Tom Cruise gets his face painted as a wild animal as he celebrates his 49th birthday

Tom Cruise took a walk on the wild side as he celebrated his 49th birthday in Miami this weekend.

The Hollywood superstar sat back and let a talented make-up artist paint his face to resemble that of a tiger as he spent time marking the anniversary with his family.

Daughter Suri couldn’t be left out and got in on the act by having her face painted in a similar manner to her father.

The actor was left with a very impressive face of paint – quite a departure for the star who has forged a career in action movies.

With his face painted Cruise resembled the Lion from the Wizard Of Oz movie, which starred Judy Garland as Dorothy.

His wife Katie Holmes appeared absent from the face painting session, perhaps choosing to soak up the Miami sun elsewhere.

Over the weekend she showed off her svelte bikini body during a pool party to celebrate husband Tom Cruise’s 49th birthday.

But the following day, she was all wrapped up in a trench coat as she left her Miami hotel.

The 32-year-old actress looked much more conservative in black leggings, a grey trench coat and a floral scarf, as she strolled to the vehicle with her five-year-old daughter Suri.

The little girl looked pretty in a floral skirt and grey T-shirt, with a little purple purse hung over her shoulder.

Tom Cruise was feted by 40 of his close friends and family members in a surprise party organised by Katie at SoHo Beach House in Miami, People.com has reported.

Among the attendees were Cruise’s three children – Isabella, 18, and Connor, 16, from his marriage to Nicole Kidman, and 5-year-old Suri, his daughter with Holmes.

The birthday shindig took place both inside the SoHo Beach House and on its roof, where guests dined on Italian dishes as well as chocolate cake, according to the gossip site.

Katie said goodbye to friends before her departure, while husband Tom emerged wearing a hat and sunglasses, at one point bending into the back seat of the car to kiss goodbye to his wife.

The actor stayed behind to continue filming new movie Rock of Ages in which he stars alongside Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin as a long-haired, tattooed rocker Jaxx.

It’s a very different role for Cruise, and Katie has given her backing to the career departure by revealing that her husband likes to perform at their home.

‘Tom is such an amazing performer. Yes, we have music in our house and it’s amazing,’ she told Access Hollywood recently.

But despite the actress’s chic appearance today, she earlier looked a little less well put together when she returned to her hotel with her hair pulled into an unflattering top knot.

The star was clearly enjoying herself yesterday as she joined the Cruise family and friends for the surprise pool party.

Both she and little Suri wore bikinis, with five-year-old Suri also sporting face paint as she played with a beach ball with her mother.

However, while Suri looked girly in her pink two-piece, mother Katie showed off her noticeably slimmer frame in her navy bikini.