Tom Cruise rarely speaks about his battle with dyslexia. Or his unstable home life. As a world-famous actor, one might assume he was always destined for greatness. But, as you’ll find out, that was simply not the case.
In fact, he’s been quoted as saying:
“I’d gotten to where I was operating on the force of sheer will. But I knew I was flying by the seat of my pants. I knew that if I didn’t solve this problem, the trapdoor was going to open up and that would be it.”
Growing Up With Dyslexia & A Rough Home Life
Tom Cruise grew up in a poor household, along with his three sisters. His abusive father beat him on a regular basis, ruling over the family with an iron fist.
“He was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life — how he’d lull you in, make you feel safe, and then, bang!” Cruise said in a 2006 interview.
“For me, it was like, ‘There’s something wrong with this guy. Don’t trust him. Be careful around him.'”
Because his father had trouble holding down a job, the family was forced to relocate often. As a result, Cruise attended 15 different schools in a matter of 12 years.
When he was just 12-years-old, his father walked out of his life, leaving Tom as the only man amongst a family of women.
All of a sudden, he became the father figure for his three sisters and did his best to set a good example for them.
But, just like his home life, things weren’t easy at school.
He was insecure about his short stature and crooked teeth (his family couldn’t exactly afford top-notch dental care). Thus, he was an easy target, and bullies pushed him around often.
Cruise was the perennial new kid – constantly having to adjust to a new environment, new teachers, and new friends.
Each place came with its own set of pros and cons. But one constant remained – his dyslexia.
“I’d try to concentrate on what I was reading,” Cruise said. “Then I’d get to the end of the page and have very little memory of anything I’d read.”
“I would go blank, feel anxious, nervous, bored, frustrated, dumb. I would get angry. My legs would actually hurt when I was studying. My head ached.”
As you could imagine, this made school work extremely difficult. Between three jobs, his mother would help him out as much as she could.
But, like any child dealing with dyslexia, he became resourceful.
“If I had a test in the afternoon,” Cruise told People Magazine, “I’d find kids at lunchtime who’d taken the test that morning and find out what it was like.”