Young Tom Cruise Photos You Need to See

On Tom Cruise's birthday, L'OFFICIEL looks back on moments from his early career days.

From jumping out of airplanes to confidently walking out of burning and explosive wreckage, Tom Cruise has mastered the action genre. But, his early films like Risky Business (1983), The Outsiders (1983), and Top Gun (1986) established him first as a Hollywood heartthrob. Cruise was 18 when he moved to New York City to pursue acting, and after heading to Los Angeles, he got his first breakout role as a small part in the 1981 film, Endless Love.

From there, his career took off, also defined by his high-profile relationships with other A-listers like Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes. Now, almost 30 years since he starred as superspy Ethan Hunt in the first film of the Mission Impossible series in 1996, Cruise continues his illustrious career in the franchise's seventh movie, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. On Cruise's 61st birthday, we’re taking a look back at his early career (and the young photos of him that certainly didn’t hurt his emerging stardom).

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Tom Cruise as his superspy character, Ethan Hunt, in the film 'Mission: Impossible' in 1996. The movie is the first of the series, with the seventh installment coming this July.

Tom Cruise at a Hollywood Foreign Press Association event in Los Angeles, 1983. He’s wearing a corduroy suit jacket and his classic long and layered hairstyle that gave him a cool, approachable appeal.

Tom Cruise and his co-star Emilio Estevez on the set of 'The Outsiders.' Cruise plays Steve Randle in the 1983 film adapted from the book by S. E. Hinton.

Tom Cruise posing at the afterparty for 'Top Gun'

Tom Cruise at the afterparty for 'Top Gun'

Tom Cruise as the title role of Jerry Maguire in 'Jerry Maguire,' a 1996 sports drama that earned him his second Golden Globe Award and his second Academy Award nomination.

Tom Cruise as the titular role in 'Jerry Maguire,' a 1996 sports drama that earned him his second Golden Globe Award and his second Academy Award nomination.

Tom Cruise at Deauville Film Festival in France in 1993

Tom Cruise with Nicole Kidman, his second wife, at the premiere of her movie 'To Die For' in 1995. The two made an attractive couple, but the two got divorced in 2001 after marrying in 1990.

Tom Cruise and his first wife Mimi Rogers at the Academy Awards in 1989. Rocking a crew-cut, Cruise starred in the Oscar-winning film, 'Rain Man,' that year. The pair married in 1987 and divorced three years later in 1990.

Tom Cruise posing with Heather Locklear

Cruise smiles wide at an 'Entertainment Tonight' party in 1982.

Tom Cruise at the premiere of 'The Color of Money' in 1986 with his first wife Mimi Rogers

Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun' posing in an airplane with a thumb up

U.S. Navy LT Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, the pilot portrayed by Tom Cruise in the 1986 film 'Top Gun,' established Cruise as an action star and overall Hollywood leading man.

Tom Cruise in 1982 at a movie screening in Beverly Hills, California.

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman at a movie premiere in 1992.

Tom Cruise in character as Joel Goodsen in the 1983 film 'Risky Business'

Tom Cruise with his co-star Dustin Hoffman in 'Rain Man' (1988).