Tom Cruise - Livewire Real Lives Author:Julia Holt, The Basic Skills Agency Tom Cruise has worked hard to become a successful movie star. He comes from a broken home, and he struggled in school. But at age 17, he went to New York and quickly received a leading part in his first film, Taps. Tom moved on from young-boy roles in films like The Outsiders and Risky Business to more serious adult parts in Top Gun, Rain Man, a... more »nd Born on the Fourth of July.« less