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Tom Cruise Hairstyle Analysis And Ranking | Part One

For those who don’t know, I’m a hairdresser for my day job. After completing the entirety of Tom Cruise’s filmography, I asked you guys what you wanted to see and overwhelmingly, I was asked to use my training and experience to analyze and rank every haircut Tom had ever sported on film. So we’re here to do just that.

Disclaimer — this entire post is going to be rife with my own personal opinion and bias. Sure, I’m using a professionally trained eye and bone structure to help form an opinion, but this does ultimately come down to what I like best.

Also, there will be a select few films not included in the ranking. These will include Tropic Thunder, since the costume is so removed from Tom’s actual appearance, Born On The Fourth Of July, since it is a biopic depicting real events and using Tom’s appearance as a narrative device, and any movie where Tom has appeared only as a bit part or a cameo such as Austin Powers, Young Guns, or Endless Love.

This will also take two parts since Tumblr’s image limit only allows so many photos so!

Let’s go! On with the ranking —

Okay, so….

Before we get into each cut/style, we need to talk about bone structure and Tom’s facial features for everybody to understand what I’m looking at in these pictures.

Tom has a fairly balanced face, all things considered. If we’re looking at ratios, I think his forehead and his chin are both short in comparison to the midsection of his face. His face shape looks pretty rectangular to me.

His nose is fairly narrow and his lips are proportionate. His cheekbones start out very soft and grow a little more pronounced over time as he ages. There’s a similar story with his jawline, as it’s fairly soft and undefined in his younger years and gets a little more chiseled out with age.

As for a side profile, his chin is borderline receding, while his nose is very pronounced and his brow bone is heavy and prominent. His eyes are fairly deepset, and when in combination with the heavy brow bone and thick, dark eyebrows, this can weigh his face down in the wrong circumstances, causing his overall appearance to become more severe. Not always a bad thing for characterization, but these looks can be counteractive to his overall appearance.

Overall, the perfect hairstyle for Tom’s face, in my opinion, is one that gives him volume in the top, width on the sides, and frames his features nicely.

So now that we’ve determined that, let’s get into his looks in his filmography…

Starting from the bottom of the list.

#24: Buzz/Short High And Tight (Taps, Minority Report, MI:1, and War Of The Worlds) —

• I decided to rank these four together because I hate them all equally. I don’t have much commentary to give because we’ve already talked about his bone structure and this hairstyle does him nothing. The lack of width on the sides or length on the top puts so much emphasis on the heaviest parts of his face and makes his already elongated face appear even longer. I just don’t care for it, even though I do think it fits the character in each film. That’s just simply not what we’re discussing here.

#23: Ethan Hunt (MI3) —

• This cut is still a short high and tight, so it is a similar gripe as above stated.

• The only reason this one ranks a little higher is because it has more slightly more length through the top.

#22: Vincent (Collateral) —

• Here, we have the first appearance of a different color than Tom’s usual dark brown to black.

• This looks ranks as low as it does because I hate this color on him. Tom has a cool undertone and this color, in my opinion, makes him look almost olive-complected in this film. I don’t care for it.

• As for the cut itself, it looks like your typical clipper fade with a short top. My gripe is how close it leans to a pompadour or even a flat top, which, I personally think squares his head off far too much. The geometric corners put so much emphasis on that heavy brow line and it weighs down his face so much. I’m just not a fan.

#21: Lestat De Lioncourt (IWTV) —

• I can already feel the ire I’m gonna catch for this one. But I’m going to be honest, this look does nothing for him.

• Let’s talk about the cut first. The cut of this wig looks fairly blunt to me. If there is any layering, it’s slight and it’s hidden by the texture of the waves. There’s a bit of face framing along the hairline but it’s nothing to write home about.

• I don’t like a long, blunt cut on Tom. We’ll talk more in depth about that on the next one, because most of the reasons I don’t like a blunt cut are actually negated in this instance by the wavy texture.

• My favorite looks in this film are actually when they style it back into a ponytail. The little bit of face-framing hanging loose does frame his features quite nicely, in my opinion, and the waves soften his features in this film where I feel they’ve done his makeup in a way that makes his face appear more angular.

• The reason this one ranks lower than the other blunt cut, is because of the color. Shocking, I know. I don’t like blond on Tom. I especially don’t like the shade of blond they chose. It completely washes him out. Which, was probably the point, given this is a vampire film, and was certainly not aided by the pale-skinned makeup, but still.

• I love Lestat, I love Tom in this film. I don’t think this is a very flattering look for him.

#20: Frank TJ Mackey (Magnolia) —

• Here we have the other long, blunt cut in question. This film is the most blunt we ever see his haircut. It is blunt, straight, dark.

• My problem with a blunt, straight cut on Tom is that his hair texture does not appear to naturally have much, if any, volume. A blunt cut weighs down anything we would’ve otherwise gotten, and we end up with a look that elongates his face without giving him any width. I don’t like it.

• My other gripe with his look in this film is that more often than not, this cut is styled into a half-up half down, where the hair in the top is slicked straight back into a very high ponytail in his crown. I loathe this hairstyle on Tom.

#19: Joel Goodson (Riskey Business)/Woody (Losin’ It) —

• Another instance where I’m ranking the cuts together because they are so similar. The main difference being that Woody’s is shorter.

• This is a cut that I would call a vintage fade. That’s because this style of cut was very popular in the 50s and 60s and made a comeback amongst preps in the 80s. (Very fitting for both films time settings.)

• My number one issue with this cut is the bangs. They are styled very far forward with very little volume and the line is very heavy. Not only does this shorten his already small forehead, but it weighs down his already heavy brow bone.

• I also think the rounded edge on his features at the time these films were made, when he was young snd his face had softer edges, also emphasizes his youth to a detriment. He looks like a little boy and I don’t like it.

#18: Vincent Lauria (The Color Of Money) —

• We’ve come back to a true pompadour cut. So let’s talk about it.

• I don’t dislike this cut as much as the cut in Collateral because it’s longer and has softer edges. The side profile is much more rounded and he has more volume in the top.

• This look also gets more points for being darker. I think around 1986 is when we first see Tom with colored hair because this look is significantly darker than the shades of brown we see in most of his other films, and I think this film and Top Gun are the first times I notice his hair seeming almost black, aside from maybe The Outsiders, but the wet styling in that film is what I think makes his hair look so dark in that instance.

• Regardless, back to the cut. While I can give this one more credit than the cut from Collateral, I actually think the volume in the top pulls his face out too much and I still don’t care for the angular corners. It squares him off too much.

#17: Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Top Gun) —

• This cut is actually the first time we ever see Tom with a high and tight. And make no mistake, this is a high and tight.

• But it’s a more relaxed high and tight compared to some of the others I’ve already talked about. Which, when compared with the other men in the film who have sharp high and tights or flat tops, aids you in understanding Maverick’s tendency to go against the grain. It’s wonderful styling for the character.

• I also like that the sides still have some bulk to them, to help widen his face. I like the way the top is cut, how heavily texturized it is and the way it’s styled is aesthetically pleasing to me.

• Having said that, I still don’t love Tom with a high and tight. Speaking of which…

#16: Modern High and Tight/Military Cut (Oblivion, Edge Of Tomorrow, Jack Reacher, M:I Fallout, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Top Gun: Maverick, and M:I Dead Reckoning) —

• This is the haircut we see the most of in the 2010s/2020s. Mainly because Tom plays so many military-oriented characters in this time period.

• Like I said, it’s not a bad look. And the more modern iterations of this cut are better than some others we see. The most relaxed length on top allows for some volume in several of these films that I prefer, stylistically. In fact, Fallout is probably my favorite iteration of this haircut on Tom. I still don’t think this cut is the most flattering on him.

#15: Charlie Babbitt (Rain Man) —

• So I’d call this cut a simple layered cut. Stylistically, it’s very straight forward. And it’s not a bad haircut.

• My main complaints with this cut are how bulky it feels all over. I think this cut needed some major texture or perhaps needed to be styled differently. I also don’t like how they’ve styled his hair through most of the movie, it’s very gelled and combed over. It gives this sense of rigidity that I just don’t like.

• It’s not the worst, it’s just not my favorite.

#14: Ethan Hunt (The Final Reckoning/Rogue Nation) —

• I’m ranking these cuts together because they feel so similar to me. The main difference I can see is that Rogue Nation’s haircut looks much more purposeful in it’s shape where Final Reckoning just looks grown out. Which, makes sense when you consider Tom was supposed to get it cut again to match Dead Reckoning and McQ changed the timeline so he could leave it grown out. Which I personally appreciate.

• If I had to pick between the two, I do actually prefer Final Reckoning and the main reason for that is the bangs.

• They both have a very similar rounded shape that I feel helps to balance the width of his face while also softening his features that have sharpened with age. The tuft of length in the front is soft and airy enough that when it falls over his forehead, I don’t feel it eats up space. Instead, I feel it softens the ridge of his brows and accents his face nicely.

• As I said, I do prefer the Final Reckoning cut slightly more because the bangs are a bit longer and softer. I like the wispy edge and the way they are primarily styled forward throughout the movie compared to being combed aside in Rogue Nation.

• I also like the shaggy length around the ears in Final Reckoning more.

• We’re officially getting into cuts I actually like.

#13: Barry Seal (American Made) —

• We’re gonna close off part one of this ranking with a banger. Barry is a throwback style to a cut that feels very reminiscent of jazz style in the 70s to me. The longer sideburns are an interesting touch that I feel helps date the cut itself so we know this movie takes place in the 20th century.

• Everything I like about the cut in Final Reckoning is here in tenfold. Soft edges, a rounded shape, shaggy length, soft bangs.

• The thing that moves this up higher, for me, is the way it’s styled. I like the old school “tousled with intention” look they keep him in for most of the film. I’m also biased towards this film because it’s my second favorite look for TC ever, between costuming and the slight weight gain and the aviators. I just love this look on him.

So with all of that said!

You can find part two here.