Through the 1980’s, 1990’s, and early 2000’s it was hard to find a bigger movie star than Tom Cruise. Films like “Jerry Maguire”, “The Firm”, and “A Few Good Men” became synonymous with our culture in the 1990’s. Along with Cruise’s films being received well by critics they were also, more often than not, box office hits. Nearly every film he starred in prior to the mid 2000’s broke the $100 million barrier with even a select few climbing up to the $400-500 million mark. Cruise also has been nominated for plethora of awards, including winning three Golden Globes.

However, public perception of the Hollywood star seemed to change around the mid 2000’s. While Tom Cruise had made his belief of Scientology known in the past, it seemed his involvement with The Church of Scientology increased during this time period. This was also around the time Cruise had started dating actress Katie Holmes and famously jumped on a couch declaring his love for her on "The Oprah Winfrey Show". Holmes ended up joining The Church Of Scientology as well and the couple had an elaborate wedding ceremony at a Scientology church.

While his antics in the media and his firm following of Scientology have rubbed people the wrong way, these aren’t the sole reasons for Cruise’s negative shift in public perception. The actor’s films were simply not up to par with his previous work. Cruise starred in a few films that were either met with mixed reviews (“Knight & Day”, “Valkyrie”) or were met with negative reviews (“Lions for Lambs”). Along with his films not meeting critical acclaim, the box office performance declined as well. While most of Cruise’s movies during this time grossed well over $100-200 million, they did not turn a favorable profit due to high budget costs and increased inflation of ticket prices.

So what can Tom Cruise do to repair his damaged public perception? He’s actually taken the first steps necessary to doing so: make good movies. Excellent performance in any professional field is usually the best tactic to silence critics. Since 2011, Tom Cruise has starred in five films. Of those movies, three of them (“Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol”, “Edge of Tomorrow”, “Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation”) have met near universal critical acclaim and have been box office hits.

Another way Tom Cruise could improve his image is by not publicly endorsing his religion. Regardless of the religion, our culture generally against people who endlessly talk about their religious beliefs and aggressively try to “recruit” other people to joining it. If the topic is ever brought up in an interview or a press conference, he could politely say that his religion has to do with his personal life and has nothing to do with his acting career. This would lead to decreased media coverage of Cruise’s involvement with Scientology and people would begin to talk about it less and less.

Lastly, Tom Cruise should increase his presence in the social media world. While he does have a Twitter and Facebook account, he rarely uses them. When he does use them, however, it is usually someone posting for him. If he used these accounts himself and allowed people to have a look into his personal life, then his public perception would definitely see an increase in positivity. There are many public figures that use social media to their benefit. Chad Johnson, a former NFL player, hasn’t played football in over three seasons but still remains relevant because of his Twitter account. Russell Crowe is another actor who has faced controversy but uses Twitter to maintain a solid public image.

Tom Cruise has certainly faced his fair share of controversy. His antics in the media, along with his heavy endorsement of Scientology, have lead many people to believe that he is insane. However, his best course of action is to do what he has been doing recently by making good movies. He also should be have a bigger presence in the social media world but, at the same time, should keep to himself in regards to controversial topics such as religion and politics.