Tom Cruise has everything anyone would ever want to be the most perfect iconic figure. Well, almost everything.

Although his handsomely alluring looks, charming personality, well-established position in Hollywood as the King of Action, and a whopping $600 million worth of net worth (via Celebrity Net Worth) mostly make up for it, he lacks one major component to become an icon: his height.

As it turns out, Tom Cruise is rather short in height in real life, though most fans must not have noticed it even after watching him in real life.

This is because the Mission: Impossible actor is one massive King of practical effects as well, and even though he may be short-gifted when it comes to his height, the actor has a solution for that too: he uses the same trick to disguise his height as Robert Downey Jr.!

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Even though both Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. are two of the most beloved and well-established actors in Hollywood, they both lack one major element: their heights, which are notably no more than 1.7 meters at max.

Yet, both actors have figured out a way to disguise their actual height to appear taller, even in real life, through one trick: using shoe lifts and heels.

For those who don’t know: Shoe lifts are actually discreet insoles that are inserted under the heels to thicken them, elevating the wearer’s height and making them appear taller. Since they are pretty much unseeable, they fail to make it evident that the person wearing them is actually rather short.

As for heels: Well, we don’t need to explain what heels are, but what you do need to know is that Tom Cruise is rather fond of Cuban heels; the very kind of shoes that add to making him appear at least a few inches taller.

This is why the 5 feet 7¾ inches or approximately 1.72 meters tall Cruise (as per Celebrity Heights) managed to look equally tall, even in front of all his ex-wives who were notably taller than him (Mimi Rogers: 5’8 ft aka 1.73 m; Nicole Kidman: 5’10.5 ft aka 1.8 m; and Katie Holmes: 5’9 ft aka 1.75 m).

Through these tricks, Tom Cruise likes to make his fans believe that he is the ultimate iconic figure, perfect in every way. And, well, perhaps he actually is, even with his real height!

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Robert Downey Jr. Used The Same Trick During His MCU Era

While his onscreen fan-favorite character from the MCU shares the superpower of unparalleled brains, Robert Downey Jr. shares a rather different superpower in real life: he can elevate his real height to look taller.

Using the same trick as Tom Cruise, the Iron Man legend wore elevator shoes more than once throughout his tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and on other occasions as well, as he once shared in an interview with The Japan Times.

Thanks to this, he was able to look tall even in front of his onscreen partner Gwyneth Paltrow, who is notably 5 feet and 9 inches aka 1.75 meters as compared to RDJ, who is 5 feet and 7¾ inches as well, aka 1.72 meters (as per Celebrity Heights).

For what it’s worth, not only are elevator shoes and shoe lifts the unacknowledged heroes of the world of footwear, but they have also managed to transform some of the most popular actors in Hollywood into completely different personalities by elevating their heights!

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