Finally, after fearing his career had dried up, Tom Cruise spent his 40th birthday jumping on couches and putting on wigs. His phone wasn’t ringing. Four years ago, Evan Ferrante, a producer and actor who calls himself a credible impressionist of Tom Cruise, was tight with him.
Recalls Ferrante, currently 44, whose stage name is “Not Tom Cruise,” “I was still imitating Cruise, but very rarely.” “I had to engage in three other additional jobs. I’ve never worked so extensively before. I was a Lyft driver. I was a dog walker. I was tirelessly hustling.”
Business is booming, and Tom Cruise is still in the business these days. During the first year of the pandemic, which kept other celebrity impersonators and him afloat, Ferrante pivoted to Cameo. The response was heartening, and as always, fans flooded him with requests to cheer up quarantined and bored individuals on holidays and birthdays. Ferrante, who is our son’s military aviator training, has done an awesome second video for Tom Cruise. This guy is a total pro, as many of his five-star reviewers have noted.
Ferrante was astounded by his good fortune. Top Gun: Maverick completely filled theaters and brought Cruise back into the spotlight just as the world was beginning to reopen and Ferrante was getting ready to make live event appearances again in 2022. Unexpectedly.
“He mentioned that last year was the busiest and most profitable year of my adult life, filled with various opportunities in TV, film, commercials, and live performances. However, I did not have the chance to participate in any of those activities or receive any offers on that particular day.”
Confirmed that Ferrante, dressed in dark shades and a wig reminiscent of the iconic style in “Risky Business,” has perfectly captured Cruise’s essence (or rather, a “heightened interpretation of Cruise,” as he describes it). A quick look at his Cameo videos or TikTok channel reveals his seamless transition between characters from “Top Gun,” “Jerry Maguire,” and various other films. Furthermore, he effortlessly adapts his performance to current events (as demonstrated in a recent video where he visits the WGA picket line, staying in character as Cruise and cleverly referencing “Magnolia”). Ferrante skillfully adjusts his mannerisms, including his infectious laughter, sudden changes in tone, and his signature high-pitched exclamation of “Whoo!” All of these elements contribute to his manic yet captivating delivery.
According to Ferrante, “A large number of people show respect. A considerable number of them are extremely excited to be with a person who resembles Tom Cruise. They are eager to perform all the lines alongside me. They tend to be very physical in their interactions with me.” Ferrante expresses, “A significant portion of individuals treat me as if I were a performer or a mechanical toy.” Ferrante is highly popular among corporate audiences at events.
Colin Paolo, a creative director in the corporate field who has employed Ferrante for almost twelve occasions, asserts, “Individuals turn their heads and observe, and they exclaim, ‘Oh, my goodness, is that Tom Cruise?'” “I am never completely certain if they genuinely comprehend that he is an impersonator,” states Colin Paolo, a creative director in the corporate industry who has hired Ferrante for nearly twelve events. “These are mature individuals who will patiently wait in line.” “I have witnessed mature gentlemen – 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2 – conversing with their spouses on the phone, exclaiming, ‘I am having my photograph taken with Tom Cruise!'” (Ferrante never intends to mislead anyone, although he acknowledges that it occasionally occurs, particularly during his performances abroad.)
Tom Cruise, an enduringly improbable icon of the screen, is now entering his fifth decade in a flourishing acting career. Introducing new audiences to him, Dead Reckoning – Impossible Mission and Maverick Gun – Top are upcoming blockbuster movies that speak to his youthful and perpetually bankable status.
In the world of simulations, deepfake technology has advanced so much that realistic doppelgangers of A-listers like Cruise have become increasingly untouchable and secluded. These simulations are designed to provide fans with one-on-one connections, stepping into Ferrante’s shoes. This reflects the culture of celebrity obsession, where people are hungry for personalized attention from their favorite stars, creating a parasocial environment.
Ferrante says, “It’s just fascinating to explore a character like Tom Cruise.” “I provide a window into his world,” says Ferrante. “It’s almost like Mary Poppins with her endless bags of things.” “I can come up with a thousand funny scenarios with Cruise and dip into this bag with enough imagination.” “You don’t know what Cruise’s existence or life is like, and I’m going to fill in the blanks.” “I’m going to create this lore, this mythology.”
Evan Ferrante, who was raised in New York by a Jewish Russian mother and an Italian Catholic father, became an actor in the 1980s, appearing in soap operas, commercials, and short-lived shows like Crossing Swans. He says that his book of roles was difficult because the features were ethnically ambiguous. After 17 years, he was born Tom Cruise.
Ferrante expresses, “You forfeit a small portion of your youth.” Ferrante states, “It exacts a toll on your mental state.” The never-ending tryouts turned exhausting, but he obtained his SAG card in 1993.
It was almost insane, immediately. It was uncanny, like, and he did so. I told him that he should try to learn those lines. Jerry “recalls Merkin” had just come out and Maguire Jerry was really doing well. Alex Merkin, an aspiring filmmaker named Ferrante, noticed that Tom Cruise resembled his mannerisms and voice when he was a freshman at Boston University, his hallmate.
At that moment, Merkin performed a poor imitation of Jean-Claude Van Damme. The duo joined forces with the goal of impressing girls.
Merkin states, “It would simply turn into a social gathering stunt. I genuinely had him record my voicemail salutation as Tom Cruise.” “We would attempt to initiate conversations by rapping on doors, and we would both mimic and strive to encounter women and engage in romantic outings,” “Alright, perform the Tom Cruise mimic.” It was incredibly impressive that no matter where we went, throughout the subsequent four years and beyond, it would feel as though.
Merkin asserts, “He would be unable to disassociate himself from it. Not that he desired to.” After Ferrante fully embraced his talent, “it became akin to having a deceased twin in the womb, an evil twin brother whom you cannot elude.”
After his graduation, Ferrante was ready to leave Tom Cruise behind as he was tired of his exploits in the tabloids, which coincided with the early days of YouTube. In 2006, Ferrante uploaded a crudely shot “demo reel” of Cruise’s various characters, urging his girlfriend to view the video. Currently, the video has more than 200,000 views on YouTube.
He states, “this amplified rendition of Cruise, this identity that I formulated, throughout this series to generate concepts who had some recognition in the industry of my acquaintances.”
Ferrante was hired to portray Cruise in a video series called Die or Funny, and his career became a trick party. Ferrante has performed at countless corporate events, parodied Cruise in commercials and cartoons, and pumped out Cameo messages. He has even been hired by movie studios to serve as the voice match for Cruise in early cuts of movie trailers. Currently, his rate is $387 for a live video call and $100 for a personalized video.
There was a demoralizing instance in the Midwest during the ’80s when he agreed to dance in his tighty-whities several nights. He later regretted his appearances and said yes to cash up hard times.
Ferrante remembers, “I felt similar to a performer from Chippendales. They were simply grasping at my undergarments. It was all unhappily wedded, tobacco-stained ladies in Dubuque, Iowa, and Fredericksburg, Indiana.”
Occasionally, portraying Tom Cruise brings joy. On other occasions, it can be a cause of mental perplexity.
Ferrante states, “The crisis of identity is similar to Hyde and Jekyll.” Ferrante says, “I sometimes don’t know where Evan Ferrante’s or Tom Cruise’s story ends or begins.”
For more than a year, it never ceased. Moreover, there was an unrelenting clamor for Maverick. Engagements in voiceover, advertisements, predominantly corporate events, various inquiries, they would come in nearly every day. It exceeded my wildest expectations in terms of size. Could it even be this enormous? Reflecting on it, Ferrante recalls the release of Top Gun: Maverick just last year.
Recently, the life of Ferrante’s has been a little like George Clooney’s in Up in the Air, except instead of traveling around the country firing employees, he usually races up on stage as the character Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible, fist-bumping all the middle managers and using the bombastic theme song “Danger Zone” as his entrance music. He sometimes even plays the character of naval ace Maverick, like an aviator, except for the firing employees part.
Last year, Ferrante performed at many corporate events in numerous cities, where he was tasked with entertaining presidents and was feted with caviar. He flew in a helicopter with the fintech company that hosted the event, and he recalls being at the opening of an Alamo Drafthouse somewhere, although he can’t remember exactly where. One event that he specifically remembers is the Snapchat event. He has now started rifling through his 1099 forms to remember all of them.
According to Ferrante, “All of these occurrences, they’re all adequately intoxicated. Everyone is quite intoxicated. They come here to relax and have fun.”
“Since two years ago, Mission Impossible has been a new open world for Evan. However, those two others are not well understood. Business Risky is something that they do not have a lot of understanding about.”
Ferrante notices that Cruise’s body of work “goes hand in hand with corporate America.” “In Top Gun, you have ‘I experience the necessity…’; Jerry Maguire, ‘demonstrate me the money’ for anything in fintech or finance,” explains Ferrante.
Many technology companies may pay him handsomely, as the tech industry may also be undoing Ferrante’s deepfake software, which grows increasingly sophisticated as a company called Metaphysic worked with Miles Fisher, a convincing look-alike named Umé Chris, to create startlingly convincing videos of Cruise teeing off at a golf course among other activities. In 2021, the company digitally “mapped” Fisher’s face onto Cruise’s, fooling countless viewers, but requests to respond did not.
Initially accused and faced temporary deactivation of his Instagram account, Ferrante was not involved in those videos. Earlier, the actor had collaborated on other deepfake ventures. “I was likely the very first actor to collaborate with a deepfake technician/engineer,” Ferrante recalls, mentioning a 2019 video where he assisted in digitally replacing Tom Cruise’s face with Christian Bale’s in American Psycho.
He believes that studios will continue to pay substantial amounts to obtain the digital representation of renowned actors indefinitely. “They will pay Tom Cruise an astronomical sum of $10 billion for the perpetual use of his likeness, without a doubt. This is currently becoming a reality and is not a concept limited to science fiction,” he asserts.
He knows Ferrante forever. He tells Maverick (Rear Adm. Cain) in the new Top Gun movie “It” is not coming in the future.
“I’m relaxing,” Ferrante states. “I would say I’m in the final phase of my career.”
He doesn’t have the same energy he once had, and now he’s a dad. Ferrante says, “That’s Daddy’s Cruise Tom we have here.” The toddler doesn’t know who Tom Cruise is, so I have this pillow of Tom Cruise.
The main occupation and the additional source of income are not entirely clear. Situated in Beverly Hills, Ferrante now supplements his earnings from Cruise by working as a real estate agent for a high-end company. He believes that he will require a more reliable source of income to provide for his expanding family, in addition to that.
The main attribute that separates him from the man himself, according to his belief, is Cruise’s “remarkable self-control.” He wants to present his own speech to corporate audiences and begin it with a keynote presentation, designed in a way that resembles a mission statement from the movie “Jerry Maguire.” He muses about writing a book someday, discussing the successful attributes of Cruise and what he has learned as an impersonator. If Ferrante wants to make a big impact, he hangs up his Cruise wig and goes all out.
Currently, Ferrante is simply going along with the popularity of Cruise fever, no matter where it leads him.
He informs me that he was in Chicago a week ago. Following that, he expresses uncertainty about his future whereabouts. He anticipates receiving a phone call tomorrow. He acknowledges that the ringing of the phone may eventually cease, and he is ready for that. He is currently in the process of transitioning, but he finds himself being pulled back in whenever he attempts to move on.