Tom Cruise and Away" (1992), both of which co-starred then-wife Nicole Kidman as his love interest. In 1994, Cruise starred along with Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Christian Slater in Neil Jordan's "Interview with the Vampire", a gothic drama/horror film that was based on Anne Rice's best-selling novel. The film was well received, although Rice was initially quite outspoken in her criticism of Cruise having been cast in the film, as Julian Sands was her first choice. Upon seeing the film however, she paid $7,740 for a two-page ad in "Daily Variety" praising his performance and apologizing for her previous doubts about
Tom Cruise (1989), Cruise received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and his first Academy Award for Best Actor nomination. In the 1990s, Cruise starred with Jack Nicholson in the legal drama "A Few Good Men" (1992) and starred in a number of box office hits including "The Firm" (1993) and "Interview with the Vampire" (1994), before starring as IMF agent Ethan Hunt in the action spy thriller "" (1996), the first of a commercially successful six-film series. In 1996, Cruise also starred as the title character in the romantic comedy-drama "Jerry Maguire", earning him the Golden