hford713 Wrote:I disagree.
Name a film he performed poorly in (not including his beginnings ie. '80s material)....
Collateral. Magnolia. WotW. Born on the Fourth of July. Eyes Wide Shut. Vanilla Sky. Last Samurai....
Many may not be fond of him personally, but I've not heard of any other actor with his passion for the craft coupled with his incredible acting.
He's never actually performed brilliantly. He has had some great films. He is always Tom Cruise though. He always has that annoying laugh, which comes out of nowhere (why is he laughing?) every couple of minutes. That drives me crazy.
I would say he is good as an actor, but he isn't a versatile actor. As long as he can be himself, he's great. Don't ask him to stretch and become anything different though. He is very good at picking roles that suit him. I wish more actors were as good at that.
Not having any bad "performances" doesn't make an actor brilliant. Most decent actors don't have bad "performances". Usually it's just a matter of choosing the right roles and the right people to work with. When you reach the status of a Tom Cruise, you are able to choose the perfect circumstances to make a good film. He wasn't always able to pick and choose from the best roles in Hollywood. That was when he really had some crappy roles, and some less than stellar "performances".