Who Did Tom Cruise Play? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mission: Impossible - Fallout

A 'save-the-world' thriller, our hero leads a team that is trying to find plutonium cores that the baddies, known as The Apostles, are going to use against three world cities. I will not spoil the ending, but suffice to say that Jerusalem, The Vatican and Shanghai are all still standing!

Answer: Minority Report

In this 2002 sci-fi movie, Anderton is part of a team of 'precogs'- people who can see into the future, and stopping crimes before they are even committed. Things get quite hairy when he is accused of going to murder someone in the future. Did he (will he) do it?

Answer: Interview With the Vampire

Lestat is a vampire who is looking for company, when he happens upon Louis (Brad Pitt), in 18th-century New Orleans. Louis consents to becoming a vampire, but soon the novelty wears off. The movie is told in the format of an interview of Louis by modern-day reporter Daniel Molloy (Christian Slater). There is a nice twist in the ending which I will not spoil for you.

Answer: Rain Man

In 1989, 'Rain Man' won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, for Cruise's co-star, Dustin Hoffman. Cruise's character, Charlie Babbitt, is a money-hungry import agent, who was totally unaware that he had an older brother, Raymond. Raymond is left a large inheritance by their father, and Charlie tries hard to get his hands on the stash. Because of Raymond's fear of flying, they go on a road trip to California and Charlie changes as he gets to know his autistic brother.

Answer: Valkyrie

Colonel von Stauffenberg is in charge of a secret plot to assassinate Hitler, in the closing months of WWII. Several plans are aborted until Operation Valkyrie is instituted. The bomb that was meant to take out Hitler did not achieve its objective, and the conspirators are hunted down by loyalists and SS officers. The movie is based on a true story.

Answer: Rock of Ages

Tom Cruise heads a great cast in the story of an egotistical muso and his relationships with wannabe singers. Look out for Mary J Blige, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Alec Baldwin and a host of '80s musicians. The movie features many '80s glam rock hits, including 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll', 'Hit Me with Your Best Shot','Wanted Dead or Alive', 'I Want to Know What Love Is', and 'We Built This City', among others. All the songs were performed by the actors themselves, with no dubbing involved - who knew that Tom Cruise could sing?

Answer: Vanilla Sky

The 2001 movie features rich boy David Aames, who suffers psychological and physical damage when a jealous ex-girlfriend tries to kill him, and herself. She dies, but her presence affects David badly, compelling him to kill his present girlfriend in a delusional state.

The title 'Vanilla Sky' refers to the background of a Monet artwork called 'Seine at Argenteuil', which David owns, and subconsciously connects with.

Answer: All the Right Moves

'All the Right Moves' (1983) is a sports movie, where Cruise is a football player in a small-town team. His team loses the big playoff game, and the coach blames Stefan. He is sacked by the coach, and blackballed from all the local teams. However, the coach finally recognises his talent, and they both end up at a prestigious West Coast college team.

This was one of Cruise's first movies - he was only 20 when it was released.

Answer: The Last Samurai

Cruise's character, Nathan Algren, is an American soldier employed to train a modern Japanese army in the 1860s. When he is captured by the traditional warriors, the samurai, he learns to appreciate their culture and history.

Answer: War of the Worlds

Directed by Steven Spielberg, the movie was based on the 1898 HG Wells classic novel of the same name. The plot is the same - aliens invade Earth, lots of people are killed (except our hero, of course), and the aliens finally die off, as they cannot compete with earthly germs. Australian actress Miranda Otto played Cruise's ex-wife, Mary Ann.