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It’s absolutely no surprise that Tom Cruise takes all of his movie stunts very seriously. Like many actors, he prefers to do his own, opting for the best form of authenticity for the big screen. It’s commendable how he puts himself in harm’s way for his love of film, and with Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning: Part One coming out, we can fondly remember all of the stunts that Tom Cruise has done once more.
Here are the five most dangerous stunts that Tom Cruise has performed in the Mission: Impossible franchise.
The Motorbike Chase (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation)
Many call this chase sequence the best one in the entire franchise. Taking place in Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation, Ethan and Benji (played by Simon Pegg) are chasing after Rebecca Furgeson’s character, Faust. Hunt abandons the car and opts for chasing her on a BMW motorcycle through the winding roads of Casablanca, Morocco. Though the pursuit of Faust is unsuccessful, there is no argument that the scene is beyond entertaining to watch. The title is definitely earned in a movie filled with iconic stunts. Unlike Cruise, Rebecca Furgeson opted for taking the safer route and letting her stunt double handle the absolute chaos that is this scene.
In the press coverage leading up to Rogue Nation, Cruise said that he started riding motorcycles at the age of 10. Christopher McQuarrie blended his skills from behind the camera and wrote the entire script revolving around the motorcycle chase. In behind-the-scenes footage, Tom Cruise reportedly reached speeds of 130mph without a helmet.
The Knife Fight (Mission: Impossible 2)
In Mission: Impossible 2, Dougray Scott’s villain Sean Ambrose gets into a knife fight with Tom Cruise‘s Ethan Hunt. During this third-act battle, his character tries to sink his knife into Ethan’s eye. The scene could have easily been performed with a fake knife or CGI and other technical effects, but this was Mission: Impossible. It needed to be as real as possible.
This scene deserves a medal for just how much tension is created. A knife being held mere centimeters from Tom Cruise’s eyeball is enough to make even the strongest of viewers cringe. As if watching it wasn’t enough, you then find out that co-star Dougray Scott leaned on the knife with all his weight, dedicated to getting the most realistic scene possible. The only protection provided was by a steel cable attached to an overhead rig on the knife. Other than that, nothing else was keeping Tom Cruise’s eye from an actual (and very sharp) knife.
The London Chase (Mission: Impossible – Fallout)
Though this handful of stunts doesn’t seem to hold a candle to all the other situations Cruise is in, this is the only one where Cruise actually got hurt. While filming the sixth Mission: Impossible movie, this scene, in particular, is where Tom Cruise broke his ankle. The exact moment it happened can be seen in the trailer and occurs as Ethan is jumping from rooftops in a London manhunt.
Tom Cruise, being the professional actor that he is, actually finished the scene despite his newly broken ankle. Along with being in the trailer, the take is also in the movie. Filming for the movie was delayed until Cruise’s ankle was healed. While no injury is the preferred outcome, this injury showed just how dedicated Tom Cruise is to getting the perfect shot. It didn’t hinder the continued filming for Fallout, and it didn’t affect Cruise’s need for adrenaline-pumping stunts in future movies.
Hanging From a Plane (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation)
A lot of the marketing for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation revolved around this scene. Tom Cruise’s character Ethan is seen hanging from the side of a plane in Minsk, Belarus as it takes off. At the time (2015), this was the most impressive stunt that Cruise had performed. Fans were surprised to see that this was, in fact, the opening scene in the movie. Stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood managed to create an impressive feat with director Christopher McQuarrie.
Filming this scene reportedly required 8 separate takes. Each one required Cruise to hang onto the side of a flying A400M. Of course, the necessary safety precautions were taken as speeds quickly reached around 260mph, but it also required something else. A special safety harness was made that bolted Cruise to the side of the plane no matter where his hands went. Still, performing this (8 times) was a very daunting task for Cruise to perform and for audiences to watch.
Ethan’s Bike Cliff Jump (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One)
This is the one stunt we’ve all seen in the trailers for the new Mission: Impossible movie: Ethan riding his motorcycle in a forest and then plummeting down the side of a cliff. Cruise himself said it’s the stunt he’s always wanted to perform since he was a child, and the sequence truly is a feat. The only CGI used in the scene was the ramp. It was edited into the edge of the cliff seen in the trailer.
The scene was shot in Norway. In an interview with the actor, Cruise said that he performed around 13,000 training jumps and 8 runs of this stunt in particular for the sequence to go off without any problems. We don’t know if this is the craziest stunt we’ll see performed in Dead Reckoning, but this one set the bar incredibly high for future installments.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is currently out in theaters.
