You're almost, almost right -- he plays the same character (often pretty well; I enjoyed Jack Reacher and some of the MI movies for what they were) in all of his action blockbusters. I only watched Jack Reacher because I figured it was synonymous to Mission Impossible 6, after all. But. But. You forgot Tropic Thunder. You forgot Lex Grossman. Tom Cruise's one single unique roll -- and because of it, I have come to the conclusion that he can act. Sort of. Barely.Can you name me a single character that Tom Cruise played that was memorable? Where, when you watch the film, you see that character and not Tom Cruise playing that character? I can't even meet the first criteria: a memorable character. He always plays empty shells that a viewer can project themselves onto as a specimen of our culture's concept of masculinity. Every time.