It takes a big man to allow his wife to overshadow him on a regular basis.

Or simply a small one with no choice in the matter.

Tom Cruise didn't appear too diminished by the experience as he accompanied his wife Katie Holmes on a night out to a Broadway show at the weekend.

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The woman he looks up to: Tom Cruise escorts his third wife Katie Holmes in New York

At 5ft 9in, the latest Mrs Cruise, 29, is a good two inches taller than her husband.

Add on an extra four inches thanks to her killer heels and the difference bet-ween them reached new heights.

Cruise, 45, had to crane his neck to look up at his wife as he helped her from their car. Looking positively Amazonian, she didn't appear to need that much assistance.

His position was not helped by the fact he was standing in the road as she stepped out on to the pavement.

Her patent black Christian Louboutin heels, with their distinctive red sole, ensured she stood head and shoulders above Cruising height.

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Unlike his second wife, Nicole Kidman, who stuck to flats during their marriage, Miss Holmes shows no sign of scrapping her stiletto habit.

The couple, accompanied by their two-year-old daughter Suri, had dined with Jessica Seinfeld, the wife of comedian Jerry, before going to the Broadway show Country Girl starring Morgan Freeman and Frances McDormand.

There have been whispers that Miss Holmes could be up for a Broadway role in the drama All My Sons.

Her decision to totter in for a look at the weekend will heighten speculation that she will soon be treading the boards herself.