A Portrait of Tom Cruise

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, known to us more familiarly as Tom Cruise, is a world-famous actor with dozens of films under his belt. He has been primarily an action star in such movies as Top Gun, War of the Worlds, and the Mission: Impossible franchise, but he has taken more serious roles, as well--he won a Golden Globe for his role in Born on the Fourth of July, in which he portrayed real-life paralyzed Viet Nam veteran Ron Kovic. He has also taken comedic roles, in the movies Tropic Thunder and Rock of Ages.

Tom Cruise's personal life has been fodder for much gossip, from his association with the Church of Scientology to his relationships with wives Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes, and with other famous actresses such as Penelope Cruz. Despite some odd behaviour, such as the "couch-jumping" incident on the Oprah Winfrey show, Cruise remains a very popular and bankable movie star. I chose him as a portrait subject because--let's face it--the man is drop-dead gorgeous, and he continues to age quite well.

Image is my original artwork, drawn with graphite on Strathmore 400 Series Drawing paper (Strathmore--because if it's not Scottish, it's crap!) Click to enlarge!

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