Did you know what Tom Cruise's real name is?
We just realised Tom Cruise’s real name and the reason why he changed it.
It feels like we have been living a lie.
We just found out what Tom Cruise's real name is and, when we think about it, it did seem too cool to be his real name.
The Hollywood actor shared his real name and the reason behind changing it.
Born in 1962 to Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer, and Mary Lee Pfeiffer, a special education teacher, he grew up with three sisters in a modest household. Raised in a strict Catholic environment, his early years were marked by financial struggles.
At the age of 18, he made the bold decision to leave his upbringing behind and pursue his career in acting.
As part of his fresh start in New York City, he adopted a new professional identity, shortening his birth name, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, to the name the world now knows him by - Tom Cruise.
READ: Hollywood megastar Tom Cruise talks about 'Ubuntu' in recent speech
Cruise changed his name and chose his Hollywood alias in order to distance himself from his father. Cruise described his father as a violent 'bully', 'coward' and 'merchant of chaos'.
My father was the kind of person who, if something went wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life - how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang! For me, it was like, 'There's something wrong with this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him. There's that anxiety.
Watch the full biography of Tom Cruise: The Extraordinary Hollywood Icon
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