Photo: Valentine/Bridger/Dean/SplashNews.com
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Tom Cruise’s Cliff Jump in Mission: Impossible II
There’s nothing that ampsTom Cruiseup more thandoing his own dangerous stunts, which he has done numerous times throughout theMission: Impossiblefranchise.
In the second installment, one memorable and nail-biting scene involved a 2,000-foot cliff in Moab, Utah.
“I was really mad that he wanted to do [the stunt], but I tried to stop him and I couldn’t,” director John Woo toldEntertainment Weekly. “I was so scared I was sweating. I couldn’t even watch the monitor when we shot it.”
02of 10Tom Cruise’s Knife to the Eye in Mission: Impossible IIParamountCliff climbs and frightening jumps weren’t the onlyhard-to-watch stuntsin the second installment ofMission: Impossible. While our eyes were nearly shut watching this next stunt, Cruise insisted his be wide open.The infamous “knife-to-eye” scene involved a real knife being propelled full force at his eye, stopping precisely one quarter-inch away from his eyeball, as opposed to somewhere vaguely near his eye like director Woo had suggested, per theMission: ImpossibleIIBlu-Raybehind-the-scenes clip.
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Tom Cruise’s Knife to the Eye in Mission: Impossible II
Paramount
Cliff climbs and frightening jumps weren’t the onlyhard-to-watch stuntsin the second installment ofMission: Impossible. While our eyes were nearly shut watching this next stunt, Cruise insisted his be wide open.
The infamous “knife-to-eye” scene involved a real knife being propelled full force at his eye, stopping precisely one quarter-inch away from his eyeball, as opposed to somewhere vaguely near his eye like director Woo had suggested, per theMission: ImpossibleIIBlu-Raybehind-the-scenes clip.
03of 10Tom Cruise’s Skyscraper Run in Mission: Impossible Ghost ProtocolDavid James/ParamountOne of Cruise’s most famous stunts took place inMission: Impossible Ghost Protocolwhen he scaled down the side of a building. But not just any building! He scaled the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai.To complete this daunting task, Cruise’s character Tom Hunt sported special suction gloves in order to reach the 130th floor of the 2,722-foot skyscraper before rappelling down and concluding with a giant leap of faith.“One night, after one of the earliest shooting days, I bolted up in bed realizing that we had our star dangling about a mile up in the air on a thin wire and my brain was screaming, ‘What the hell are we doing?’ " director Brad Bird told theNew York Daily News.
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Tom Cruise’s Skyscraper Run in Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
David James/Paramount
One of Cruise’s most famous stunts took place inMission: Impossible Ghost Protocolwhen he scaled down the side of a building. But not just any building! He scaled the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai.
To complete this daunting task, Cruise’s character Tom Hunt sported special suction gloves in order to reach the 130th floor of the 2,722-foot skyscraper before rappelling down and concluding with a giant leap of faith.
“One night, after one of the earliest shooting days, I bolted up in bed realizing that we had our star dangling about a mile up in the air on a thin wire and my brain was screaming, ‘What the hell are we doing?’ " director Brad Bird told theNew York Daily News.
04of 10Tom Cruise’s Exoskeleton Armor in Edge of TomorrowDavid James/Warner Bros.While the stunts in Edge of Tomorrow were nonetheless next-level, it was the costume that posedeven more of a challenge! Cruise sported metal exoskeleton armor, a detail that’s typically added via CGI in post production.But naturally, the daredevil actor opted to wear the heavy suit — with one version weighing roughly 85 pounds, costume designer Pierre Bohanna toldEntertainment Weekly.“They’re brash, quickly-made pieces of equipment. So you’ve got to see the guys struggling in them,” Bohanna said. “But it’s a massive worry when you take something like this and put someone like Tom in there. It’s a massive ask for anyone to put up with, let alone somebody that important.”
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Tom Cruise’s Exoskeleton Armor in Edge of Tomorrow
David James/Warner Bros.
While the stunts in Edge of Tomorrow were nonetheless next-level, it was the costume that posedeven more of a challenge! Cruise sported metal exoskeleton armor, a detail that’s typically added via CGI in post production.
But naturally, the daredevil actor opted to wear the heavy suit — with one version weighing roughly 85 pounds, costume designer Pierre Bohanna toldEntertainment Weekly.
“They’re brash, quickly-made pieces of equipment. So you’ve got to see the guys struggling in them,” Bohanna said. “But it’s a massive worry when you take something like this and put someone like Tom in there. It’s a massive ask for anyone to put up with, let alone somebody that important.”
05of 10Tom Cruise’s Plane Hang in Mission: Impossible Rogue NationParamountTheTop Gunalumnus is no stranger to action-packed air travel, but his stunt in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is incomparable to say the least.WhileTop Gunhad Cruise daringly fly and pilot fighter planes,Rogue Nationsaw the actor cling onto one from the outside!Using only his fingertips, he dangled 1,000 feet in the air from the side of an Airbus A400M at a speed of 100 knots for six to eight minutes, the film’s photography director, Robert Elswit, toldThe Hollywood Reporter.In order to safely accomplish the stunt, Cruise was attached via a wire that was later erased in post production. He also wore protective contacts to shield his eyes from flying debris and intense gusts of wind, per CNN.
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Tom Cruise’s Plane Hang in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation
TheTop Gunalumnus is no stranger to action-packed air travel, but his stunt in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is incomparable to say the least.
WhileTop Gunhad Cruise daringly fly and pilot fighter planes,Rogue Nationsaw the actor cling onto one from the outside!
Using only his fingertips, he dangled 1,000 feet in the air from the side of an Airbus A400M at a speed of 100 knots for six to eight minutes, the film’s photography director, Robert Elswit, toldThe Hollywood Reporter.
In order to safely accomplish the stunt, Cruise was attached via a wire that was later erased in post production. He also wore protective contacts to shield his eyes from flying debris and intense gusts of wind, per CNN.
06of 10Tom Cruise’s Zero-Gravity Stunt in The MummyUniversalEver wonder how actors recreate a cargo plane plummeting to the ground? Ask Cruise, who did just that during the infamous plane crash sequence inThe Mummy.In true Cruise fashion, the actor opted for 64 takes in zero gravity, as opposed to the suggested sound stage alternative, perVariety.
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Tom Cruise’s Zero-Gravity Stunt in The Mummy
Universal
Ever wonder how actors recreate a cargo plane plummeting to the ground? Ask Cruise, who did just that during the infamous plane crash sequence inThe Mummy.
In true Cruise fashion, the actor opted for 64 takes in zero gravity, as opposed to the suggested sound stage alternative, perVariety.
07of 10Tom Cruise’s Helicopter Hang in Mission: Impossible Fall OutParamountCruise was offered to shoot thisdauntingMission: Impossible Fall Outsceneon a backlot with a green screen, but that’s just so out of character.To complete the stunt, the actor endured 16 hours of intensive helicopter training every day for more than a month in order to pull off the scene’s difficult maneuvers and climactic downward spiral, per theLos Angeles Times.“It’s all Tom flying, 100 percent of it. There’s a lot of jeopardy,” the film’s stunt coordinator, Wade Eastwood, told the outlet.As for the crash sequence, “It’s kind of like being in a theme park ride but really dangerous because your limbs are flying everywhere and all you need to do is catch your wrist in the wrong place and that’s a permanent injury,” costar Henry Cavill added.
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Tom Cruise’s Helicopter Hang in Mission: Impossible Fall Out
Cruise was offered to shoot thisdauntingMission: Impossible Fall Outsceneon a backlot with a green screen, but that’s just so out of character.
To complete the stunt, the actor endured 16 hours of intensive helicopter training every day for more than a month in order to pull off the scene’s difficult maneuvers and climactic downward spiral, per theLos Angeles Times.
“It’s all Tom flying, 100 percent of it. There’s a lot of jeopardy,” the film’s stunt coordinator, Wade Eastwood, told the outlet.
As for the crash sequence, “It’s kind of like being in a theme park ride but really dangerous because your limbs are flying everywhere and all you need to do is catch your wrist in the wrong place and that’s a permanent injury,” costar Henry Cavill added.
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Tom Cruise’s Building Jump in Mission: Impossible Fall Out
To film the chase scene, Cruise was attached totwo safety harnessesas he sprinted off one building, leaped off, and crashed against the side of the other before hoisting himself up (only to then keep running again).
Unfortunately for Cruise, the “easy” stunt did go wrong, resulting in a broken ankle for the actor, he told Jimmy Fallon onThe Tonight Show.
09of 10Tom Cruise’s Cockpit Scene in Top Gun: MaverickParamountIn the blockbuster sequel to Cruise’s 1986Top Gun, the cockpit scene inTop Gun: Maverickwas — you guessed it — extremely dangerous.All of the actors wereprofessionally trainedto pilot their individual fighter planes themselves.“We worked with the Navy and the Top Gun School to formulate how to shoot it practically because if we’re going to do it, we’re going to fly in the F-18s,” said Cruise in a behind-the-scenesParamount Picturesvideo clip.
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Tom Cruise’s Cockpit Scene in Top Gun: Maverick
In the blockbuster sequel to Cruise’s 1986Top Gun, the cockpit scene inTop Gun: Maverickwas — you guessed it — extremely dangerous.
All of the actors wereprofessionally trainedto pilot their individual fighter planes themselves.
“We worked with the Navy and the Top Gun School to formulate how to shoot it practically because if we’re going to do it, we’re going to fly in the F-18s,” said Cruise in a behind-the-scenesParamount Picturesvideo clip.
10of 10Tom Cruise’s Motorcycle Jump in Mission: Impossible Dead ReckoningValentine/Bridger/Dean/SplashNews.comThe seventh installment of theMission: Impossible franchise,Dead ReckoningPart One, which is set to release in 2023, will see Cruise take on one of hismost daring duties to date.In the film, he rides a motorcycle off a massive ramp, flies into the sky, and parachutes his way down to safety — all while cameras are rolling and helicopters are following him to get the shot, perToday.
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Tom Cruise’s Motorcycle Jump in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning
Valentine/Bridger/Dean/SplashNews.com
The seventh installment of theMission: Impossible franchise,Dead ReckoningPart One, which is set to release in 2023, will see Cruise take on one of hismost daring duties to date.
In the film, he rides a motorcycle off a massive ramp, flies into the sky, and parachutes his way down to safety — all while cameras are rolling and helicopters are following him to get the shot, perToday.
source: people.com
