This boy from Syracuse (New York), was labelled a dyslexic (People who have difficulties with reading or writing because they are unable to see words as meaningful shapes or the differences between letters.) when he was just seven. His friends would harass him, and his school teachers would humiliate him. This is how he describes his early days, “I’d try to concentrate on what I was reading, then I’d get to the end of the page and have very little memory of anything I’d read. I would go blank, feel anxious, nervous, bored, frustrated, dumb. I would get angry. My legs would actually hurt when I was studying. My head ached.” He went to three different high-schools and each time, he would try to hide his disability. Soon it would be discovered, and he would be sent off to remedial reading. He raised his hands very often in class, only to ensure that his teachers noticed him and gave him extra points so that he could just about make the passing grades. Even when he had to complete his homework, he would first dictate it to his elder sister, make her write it down, and then copy it word to word. His parents got separated when he was just 12, and he along with his sister Lee Anne, moved with his mother to New Jersey, where she had to work in three jobs simultaneously to earn enough to feed the family. Everything in his life, besides playing baseball, soccer and football, seemed hopeless. He finally managed to clear high school but failed his undergrads as he was a “functional illiterate”. He loved to learn, wanted to learn but the dyslexia was debilitating (Many times, he would even forget that when the fuel gauge in the car falls to ‘E’, it needed refuelling). He decided to move to LA to become an actor. Even then, the loser in him found it hard to pass auditions, because he simply could not read the script. He started requesting others during the auditions to read the script and the directors to talk about the characters and the film. He wanted to give it all up many times, but whenever he did, all he remembered were his mother’s words – “You’ve got so much potential. Don’t give up.” In 1983, he landed his first starring role in the film Risky Business. He got noticed. Three years later, Top Gun was released, which grossed $343 million and made him a millionaire (he earned $2 million from the film)! Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is his name; Tom Cruise is how we know him – the winner of three Golden Globe Awards (and nominations for three Academy Awards). Tom Cruise, then a dyslexic with poor memory, and today, a certified-flying pilot, a millionaire- producer and one of Hollywood’s most powerful stars! And all that because the loser never gave up!
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 09:14:38 +0000
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