie Smulders , Aldis Hodge , Robert Knepper

Votes: 175,255 | Gross: $58.70M

39. The Mummy (2017)

PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

An ancient Egyptian princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.

Director: Alex Kurtzman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Sofia Boutella , Annabelle Wallis , Russell Crowe

Votes: 206,157 | Gross: $80.10M

40. American Made (2017)

R | 115 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

The story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.

Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Domhnall Gleeson , Sarah Wright , Jesse Plemons

Votes: 208,105 | Gross: $51.34M

41. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

PG-13 | 147 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

Ethan Hunt and his IMF team, along with some familiar allies, race against time after a mission gone wrong.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise , Henry Cavill , Ving Rhames , Simon Pegg

Votes: 378,058 | Gross: $220.16M

42. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Drama

After thirty years, Maverick is still pushing the envelope as a top naval aviator, but must confront ghosts of his past when he leads TOP GUN's elite graduates on a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those chosen to fly it.

Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jennifer Connelly , Miles Teller , Val Kilmer

Votes: 696,196 | Gross: $718.73M

43. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

PG-13 | 163 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise , Hayley Atwell , Ving Rhames , Simon Pegg

Votes: 246,597 | Gross: $172.14M

44. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two (2025)

Action, Adventure, Thriller | Post-production

The 8th entry in the long running Mission Impossible franchise.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Hannah Waddingham , Vanessa Kirby , Tom Cruise , Nick Offerman

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Tom cruise's jack reacher was way more book accurate than you realized.

Despite fan objections, Jack Reacher director Christopher McQuarrie just let everyone know how close to the character Tom Cruise actually got.

Since its release, many Jack Reacher fans have questioned the disparity of Tom Cruise's appearance compared to how the character is described in the books, but according to some tweets by director Christopher McQuarrie, things may have been a whole lot more accurate than originally thought. The 2012 film was an adaptation of One Shot , the ninth book in Lee Child's series about a former military policeman who wanders around the country and finds himself in dangerous situations. The box office for the first film was initially thought to be lackluster , but international numbers eventual led to the 2016 sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back , produced by McQuarrie and starring Cruise, with  directorial duties going to Edward Zwick .

Fans were quick to point out that Top Gun star Tom Cruise did not come anywhere close to the 6 foot five inch stature of the fictional character. While Cruise had the star power to get the movies made, many were critical of the decision to cast the five foot seven inch actor in a role that would be expected to involve some physical intimidation, including author Lee Child  himself. With actors the size of The Rock auditioning for the role , people have continued to question the decision, even after the team of McQuarrie and Cruise  have been successful with their work on the Mission: Impossible series.

Related:  Jack Reacher TV Show Officially Headed To Amazon

No stranger to answering questions on Twitter,  Christopher McQuarrie  informed fans that a lot more detail was put into making Cruise physically resemble Reacher than most people had noticed. The director pointed out that the scars featured on Cruise's body were all specific references to injuries the character received in the novels.  McQuarrie  went on to point out that a very particular scar where Reacher's muscular physique prevented further damage from a bullet was highlighted and not to just show off the shape Cruise was in. He hashtagged his tweets with #FanService, because of the extra step they went to make fans happy, but have been so far missed by many. You can check the tweets out here:

There seems to be a level of frustration behind McQuarrie's words. Even after all of their successes and highly anticipated, upcoming projects , it must be difficult to still be called out for inaccurately portraying the physical attributes of the character, when evidence will prove that they went the extra mile to do so. Despite his lack of height, Cruise made sure he was in peak physical condition and continues to do so to perform intricate stunts himself to make his movies more believable and the duo made sure to put their dedication to the character on screen where it went unnoticed.

Despite there being no new Jack Reacher movies, it is on its way to being a television show at Amazon  with Lee Child as an executive producer and his push to cast a larger actor behind it. Meanwhile, McQuarrie and Cruise are keeping busy with the  next two Mission: Impossible movies . With the success and anticipation of these installments in the franchise, fans are sure to have plenty to look forward to.

Next:  Top Gun 2: What The Director’s Previous Movies Reveal About Maverick

Source: Christopher McQuarrie

Key Release Dates

Mission: impossible - dead reckoning part one, mission: impossible - dead reckoning - part two.

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How Miles Teller Got The Scars You See on His Face

When Top Gun: Maverick hit theaters, it made a killing. The sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun starring Tom Cruise was a film fans looked forward to from the moment news broke. When fans found out the movie would not only include original cast members Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, but also Miles Teller as the son of the late LTJG Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (originally played by actor Anthony Edwards), fans went wild. Teller might not be nearly as famous as Tom Cruise himself, but he’s been steadily working on making a name for himself in Hollywood since he was in high school. Born and raised in Pennsylvania until moving to the small coastal community of Citrus County, Florida (where he graduated from Lecanto High School) at the age of 12, he was already dreaming of his career as an actor while attending school as an LHS Panther. The young hopeful moved to New York City after being accepted into the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts (he graduated in 2009), and he was immediately cast in a Nicole Kidman project called Rabbit Hole in 2010. Things were looking up for the young star, and his career has taken off in the past decade. However, his fans have one question that has nothing to do with his career, the many movies in which he has starred, or how he got his start. They want to know the story behind his facial scars.

He Suffered Injuries in a Car Accident

It is every parent’s nightmare to receive a phone call that their child – even when they are an adult away at school – was in an accident. Miles Teller was only 20 when he survived a horrific high-speed car accident that left his friend – and driver of the vehicle – fearful that his friend was dead. His friend was driving approximately 80 miles per hour when he lost control of the vehicle in which Miles was a passenger. The car rolled eight times, ejecting Teller and leaving him for dead. He was thrown approximately 50 feet from the vehicle, and his friend was certain he did not survive. Fortunately, Teller did survive the horrific accident, but not without a few facial scars to remember it by. His recovery was long and painful, and it included numerous surgeries. He spent four years undergoing various procedures to remove scar tissue from his accident injuries , though doctors were unable to completely remove any evidence he was in an accident. In fact, he still lives with gravel embedded in a few places on his face, but his doctors are fearful removing the gravel will cause additional damage – therefore, he will live with it.

Acting and His Scar

He was only 20 when he was thrown from the vehicle in his accident, and he was nearly 23 when he was first cast in Rabbit Hole. His scars had a prolonged effect on the trajectory of his acting career, but everything worked out in the long run. For every no he received during auditions, he kept trying. While he was told he was a great actor, he was also told that the characters for which he was auditioning simply didn’t have scars – his face did not go with the part. Rather than allowing this to end his dream of acting, he kept going. It was a director by the name of John Cameron Mitchell who finally decided he wanted to be part of a project and gave him the job – the role of a man who was the driver of a car that killed a young boy. The scars worked well for this role, and the rest is history.

By 2011, he was starring in the remake of Footloose. That was quickly followed by Project X, The Spectacular Now, and 21 & Over. However, it was his role in Divergent that really got people talking. That was followed by his roles in films such as Fantastic Four, War Dogs, and more. Of course, being asked to star in a music video in 2021 didn’t hurt, either. Especially when the video is one being made for a song sung by not only Taylor Swift by also Chris Stapleton (I Bet You Think About Me) and directed by none other than the famous Blake Lively. It’s the music video equivalent of working with an ensemble cast. Miles Teller is working on becoming one of the most widely recognized actors of his time, and the world is excited. His accident may have lingering effects on his face, but it didn’t stop him from living his dream.

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Tiffany Raiford

After studying business in college, Tiffany embarked upon a career she never dreamed of. She became a stay-at-home mom and writer with her own blog. Her writing gained recognition and since 2009, she's written for sites such as What to Expect, Where'd My Sanity Go, and dozens more. She collaborated with the NFL, CDC, and Heads Up Football Program in 2012 and 2013. Her writing has allowed her to visit NYC for Fashion Week events since 2015, and she's worked with clients in almost every field, from dentistry to law and family to entertainment. Tiffany and her husband are the proud parents of four children in her free time.