A Brief History of Tom Cruise’s Most Memorable Underwear Scenes, From ‘Risky Business’ to ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’

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Try as he might, Tom Cruise can’t seem to keep his pants on.

And why should he? After all, partying in his underwear in “Risky Business” arguably made Cruise a star. Over the years, Hollywood has convinced him to strip down to his unmentionables again and again. Even his latest summer blockbuster, “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” features not one, but two action sequences with the 62-year-old actor in his skivvies.

Though Cruise may not have won an Academy Award (yet), he gets the prize for our favorite underwear actor. Here’s the proof.

Risky Business (1983)

STYLE: Old-school tighty-whities.
SCENE: Cruise, playing a straitlaced teen, dances in the living room wearing briefs and a shirt with the collar askew in an explosion of suburban rebellion.
VERDICT: Parodied in everything from “Guitar Hero” ads to episodes of “Scrubs,” nothing beats the original.
Far and Away (1992)

STYLE: Victorian undergarments that leave a lot to the imagination.
SCENE: Nicole Kidman, playing a prim immigrant, watches Cruise covertly as he doffs his trousers, reveals very long skivvies and preps for bed.
VERDICT: Cruise’s dodgy Irish accent isn’t the only thing off here. Hard to know why Kidman gets hot and bothered — sweatpants are more revealing.
Magnolia (1999)

STYLE: Bikini briefs that leave little to the imagination.
SCENE: Cruise’s misogynistic motivational speaker Frank T.J. Mackey changes in front of a female journalist, displaying skimpy underwear while bragging about his game.
VERDICT: If the words he was spewing weren’t so vile, we’d be impressed. Someone’s been hitting the StairMaster. Respect the … no, we won’t go there.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

STYLE: ’90s-era black trunks.
SCENE: Cruise sits mutely in his undies as a stoned Kidman tells him about the sexy naval officer she fantasized about cheating with back in the day.
VERDICT: This cuckolding monologue feels as interminable as the 294 days the famously long-winded film took to shoot. Kudos to Cruise for letting the focus stay on Kidman as he’s slowly emasculated.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning (2025)

STYLE: Navy boxer briefs you’d wear in the Arctic Ocean.
SCENE(S:) Cruise gets ambushed while jogging on a treadmill in his underwear. Later, while infiltrating a submarine wreck, our hero must strip down to his drawers (why ask why?).
VERDICT: Cruise’s next mission: Invest in running shorts and proper swim trunks.