People have a lot of thoughts about Tom Cruise. Most people remember him as a huge heartthrob actor in the 80s and 90s, but as time has gone on the narrative that surrounds him has changed.
A lot of the time people focus specifically on his religion, questioning a lot about it. But here's the thing, even if you don't understand Cruise's religion, it seems like he might actually be a really good man.
It has become pretty apparent over his years in Hollywood that unlike a lot of other other Hollywood stars, his reputation surrounding his female co-stars is pretty outstanding.
He has been putting up a good fight for his co-stars, so much so that he's actually helped change scripts in the past for their comfort.
When Cruise was set to star in All The Right Moves in 1983, the casting process was going along as usual. But when they wanted to cast Lea Thompson as the female lead they ran into some issues.
There were two nude scenes in the movie, and because of that she wasn't interested. But Cruise apparently managed to convince the producers to cut one scene out completely and helped make compromises for the other.
Thompson revealed what happened when she was cast
"[The producers] wanted me to show my breasts twice in the script. I didn't even audition because I didn't want to take my shirt off, but I got the part and was like, "˜Okay.' Tom managed to talk them out of one of the [nude] scenes."
As for the scene that remained in the movie, he offered something that not everyone would do.
"In the second, he said, "˜Well, if she has to be naked, I'll be naked, too.' That's pretty badass! I've always been grateful to him for standing up to the producers."
This isn't the only time that Cruise has been known to stand up for his female co-stars, using his star power and well established name to their benefit.
When he filmed The Edge of Tomorrow with Emily Blunt, a lot of people were impressed by how tough she was in the movie. But apparently it was partially because of Cruise's ability to be comfortable with a strong female character.
Apparently he was "very much behind having his butt kicked in a movie," according to Blunt, and and she's not the only woman who got to be a tough woman in his movie.
The thing is, it's one thing when people say that someone is fighting for equality, but the way to really tell is by their actions. And time after time, Cruise seems to be set on picking projects where the female lead gets to be more than just a pretty face.
It's seems like in every Tom Cruise action movie there is a female character who is just as tough and just as competent as his character is. Even if they don't get the same screen time, at least they get an actual story line.
Especially when compared to some other male action franchises, the differences become more obvious. For example, James Bond movies are always known to have their "Bond Girl," but more often than not she's only there for Bond to seduce, or for the villain to kill. It isn't really the most glamorous of plot lines.
But in Cruise's movies, he's had a lot of tough co-stars, whether it is Cobie Smulders in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, or Take Seydoux in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, these women got to be tough and don't have to be just an accessory.
Even when the woman is there as a love interest, they still seem to have more connection than many other action movies bother with.
Sure, you can find instances where his co-stars fall into these tropes, but for the most part it seems to actually be not so bad!
While it seems a little bit silly to congratulate a man for having basic courtesy and respect for his co-workers, in Hollywood it's unfortunately rare enough that people tend to take notice.
Currently Tom Cruise is filming the sequel to Top Gun and hopefully he's got some female recruits who will get to become excellent pilots.
Source - The Telegraph / Vulture / W Magazine