Tom Cruise turns 60: Some fun facts about the star you didn't know

Tom Cruise aspired to become a priest 

Tom Cruise was born and raised in a religious Catholic family. Therefore, his first career preference was to become a priest at the age of 14. 
 

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Tom started reading after turning an adult 

The 'Maverick' actor could not read until he was an adult. He was introduced to the Church of Scientology in the late '80s, and it was then that he could read. He credits the church with assisting him with his reading disability. On several occasions, he claimed that he could not read owing to a debilitating case of dyslexia. 

Speaking to People, Cruise said: "All through school and well into my career, I felt like I had a secret. When I'd go to a new school, I wouldn't want the other kids to know about my learning disability, but then I'd be sent off to remedial reading."
 

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The actor has never won an Oscar 

Surprisingly, Tom Cruise has never won an Oscar, though he was nominated three times for films such as 'Magnolia', 'Jerry Maguire', and 'Born on the Fourth of July.'
 

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Cruise married Nicole Kidman to protect his reputation.

According to reports, Tom Cruise married Nicole Kidman, his second ex-wife, to protect his reputation at a time when the tabloids were rife with claims that he was gay. These rumours started when gay porn star Chad Slater claimed that he and Tom had a relationship. Later, it was proven that these rumours were untrue.
 

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Divorced wives when they turned 33 years old

In an absurd coincidence, Nicole Kidman, Katie Holmes, and Mimi Rogers, all three of Cruise's ex-wives, were 33 years old at the time of the divorce.
 

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Tom saves Ray-Ban

In 1981, Ray-Ban was in the grip of financial turmoil when it was only able to sell 18,000 units of its now famous wayfarers. Thanks to Tom Cruise donning these sunglasses in some of his major films like 'Risky Business', 'Top Gun', and 'Rain Man', and some smart product placement funded by Ray-Ban, Cruise was solely responsible for saving the entire business. Ray-Ban saw a 40% increase in sales in the year 1986, when Top Gun was released.
 

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Tom Cruise was supposed to play Iron Man

The character of Tony Stark from the now famous Iron Man franchise of the MCU was reportedly first offered to Tom Cruise before Robert Downey Jr. was cast. Cruise declined the offer.
 

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A knee injury and acting

Due to a knee injury, Cruise was unable to wrestle for his high school's team, which forced him to find another way to pass the time. This naturally led him to try out for the school's production of Guys and Dolls.
 

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Japan's craze for Tom Cruise

Given that Tom Cruise has visited Japan more frequently (almost two dozen times) than any other Hollywood celebrity on October 10 in the year 2006, the Japan Memorial Day Association declared that October 10 of every year would henceforth be observed as "Tom Cruise Day" in Japan.

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