5 Times Tom Cruise's Signature Dreamy Hair Flopped

Tom Cruise has been tugging at heartstrings ever since he entered the cinema world in the early '80s, and he is aging like fine wine. That toothy smile, affable personality, and thick mop of hair — what's not to love? His dreamy features are enough to almost make us forget about the time he jumped on Oprah Winfrey's couch to declare his love for Katie Holmes. Sadly, his marriage flopped, and so has his hair on several occasions, but not even Cruise can be perfect all the time.

From his short-cropped style in "Top Gun" to his long golden locks in "Interview with the Vampire," we've seen Cruise rock all kinds of different hairstyles for his roles. However, unlike his perfectly groomed movie mane, some of his real-life 'dos left little to be desired. Whether the "Jack Reacher" actor was having a bad hair day or his stylist was out of town, the times Cruise left his house with unkempt hair had us give him two thumbs down.

Tom Cruise's character in "Mission: Impossible," Ethan Hunt, always has perfectly groomed short hair, even when he's disarming bombs. That's why the actor's unruly mane during the UK premiere of "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" in June 2023 was quite a surprise. It was much longer than usual, and there was a weird side flippy thing going on. The sides were also long enough to cover his ears, making for a 'do that's normally seen on Owen Wilson. To add to the strange look, Cruise sported a few wispy pieces of bangs over his forehead.

Cruise first debuted his longer style earlier in the year at the Oscars luncheon in February, per Page Six. He was also seen with a dark tan, so perhaps the "Days of Thunder" star went on a long holiday and kept his laid-back look. One thing's for sure — Cruise definitely could have used a brush and a healthy dose of hairspray. And perhaps someone should have told him to lose the random fringe in the front.

The theme of Tom Cruise's hair while promoting "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" was "messy." While in Seoul, Korea, the handsome actor kept his tresses long but this time, he opted for a bumped-up front similar to the quiff hairstyle seen on Harry Styles and David Beckham. However, unlike the neatly combed hair those two celebs are often seen in, Cruise's quiff was in a tousled disarray. We appreciate that he used some hairspray and got rid of his bangs this time, but the sides sticking out reminded us of Jack Nicholson's character in "The Shining."

With Cruise's long hair came rumors that he's wearing a wig or a toupée, as a Reddit user pondered in February 2023. However, one fan answered, "No, I think he just won the genetic lottery. Ronald Reagan had teenage tier hair his entire life after all." Another wrote, "About 1/3 of men will have thick hair their entire lives, not even women get that lucky. No reason to believe these guys pictured do not fall in that category, some people just have the real deal genes." It's apparent Cruise's hair isn't fake by looking at his hairline, but he's definitely in his "just rolled out of bed" era.

Tom Cruise felt the need for speed when he visited the Miami Formula One Grand Prix in May 2023. It was a star-studded event, with Shakira, Vin Diesel, and Ludacris attending the racing event, Page Six reported. In fact, Cruise and the "Hips Don't Lie" singer were spotted chatting it up on the sidelines, which sparked dating rumors. Perhaps they were discussing hairstyling tips, as the "Vanilla Sky" actor showed up with a super straight style that we've never seen on him before. There was not a curl or frizzy strand to be seen on Cruise, which makes us think he used a straightener to get his hair that smooth.

It wouldn't surprise us if Cruise groomed himself before the race. His "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" co-star Hayley Atwell revealed that he learned how to style himself while filming, per the Daily Mail. "There was, at one point, I think that he was doing his own hair and makeup because we were in the middle of the pandemic," she shared. Well, we're out of the pandemic and Cruise could have hired a hairstylist, so he has no excuse for his overly straightened shag cut.

Tom Cruise's hair was a windblown mess when he arrived at the world premiere of "Top Gun: Maverick" in San Diego in May 2022. His locks were lighter than usual but all fans could see was the Flock of Seagulls-like 'do as Cruise greeted onlookers. To be fair, he had just stepped out of a helicopter, which explained his tousled tresses. But, as an experienced pilot, the "Rain Man" star could have anticipated the wind and doused his head with some strong-hold hairspray.

Cruise, who claimed he never takes a day off from work, didn't even take the time to groom himself and went about his merry way. He also didn't have a stylist on hand for touch-ups, as per his very strict instructions. As reported by The Daily Telegraph (via the Daily Mail), no one is allowed to fix Cruise's hair or face in public. A hairstylist once attempted to touch up his hair while on the set of "The Project" but was told to back off by his team. "We only touch him in privacy," the artist was told. Hey, his hair, his rules.

Tom Cruise was all smiles as he greeted fans during the "Top Gun: Maverick" promotional tour in South Korea in 2022, and this time, his hair looked much like his character's only slightly longer. He seemed to be in his growing-out phase and perhaps this was the start of his surfer-dude look. However, Cruise definitely wasn't doing himself any favors by arranging the front of his strands around his forehead which resulted in immovable-looking Lego hair. If Cruise wanted to dispel toupée rumors, this 'do wasn't the answer.

We get that there is an awkward phase folks have to endure while growing out their hair so we'll give Cruise some slack for this style but every time he has attempted bangs, the look just did not work out for him. Maybe the gear he wore while doing his own airplane stunts gave him permanent helmet hair and he was just working with what he had at the time.