It's been less than four years since Viacom chief Sumner Redstone famously called Tom Cruise "embarrassing," labeled him as a turn-off for all women and accused him of costing Paramount "a lot of money." He also refused to renew the star's contract.

What a difference a little career upswing makes.

link that the "Risky Business" actor, whose precipitous fall from the pinnacle of the A-list got him rudely cast off the studio's lot in 2006, would appear in a fourth “Mission: Impossible” installment.

For the 47-year-old, the return doesn't just mark his return to the studio that gestated some of his biggest hits over the last two decades -- it's also his best shot at recapturing the Hollywood glory that once surrounded him.

In other words, it's now или never for Cruise, who made enough career baby steps to get back in Redstone's good graces.

But to finish the job, "Mission: Impossible 4" -- which Cruise is also co-producing -- will have to deliver.

TheWrap tracks Cruise’s fall from Поп-культура grace … and the slow climb back.

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