7. He’s A Daredevil

Cruise loves to do his own stunts for his films, and this penchant for danger didn’t just come out of nowhere. He began trying out risky endeavors when he was barely out of diapers—sometimes, with disastrous results. When he was just three or four years old, he took the sheets from his bed and tried to use them to parachute off the garage roof.

Young Cruise woke up on the ground, dazed. Luckily, since then, his stunts have tended to have less dangerous results—although there have been a handful of very close calls.

8. They Escaped In The Middle Of The Night

Drama and turmoil filled Cruise’s parents’ final moments together, and it culminated in a chilling late-night flight from the family home. Mary Lee meticulously planned how she would leave her husband. She had the kids pack their bags at night and sleep with them beside their beds. They silently packed the car and headed for Kentucky the next morning at 4:30 AM.

There were no goodbyes, and for the next decade, Cruise only saw his father a handful of times.