Tom Cruise Golden Globes: For Which 3 Movies Did He Return the Awards?

Celebrities are speaking out against The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that give out the annual Golden Globe Awards. Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo recently spoke out against the organization, including what they considered inappropriate questions at press conferences. On May 10, NBC cancelled the broadcast of the 2020 Golden Globes and Tom Cruise returned three awards he won over the years. 

These developments follow a group of industry publicists and networks committing to boycotting the Golden Globes until the HFPA makes significant changes. Among concerns is the HFPA’s lack of any Black members in the group representing international countries. The HFPA nominated Cruise many times for his memorable performances in films. Here are the three Golden Globes he won, and that he returned according to trades Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

Tom Cruise won his first Golden Globe for ‘Born on the Fourth of July’

The HFPA nominated Cruise for his first Golden Globe for his starmaking role in Risky Business. Despite making box office hits like Top Gun and acclaimed movies like Rain Man and The Color of Money since, they did not nominate him again until 1990.

Cruise won the Golden Globe for the 1989 film Born on the Fourth of July. He played Ron Kovic in the film based on Kovic’s autobiography. Kovic enlisted in the Marines, eager to fight for his country. When he returned home from Vietnam, paralized from the waist down, Kovic became an anti-War advocate.

Oliver Stone directed. Born on the Fourth of July is considered the middle of Stone’s Vietnam trilogy, after Platoon, and before Heaven and Earth. 

Tom Cruise showed them the Golden Globe for ‘Jerry Maguire’

After Born on the Fourth of July, Cruise was in many more hit movies, but few earned him Golden Globe nominations. He was nominated by didn’t win for 1992’s A Few Good Men. Hits like The Firm and Interview with the Vampire didn’t do it either. 

Jerry Maguire did, though. The romantic comedy was a phenomenon in its 1996-1997 release. It spawned catchphrases like “Show me the money” and “You had me at hello.” Cruise would win his second Golden Globe for playing the title character, a sports agent who has a breakdown and tries to rebuild his career with one client and better values than his old cutthroat ways. 

The third time was the charm to tame the Golden Globes 

After Jerry Maguire, Cruise spent a lot of time with Stanley Kubrick making Eyes Wide Shut. The HFPA did not bestow a Golden Globe nomination on Cruise for that film. However, another movie he made, released the same year, won him his trifecta.

In the ensemble drama Magnolia, Cruise played Frank T.J. Mackey, a self-help guru who teaches men to “Seduce and Destroy” women. In between seminars, a reporter asks Mackey some probing questions that expose many of the lies he’s telling. 

After Magnolia, Cruise got two more Golden Globe nominations. His role in The Last Samurai was one, and his comic turn in Tropic Thunder was another. 

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, L.A. Times