Tom Cruise: Bittersweet 50th birthday

Tom Cruise‘s life is like a real life rock star these days — HIGH highs and LOW lows. On Tuesday, he turned 50 and got a nifty birthday present from Forbes — he was named as the year’s highest paid actor; pulling in $75 million between May 2011 and May 2012 (thanks to Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol).

He may not have felt much like celebrating though, seeing as his wife of five years surprised him by, not throwing a cute over-the-hill party, but slapping him with divorce papers and asking for sole legal custody of their precious child.

Ouch! Sorry Tom… that blows. But, the good news is that you look AMAZING! Tom is possibly in the best shape of his life—at 50—even better than the good old Top Gun days (he was just 24-years-old!).

Tom beat out last year’s top earner, Leonardo DiCaprio, who made a measly $37 million (thanks to his flop J. Edgar; last year he was #1 with Inception).

Leo tied for the No.2 spot this year with Adam Sandler, who got paid VERY well despite a record 11 Razzies’ nominations (awards that salute the worst Hollywood has to offer). Adam got nods for his acting, writing AND producing—for ALL 3 of his movies—Jack and Jill, Just Go with It and Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star.

Maybe Tom can teach Adam how to ACT and Adam can teach Tom how to NOT ACT like a scary-Scientology-guy.

Do you think Tom’s marital issues will affect this year’s paycheck? Or Rock of Ages?