Throughout his 40-year career, Tom Cruise has reached amazing heights as one of Hollywood’s most famous actors. Starring in a string of blockbuster movies including Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Top Gun, and Risky Business, Cruise has achieved success that many actors only ever dream of. In between those impressive acting credits, he’s also done some other seriously cool things, from dating Cher in secret to inspiring a famous Disney character.

To inspire the Disney animators to model a character after you, you have to have a certain look. You have to look like a hero, and you have to give off the kind of vibe that will make viewers love the character. Given his star quality, it’s no surprise that Tom Cruise was the inspiration, at least physically speaking, for one of the most popular Disney characters of the 1990s. Keep reading to find out which character he inspired.

RELATED: This Is Why Fans Are So Interested In Katie Holmes' Life After Tom Cruise

The Inspiration Behind Aladdin

The animators working in the Disney studios are truly talented. Often using their own imaginations, they bring to life characters that go on to impact an entire generation of viewers. Sometimes the animators also take inspiration from existing figures. That’s what happened with the titular character of Aladdin, which was released in 1992.

According to Simple Most, the look of Aladdin was inspired by none other than Tom Cruise. At the time, Cruise was a global sensation after starring in several blockbuster hits throughout the 1980s.

Though this fact surprises fans, others guessed so when coming up with Aladdin fan theories. It’s easy to see the resemblance when you look at pictures of Tom Cruise and Aladdin. They’re not exactly twins, but the similarities are certainly there.

His Confidence Got Him The Gig

So how did Tom Cruise get the gig of inspiring Aladdin, an honor which many actors no doubt would have loved? According to Insider, it was the confidence Cruise displayed in the film Top Gun, released in 1986.

The chairman of Walt Disney Studios at the time, Jeffrey Katzenberg, suggested that the filmmakers look at Cruise’s character in the movie for inspiration.

“I got the film and I looked at him, and what I noticed was all of his poses. His attitudes,” explained Glen Keane, the lead animator at the time (via Insider). “There was this confidence. The way his chest stuck out. There was a cockiness to him. And Aladdin, we wanted to have a little bit of that edge on him."

RELATED: Does Tom Cruise's Child Support For Suri Even Make A Dent In His Net Worth?

His Movement Was Inspired By MC Hammer

So Aladdin’s physical look and his confident attitude were inspired by Tom Cruise. But what about his wardrobe?

His signature pants were drawn because of the Arabian-inspired world in which he lives, but the movement of those pants comes down to another big name: MC Hammer. That’s right! According to Insider, the animators studied MC Hammer dancing so they could properly animate Aladdin’s flowing pants as he moved.

The Original Aladdin

Tom Cruise ended up making a fine inspiration for Aladdin, but he wasn’t the first choice of muse. In fact, the animators originally looked to Michael J. Fox to inspire their drawings of the character. At that time, the character of Aladdin was different too—it was meeker and less heroic.

BuzzFeed reports that the filmmakers changed their minds because they didn’t believe that the smaller, less-heroic Aladdin that they originally had properly matched Jasmine. “I found the character of Jasmine kinda blows him away. I don't understand why she goes with him,” Katzenberg said at the time.

So in order to improve the story and make it more believable that Aladdin would end up with Jasmine, the filmmakers shifted their focus away from Michael J. Fox and instead turned to Tom Cruise.

RELATED: Inside Tom Cruise And Dakota Fanning's Strange Relationship

The Genie’s Connection To Robin Williams

Aladdin wasn’t the only character in the film to be inspired by a famous celebrity. The Genie was notably inspired by the actor who voiced him, the late Robin Williams. Fans have pointed out that the Genie does look like Williams (as much as a genie can look like a person!) and also dresses like him at certain points in the movie.

The role of the Genie was actually written for Robin Williams in mind. Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, voiced the Genie in the franchise whenever Williams was unavailable, but fans maintain that as talented as Castellaneta is, no one could pull off the Genie quite like Williams.

Other Disney Characters Inspired By Real Life

Beyond Aladdin, there were also several other Disney characters that were inspired by real people. One of the most famous is Princess Tiana from 2009’s The Princess and the Frog. She was drawn to look very similar to the actor who portrayed her, Anika Noni Rose. Like Rose herself, Tiana has dimples and is also left-handed.

NEXT: How Tall Is Kevin Kart, And Is He Taller Than Tom Cruise?