Featured Image Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images / Paramount
Topics: Tom Cruise, Film and TV
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Tom Cruise, Film and TV
Tom Cruise is one of the biggest actors on the globe, from Top Gun to Tropic Thunder, he really has done it all.
Cruise, 61, is pretty much the go-to action man in Hollywood, which comes as no surprise after he was crowned one of the world's highest-paid actors.
One of the star's most recent movies, Top Gun: Maverick, broke records after becoming the second highest-grossing film of the year in 2022, earning $1.4 billion, to date, in worldwide box-office sales.
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That's not bad for a sequel that came out 36 years after the initial movie.
With that being said, Cruise reportedly has a very unusual clause that seems to be at odds with the very genre he often stars in.
While cinema-lovers flock to the big screen to see their favorite tales of adventure, discovery and war - others may prefer something a little smaller to remember their favorite movie by, hand-held even.
Which is probably why action figurines have always had a stable spot on many toy shelves, collector's cabinets and shop counters alike.
Due to his huge audience, it's a given that Cruise's fan-base probably couldn't wait to get their hands on some official merch.
Yet, many began to realize that this was a lot harder than simply nabbing a Spider-Man doll or Superman figurine from their local toy store.
And this is because of a particular clause which doesn't allow the Mission: Impossible actor's likeness to be used to make any merchandise.
This means anything that would feature Cruise's face, like toys and video games, would be off the table.
In 2006, the Edge of Tomorrow star also apparently refused to have his image used for both Mission: Impossible III and War of the Worlds PlayStation games.
And as for the 2002 Minority Report game, the main character had a blonde head of short hair - a stark contrast from Cruise's distinctive brunette shaggy hair-do.
At the time, MTV said that whenever he was asked about lending his likeness to a game, Cruise's agent declined to comment.
And while there may be some unofficial merch of the A-lister floating about, it has been confirmed that none of these have been officially licensed by either Cruise or the production company.
While slightly unusual, Cruise isn't the only actor with a strange clause.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has joined Cruise in the odd contract clause after requiring that his character in the Fast and Furious franchise didn't lose fights to co-stars Vin Diesel and Jason Statham in action scenes, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Bit odd, but there you have it.