EXCLUSIVE: Why Tom Cruise's Childhood Head Injury May 'Have Altered Brain Chemistry' And 'Given Him Psychopathic Drive' For Success... And Fixation On Scientology
Tom Cruise's head injury went a long way in altering his personality.
July 21 2025, Published 10:30 a.m. ET
Tom Cruise's psychopathic drive for fame and obsession with Scientology may have started at age four, when he knocked himself unconscious doing his first "movie stunt," RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The then-wannabe star leapt from the roof of his family home and banged his head so hard on the ground he blacked out.
Experts now say such a dramatic knock can forever alter brain chemistry and set people on certain career paths, and even give them fixations on religion.
Impacting Tom's Drive
Cruise suffered a head injury when he was 4 years old.
One told us: "The impact of a head injury can vary widely depending on the region of the brain involved and how severe the trauma is."
They also cautioned brain injuries often lead to "changes in personality" and "reduced self-control."
The source said: "Tom’s drive and his odd fixation with Scientology could easily have stemmed from this injury."
Cruise, 63, built such a reputation for his relentless drive for blockbuster success that actor Christian Bale used him as inspiration for his role as preppy killer Patrick Bateman in the movie version of Bret Easton Ellis' book American Psycho.
Bale told director Mary Harron he decided to use Cruise as a model for the nut after he noticed an "intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes" in the Top Gun star.
Cruise’s drive to take on bigger and bolder stunts for the Mission: Impossible franchise, despite his advancing years, is also seen as a psychopathic trait that may have been knocked into the movie star during his childhood fall.
'Even as a little kid I was very physical,' the actor recalled of his risky jump off a roof.
The actor even refused to allow breaking a foot on one of his Mission: Impossible movies to stop him from making death-defying moves. He has now admitted his daredevil childhood exploits were a big influence on who he is now.
Cruise once told British movie magazine Empire: "One of my first stunts was jumping off the roof of my house when I was about four years old, with new sheets and ropes tied around me.
"I jumped off the roof. Luckily, it had rained that morning, and I hit this mud puddle, and as my head slammed between both my legs, I’ll literally never forget it. I knocked myself out, and I thought, right before I went unconscious, 'My mom’s gonna kill me.'
"So even as a little kid, I was very physical."
Tom's History With Stunts
Christian Bale used Cruise as inspiration for his role in 'American Psycho.'
He added his idols became actors who specialized in film’s earliest stunts, including Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and dancer Gene Kelly.
Head injuries have been cited by other celebs as forming their behavior and personalities. Oasis rocker Liam Gallagher said in the 2016 Supersonic documentary on the band that getting hit on the head with a hammer by a bunch of childhood bullies miraculously resulted in his ability to sing.
And Point Break actor Gary Busey says the fractured skull and permanent brain injury he suffered in a motorcycle accident resulted in him having a photographic memory and being able to see "the spiritual realm."
"I died after brain surgery after a motorcycle accident on December 4, 1988," he told the Parade website. "I hit my head on the curb going 40 mph without a helmet. Split my skull open.
"I have photographic memory, and that’s what happened after my death, after the motorcycle wreck. I went to the other side, the spiritual realm, the supernatural."
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Gary Busey's fractured skull and permanent brain injury following a motorcycle accident resulted in him having a photographic memory.
Busey added the accident was a "blessing" as he survived to focus on his career, and he went through a religious and spiritual experience, believing he met angels.
He said: "They told me what I was doing was good. The direction I was going in was good. But because of my responsibility to mankind, it was time for me to look for help in the spiritual realm.
"They said you may come with us now, or return to your body and continue your destiny. It’s your choice. And I immediately went back."
