Tom Cruise’s 5 Wildest Stunts (So Far)!

Over the last 3 decades, Tom Cruise has made audiences sit on the edge of their seats while watching his movies. He is a terror to directors for doing his own stunts, but the payoff always guarantees an audience with a blown mind. Each movie seems like a test for Cruise to prove himself once again. If he isn’t jumping out of a plane for a role, he is doing it just to get audiences excited about movies. Included here are some of his wildest stunts that he has performed himself on set!

1. Helicopter Chase 

Cruise spent over a year learning how to fly a helicopter for this stunt in Mission: Impossible - Fallout. The chase takes place through a rocky mountain passage in New Zealand. While in the helicopter, Cruise had to take it into a downward spiral while continuing to act and keep the helicopter from not crashing. On top of that, he had to make sure he didn’t run into the other helicopters that were being used for filming! 

2. Halo Jump 

Any skydiver will appreciate this stunt, as Cruise became the first actor to perform a halo jump on camera for Mission: Impossible - Fallout. This is when a person opens their parachute in low altitude, a method derived from the military. Cruise made the leap at 25,000 feet where he would have to safely reach the bottom. With fears of hypoxia, Cruise trained with a vertical wind tunnel to get ready. Further difficulties plagued this stunt as they were only able to shoot it one time a day. Alas, the result is nothing more than cinematic history.   

3. Holding his Breath Underwater 

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation saw Cruise underneath water having to hold his breath. On set was 20 feet of water that Cruise had to act within. In preparation for the role, Cruise learned how to hold his breath underwater for 6 minutes.  

4. Climbing the Burj Khalifa 

For Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, the director had second thoughts about putting his lead actor on the side of the world's highest building. Safety measures were taken as Cruise was hooked to a cable as he was able to run and use suction grips to scale up the side of the building. A big part of the stunt included a 4-story freefall that his character experiences. The wind made it a dangerous task that would take over 200 hours of research and training to prepare for! 

5. Hanging from the Outside of a Plane 

Maybe one of the craziest stunts that makes my stomach drop is his free hang from an Airbus 400 in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. In this scene, he has to jump onto an airplane as it is taking off. The plane had to go over a 100 miles per hour and go up to a thousand feet before landing. To help him with the stunt, Cruise had to wear a harness that was wired to the plane as well as special contacts so his eyes didn’t immediately become dry or get any debris in them. 

Tom Cruise’s next Mission: Impossible, Dead Reckoning Part One, will be out later this year!