ISTP
I’m a big fan of Tom Cruise and if you’re an 80’s kid it’s likely you are too. But it’s also likely you’re take on Tom has shifted since the days of “Top Gun”, “Risky Business”, “The Outsiders” and “A Few Good Men”. Most people nowadays remember Tom the scientologist – his interviews on Oprah and a few others got many thinking where the old Tom has gone. Yet we still appreciate movies like “Mission Impossible”, “War of the Worlds”, “Oblivion”, and “The Last Samurai”. I’m not ashamed to admit – I actually really liked “Far and Away”. As we shall see though, Tom’s personality timeline provides hints, Tom the scientologist actually makes it easier to get to know Tom.
I’ve spent some time getting to know Tom – recalling a few 80’s flicks and watching a few interviews. It’s not so much scientology as it is the intensity that drives him to a particular belief or methodology.
Tom Cruise is an ISTP – yeah my first reaction was, reallly – no way. But yeah, he actually shares the same type as the legendary Bruce Lee. Let’s not forget Bruce Lee also enjoyed being on the big screen and enjoyed expressing his methodologies, his art as a way of life. I’ll write a dedicated personality post dedicated to Bruce Lee in a future post, so stay tuned for that. My main point here is that there is some kind of duality with ISTP’s like Bruce Lee and Tom Cruise – the sensory part and a methodology to live by.
It’s the sensory part that makes Tom a natural on the big screen – I think he even does a few stunts himself. Yeah, that’s high level sensory. Intuitives are prone to 1 second of hesitation while sensories, well they don’t hesitate at all. So with Tom, you see someone comfortable with action, movement, activity, someone who doesn’t mind getting dirty. ISTP’s are comfortable with stuff like this.
In his interviews Tom is direct and factual – there aren’t any flowery words to be found. As a result ISTP’s develop a machine like presence to them, a tough exterior – a bit like a tank. Emotional surprises can get ISTP’s behaving a little out of character – Tom exhibits this during his scientology interviews.
So far I’ve been highlighting Tom’s sensory function (Se), Extraverted Sensing – this function takes the parents seat. I haven’t even gotten to Tom’s “Hero” function – Introverted Thinking (Ti). There is only one other type that shares this “Hero” function and that’s the “INTP”. Introverted thinkers are superior when it comes to logic and some logic can be so complex, these types would rather not explain it but put a great deal of confidence by living by it.
ISTP’s like Tom have a full 360 view of their environments and where they stand in respect to the objects which surround them. Over time, an ISTP would have eventually developed some kind of personal philosophy, so long as there is practical application. In this way, Tom captures the masses simply with this confidence.
