3.

Magnolia (1999)

image: New Line Cinema

This is hands-down probably the role that confirmed for me that Tom Cruise could probably do absolutely anything he goddamned felt like putting his mind to.  On paper, Frank T.J. Mackey kind of plays into the stereotypes of the characters Tom Cruise had become popular for, just on crack:  cocky, egotistical, charismatic, larger-than-life dudes with serious daddy issues.  But what was so interesting about this choice was that it was almost as if Cruise chose this movie specifically because it was so in line with the other characters that he’s played, just to blow it all apart in one of the most emotionally devastating scenes I’ve seen on film.  Forget about Tom Cruise – Jason Robards deserves a fucking Oscar for not descending into a blubbering pile of tear-gushing mush (while playing a character in a coma) as Cruise’s Mackey finally comes face-to-face with simultaneous feelings of hate, regret, and reluctant love for the man that abandoned him.  The fact that Cruise convincingly went from a man chanting “Respect the cock, and tame the cunt!!” to a man physically straining to fight back tears in front of a father he hadn’t seen in years, and the very reason for his brokenness, was proof positive that you should NEVER doubt the Cruise.

Do you taste that haters?  That’s the taste of tears.  Because you know you cried sobby hater tears when you watched Tom Cruise in Magnolia.