One of Tom Cruise's all-time great performances can be found in Paul Thomas Anderson's 1999 film Magnolia. While Cruise has become a monolithic figure in the action genre over the last decade or more, he has starred in dozens of dramas and several comedies throughout the years, some of which include A Few Good Men (1992), Rain Man (1988), Collateral (2004), American Made (2017), The Firm (1993), and Tropic Thunder (2008). Thanks to Cruise's latest deal with Warner Bros. and modern interest in returning to dramas, Cruise could be the closest to eyeing his first Oscar win after last being nominated in 1999.

Cruise had originally starred in more traditional dramas, comedies, and other genre films before the meteoric rise of his Mission: Impossible and Top: Gun franchises. He made his feature film debut in the tragic romantic drama Endless Love (1981) before rising to prominence as the star of Risky Business (1983), The Color of Money (1986), and...