Tom Cruiseis best known for being an action star, but 32 years ago, he made his directorial debut on TV. Tom Cruise has become one of the most respected actors of his generation, one of the highest-grossing actors, and one of the biggest action stars, mostly known for performing his own stunts.Cruise’s acting careerbegan in 1981 with a small role in the rom-comEndless Love, but his big break arrived two years later when he starred as Joel Goodsen in the teen comedyRisky Business.
Cruise established himself as a movie star and a high-grossing actor when he starred in Tony Scott’sTop Gun, which he followed with starring roles inThe Color of Money,Rain Man,Days of Thunder, andInterview with the Vampire. Cruise’s status as an action star began with the firstMission: Impossiblemovie in 1996, and he has been unstoppable ever since. Although Cruise is known for his work in film, he paid a visit to the world of TV in the early 1990s, and it was his directorial debut.
Tom Cruise Directed One Episode Of Fallen Angels
Fallen Angels Ran For Two Seasons
Tom Cruise’s directorial debut was with one episode of the neo-noir anthology TV seriesFallen Angels.Developed by Steve Golin, each episode ofFallen Angelswas based on a story by a crime writer, including Raymond Chandler, James Ellroy, and Walter Mosley, among many others.Fallen Angelspremiered on Showtime in 1993 and ran for two seasons, with a total of 15 episodes.Season 1’s fourth episode, “The Frightening Frammis”, was directed by Tom Cruise.
In Europe, the show was titledPerfect Crimes.
“The Frightening Frammis” was based on Jim Thompson’s novelette of the same name, published inAlfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazinein 1957. The episode tells the story of Mitch Allison (Peter Gallagher), who stole $25,000 from his wife, Bette (Nancy Travis), a con artist. Wanting more, Mitch gets on a train with the plan of doubling the money in a gambling scam. “The Frightening Frammis” aired in 1993, but despite the show’s potential and its talented cast and team of directors (more on that in a bit),Fallen Angelswasn’t well received by critics, and it ended in 1995.
More often than not, having a brilliant cast and crew isn’t enough to save a TV show if the writing and overall concept are all over the place, and that was the case forFallen Angels. The show was called “uneven”, “film-school level”, and obsessed with style (but not succeeding at it, either), which is why it’s not hard to see why it became a forgettable project, even though it had a list of well-known directors and actors-as-directors accompanying Tom Cruise.
Fallen Angelsstarted with an episode directed by Phil Joanou (best known for his work in music videos, mostly for the Irish band U2), followed by an episode directed by Tom Hanks, who had directed an episode ofTales from the Cryptthe year before. Accompanying Cruise onthe list of directors of the first season ofFallen Angelsare Steven Soderbergh, Alfonso Cuarón, and Jonathan Kaplan.
Season 2 kicked off with an episode directed by Kiefer Sutherland (who had previously directed the TV movieLast Light), followed by Soderbergh’s return, Peter Bogdanovich (Paper Moon), Michael Lehmann (Heathers), John Dahl, Keith Gordon, Tim Hunter, Agnieszka Holland (The Secret Garden), and Jim McBride.
Why Tom Cruise Hasn’t Returned To TV
Tom Cruise Has Focused On His Film Career
Fallen Angelswas Tom Cruise’s directorial debut and first time doing TV, and so far, it has been the only time. In 2009, he was the narrator of the documentary TV movieTogether: The Hendrick Motorsports Story, and appeared as himself at the Paris 2024 Olympics closing ceremony, but that’s as far as he has gone on TV. While Cruise hasn’t shared a reason for staying away from TV, his rise in popularity might have had something to do with it.
Tom Cruise has focused on his film career with great success.
The year after hisFallen Angelsepisode aired, Cruise starred as Lestat inInterview with the Vampire, andtwo years later, he starred inMission: ImpossibleandJerry Maguire, the two movies that further boosted his career and popularity. Since then,Tom Cruisehas focused on his film career with great success, so when taking all this into account, it makes sense that he hasn’t been drawn to TV projects again.
Tom Cruise
Discover the latest news and filmography for Tom Cruise, known for Top Gun and Mission: Impossible.
