Tom Cruise is one of the most prominent actors in the world.
Born in 1962, acting was not Cruise’s first career choice.
As a young teen,Cruise was studying for a surprising jobas a Catholic priest.
By the time he was 19, he had signed with an agent.
A string of successful movies followed, including “Top Gun” and “Rain Man.”
Early on in his career, he shortened his name.
The reason for this?
Of course, this is nothing new in the entertainment industry.
Cruise’s mother, Mary Lee South, divorced him in 1974.
Cruise did not see his father again until 1984.
By that point, the elder Mapother was on his deathbed.
He said, “When I saw him in pain, I thought, ‘What a lonely life.’
He was in his late 40s.
It was sad.”
His cousin, William Mapother (pictured above), is also an actor.
Unlike Cruise, William professionally uses the surname he was born with.
He has also worked on several of Cruise’s films.
William prefers to keep a low-key profile and doesn’t like discussing his family.
In an interview withHuffPost, he was asked what it was like to have Cruise as a cousin.
It’s happened too often."
