See Tom Run: The Five Most Diverse Tom Cruise Sprints

Written by Dan Mecca, on December 21, 2012 at 12:19 pm

In anticipation for his newest actioner Jack Reacher, hitting theaters today, we have decided to reflect on one of movie star Tom Cruise‘s most iconic assets: his run. Yes, there are those pearly whites which compliment that matinee smile, but you’d be lying if you didn’t at least think about that hyper-extended running style Cruise brings to nearly every single one of his characters, no matter the genre or decade. At age 50, the actor has not lost a step, providing perhaps his best run yet just last year in the incomparable Ghotocol.

Below are the five best, with videos where available, traversing the career of the Cruise and the runs that have come to define him:

The Most Important Run: Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Because it’s one of his character’s last. Ron Kovic (Cruise) is just finishing high school as a champion wrestler and a beloved son, days away from leaving for the war in Vietnam. In the photo above, the young man has just sprinted across town in the pouring rain to the local school gala to ask his crush (Kyra Sedgwick) to dance. Few other Oliver Stone characters garner as much pathos as Kovic, thanks in large part to the young love he builds, then tears down.

The Most Romantic Run: Jerry Maguire (1996)

In which Tom shows us what running while in love looks like. Hushed to the always-beautiful Cameron Crowe soundtrack, Cruise’s titular character runs from a packed sports arena to tell his estranged wife (Renee Zellweger) that he loves her. It’s an iconic build-up to an iconic scene.

The Most Subconscious Run: Vanilla Sky (2000)

While most Cruise runs and the reasons behind them can be deciphered quite quickly, this dream run from Cameron Crowe (working with the actor again) had us all on the edge of our seat from the start. We’re introduced to one of the world’s most iconic, busiest locations with not a soul to be found except Cruise himself. The unnerving feeling is over soon after, but we have to hand it to Cruise’s most subconscious run for setting the perfect tone right off the bat.