A diminutive, aging action hero who is clean-cut but controversial, world-famous yet utterly secretive: Tom Cruise's reign as the world's top movie star has long defied time, expectations and -- when stunts are involved -- gravity. The daredevil star, who famously insists on doing his own leaps, chases and plunges, is widely predicted to perform a death-defying but top-secret stunt on the roof of the Stade de France for the Paris Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday. It would be just the latest high-adrenaline feat for a 62-year-old actor who rode a motorbike off a cliff for last year's "Mission: Impossible" installment, and still runs rings around Hollywood's young pretenders when it comes to action sequences.
Cruise first emerged as one of the bratty young stars of 1980s Hollywood with "The Outsiders" and "Risky Business." The fiercely intense and ambitious actor embarked on one of the all-time Hollywood hot streaks with hits like "Top Gun," "Cocktail," "Rain Man," "A Few Good Men" and "Jerry Maguire." Despite standing at just 5′7′′, he successfully pivoted toward action films with 1996's "Mission: Impossible.
" Controversy enveloped Cruise in the mid-2000s, particularly over his links to Scientology and his love life. But while rival stars of his generation have waned, Cruise still churns out action blockbusters in which he -- not any superhero or franchise -- is the big draw. His biggest hit came just two years ago with "Top Gun: Maverick.
" Cruise flew his own planes .