In Risky Business (1983), Tom Cruise played Joel Goodsen, a Chicago high-school student left alone by his parents who turns his home into a brothel to pay for a damaged car. Directed by Paul Brickman, the film follows Joel as he moves from cautious, rule-bound teenager to a young man learning to take risks.
Cruise gave Joel confidence and comic timing, and the famous scene in which he dances in his shirt and socks became an image of eighties youth. The role was his breakthrough as a leading man, showing a star who could carry a film with charm alone.
Risky Business remains a signature Cruise role because it introduced the qualities that would define his career: energy, determination and a smile that made audiences root for him, even when his character was in over his head.