Tom Cruise's Greatest Hits

When Steven Spielberg first met Tom, he says he was a young actor with only Risky Business under his belt. "The first thing I thought was, 'What do I have in the oven that he would be great in?' I couldn't find anything at that moment, and then, of course, his career took off and he left us all in the dust."

Steven has now made two films with Tom—Minority Report and War of the Worlds. Those two movies aside, Steven says Magnolia is his favorite of Tom's films because it's the deepest he has seen his acting go. "Tom compels the audience to listen to what he says," Steven says. "They listen when he says a line of dialogue or even when he's being silent. He's a magnet for our attention."

Tom says getting to work with Steven twice was huge. "To have that opportunity really meant a great deal to me, and I love him and his family, and they mean a lot to me."