Tom Cruise performing dangerous Mission: Impossible stunts has become a hallmark of the beloved film series, as the actor consistently pushes physical boundaries to deliver authentic and groundbreaking action. With the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Cruise shows once again just how far he is willing to go, setting a new bar for action cinema through real stunts that redefine the genre.
How Cruise’s Commitment Has Raised the Bar for Action Sequences
Over the course of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Tom Cruise has escalated his daring feats to a level few actors dare to emulate, making each film an event for thrill-seeking audiences. The newest installment, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, continues this tradition with an adrenaline-charged lineup of death-defying moments that test the very limits of what is possible on screen. As audiences flock to theaters, it is clear that Cruise’s bold approach directly influences how action films are made and received.
In Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Cruise’s pursuit of authentic spectacle translated into a motorcycle chase, an underwater sequence where he held his breath for six minutes, and a jaw-dropping moment that has entered cinematic history: the film’s opening, which saw him clinging to the outside of an ascending aircraft. Each of these moments, including wild car chases and perilous stunts, contributed to raising expectations for the genre and the franchise alike, and further highlighted Cruise’s commitment to challenging himself and his stunt coordinator team on every shoot.
Cruise’s Relentless Approach to On-Screen Danger
Echoing his character Ethan Hunt’s fearlessness, Tom Cruise is notorious for refusing to use stunt doubles, choosing instead to perform nearly all of his own high-risk scenes. The Mission: Impossible series has served as a platform for Cruise’s reputation as a true risk-taker, both on rooftops and thousands of feet above the ground. For Fallout, for instance, Cruise rehearsed for a dangerous HALO jump by performing over 100 skydives prior to shooting, while for Ghost Protocol, he famously scaled Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building—an achievement often cited among the best movie stunts ever filmed. Despite the memorable spectacle found throughout the franchise, it is perhaps Rogue Nation’s airplane stunt that best captures the sheer scale of his daring.
Box office reports from the latest Mission: Impossible installment revealed record-breaking numbers, further cementing the appeal of these stunts for global audiences. Behind every successful scene is meticulous planning, and often, the calculated risks involved approach the edge of disaster. During production, director Christopher McQuarrie relied heavily on Cruise’s level-headedness and physical preparedness, despite the extreme hazards each stunt presented.
Inside the Striking Airplane Sequence
Cruise’s dedication was summed up during filming of the infamous airplane scene on an Airbus during Rogue Nation, where he faced wind speeds exceeding 100 mph with nothing shielding him from the elements or the onslaught of debris. Before performing, he reassured director McQuarrie:
If it looks like I’m terrified, it’s just performance.
—Christopher McQuarrie, Director. For this gravity-defying moment, Cruise was attached to the aircraft by a single safety line as it climbed sharply into the sky. Even with these precautions, the director explained there was still a real risk that Cruise could be torn from the plane or struck by high-speed objects, such as a bird or flying debris.
Multiple uncontrollable variables added to the tension of the moment. The force generated by the aircraft’s ascent, unpredictability of potential bird strikes, and possible hazardous debris all hovered over the set—concerns that no amount of planning could fully eliminate for the insurance team or the plane company’s representative on standby. Despite these dangers, Cruise proceeded with the sequence, underscoring his unwavering focus and the immense trust in his stunt coordinator and filming crew.
Pushing Boundaries With Every Shot
Preparation for these extreme stunts involved not just refining physical performance, but also working closely with representatives from the involved companies and the full creative team. Even so, as the moment of the airplane takeoff approached, Cruise admitted to experiencing a sleepless night. Wardrobe—and the demands of believability—limited the amount of protective gear he could wear, but special arrangements were still made: Cruise was given hearing protection and contact lenses, and to minimize the risk of a bird strike, he kept close to the body of the aircraft while suspended outside.
In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Cruise described just how daunting these sequences could be:
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,
—Jimmy Fallon, Talk Show Host, he revealed he sometimes second-guessed the stunts. However, he clarified where his mind focused during the real moments of danger:
I think about the audience, I think about the shots.
—Jimmy Fallon, Talk Show Host. His concentration on achieving the perfect shot led him to repeat the breathtaking airplane stunt seven times until he and director McQuarrie were fully satisfied with the results.
Cruise’s Ongoing Legacy in the Mission: Impossible Franchise
The risk-taking that Tom Cruise displays on set is mirrored by the Mission: Impossible filmmakers, from the stunt coordinator to the insurance team and beyond, all working collaboratively to keep the production on track. These close partnerships with directors and representatives from every department have allowed the series to continually push practical effects and action choreography to new places—whether running across rooftops, leaping onto the bar of a moving helicopter, or executing a perfect high-altitude jump.
Tom Cruise has hinted before that his days as Ethan Hunt may not yet be over, and he has now reaffirmed his commitment to entertaining audiences in films to come. Each new installment in the Mission: Impossible series raises the stakes for action sequences, challenging what is possible on screen and redefining the limits of practical filmmaking, largely due to Cruise’s relentless pursuit of excellence and drive to astonish audiences. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is now showing, delivering the kind of authentic thrills that can be traced back to one man’s fearless dedication: Tom Cruise himself.
