Tom Cruise was in a film categorized as drama.
Endless Love is a 1981 American romantic drama film based on Scott Spencer 's 1979 novel of the same name . Taps is a 1981 American drama film starring George C. Scott and Timothy Hutton , with Ronny Cox , Tom Cruise , Sean Penn and Evan Handler in supporting roles . The Outsiders is a 1983 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola , an adaptation of the novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton . Tom Cruise . After portraying supporting roles in Taps ( 1981 ) and The Outsiders ( 1983 ) , his first leading role was in the romantic comedy Risky Business , released in August 1983 .