From a reader:

I remember noting once that early in his career (at least once he was able to pick and choose his projects) that all his roles were the same guy: a
relatively self-centered guy who is extremely good at what he does, and
becomes less self-centered toward the end of the movie. (e.g. Top Gun,
Cocktail, The Color of Money, Days of Thunder, A Few Good Men, The Firm).
While it may be that this is just where he is most comfortable, I also think
it was a brilliant move on his part (intentional or not) as a way to endear
himself to the movie-going public, thereby increasing the demand (and
payments) for his services.

Me: This holds true for Rain Man, Jerry Maguire and to a certain lesser extent in Born on the Fourth of July, The Last Samurai, Minority Report, Magnolia and even All the Right Moves. Of course, this might tell us more about the nature of drama than the nature of Tom Cruise’s acting range. But I think it’s a good point nonetheless.