Tom Cruise has been dominating Hollywood since the '80s. Through the years, he's become the highest-paid actor per word in the industry. It's also amazing how he's still doing his Mission Impossible films when he starred in the first one 26 years ago. He truly deserves those 3 Golden Globes which he famously returned to stand against discrimination in 2021. Unfortunately, he has never won an Oscar — just one of the actor's minor shortcomings next to his height. It's hard not to notice the Top Gun star's short height since he's often seen with taller women. It's also affected his career in little ways. Here's how.
Is Tom Cruise Really Short?
Early in his career, Cruise was listed as 5'8" or 5'9". In 1988, he claimed to be 5'9" and 147 pounds. The truth is, he's only 5'7" and presently 148 pounds. Is that really short? Not really, unless he's standing next to taller actresses which happens a lot. For instance, Kelly McGillis who played his love interest in Top Gun is 5'10". In their promotional photos, McGillis visibly had to bend her knees a little and rest on the actor's shoulder to not look like she was towering over him.
In 2010, Cruise worked with Cameron Diaz who is 5'8". But since the actress wore heels during red carpet events for their film Knight and Day, sometimes it did seem like Diaz was a lot taller or that Cruise was a lot shorter... You decide which way you want to see it. Still, the actor seems to have a trick for these moments. In the London premiere of the movie, he appeared to be as tall as Diaz who was wearing 4-or-5-inch heels.
"Cruise, 5'7, and Diaz, 5'9, posed for photos together and, while he is shorter, the difference was far less the 5 inches it theoretically should be, even with Diaz slightly slouching," wrote HuffPost. "Cruise's boots appear to have a one-inch heel on the outside, but his knees are at about the same height as Diaz's. How'd he do it? Inside lifts?" They never found out...
Does Tom Cruise Avoid Working With Taller Actresses?
The most telling visual of how short Cruise is, was how he looked next to his ex-wife Nicole Kidman who is 5'11". When they were filming the 1990 film Days of Thunder — where romance budded between the two — the Moulin Rouge star had to ditch high heels so she'd look smaller than Cruise. "They had me in really flat shoes, but you could still see I was taller than him," she revealed. "I'd prefer to be smaller, but I don't mind." She added that the actor didn't actually mind that she was taller than him.
"I like the fact that he's one of the most famous actors in the world and can work with anybody," the Australian actress said of Cruise. "But he doesn't mind working with an actress who's taller." But soon after their divorce was finalized in 2001, Kidman joked, "At least I can wear heels now!" Cruise's third ex-wife Katie Holmes (5'9") was also seen celebrating the same post-divorce perk. In 2012, the media presumed the Dawson's Creek actress was "pulling a Nicole Kidman" when she was seen sporting high heels again.
Tom Cruise's Height Compared To Actors He's Worked With
Let's start with Cruise's Interview with the Vampire co-star Brad Pitt. Well, there's a significant height difference there with Pitt being 5'11". There were rumors that Cruise used shoe lifts or elevated boots to look taller next to the Fight Club star. One thing's for sure: while shooting the 1994 horror movie, Cruise would stand on platforms during scenes with Pitt — just your usual Hollywood production trick. As for his height difference from his Fallout co-star, British actor Henry Cavill (6'1"), production used a more advanced technique.
Thanks to special effects, Cavill's costume-breaking physique wasn't too much next to Cruise. But during the film's red carpet events, the Superman star definitely looked a lot bigger than the Risky Business actor. Then there's one actor who looked visibly shorter than Cruise, the latter didn't need any production trick or shoe lift when they starred in a film together. It was his Rain Man co-star Dustin Hoffman who's only 5'5". Their 1988 drama was a hit that it won four Oscars including Hoffman's second Best Actor award. The film also won two Golden Globes including an award for Best Drama.