The Preparation Tom Cruise Put In For His “Most Dangerous” ‘Mission: Impossible’ Stunt Ever Is Simply Absurd

tom cruise mission impossible

Paramount Pictures


Scientology and Kate Holmes-induced derangement aside (give that one a Google, Gen Z), you simply have to respect Tom Cruise. In the 80s and the early 90s, not only was he one of the biggest movie stars in the game but he was a legit dramatic actor, as well, starring in films such as The Color of Money, Rain Man, Born on the Fourth of July, A Few Good Men, and The Firm.

Then, as both the century and millennium were winding down, Cruise starred in an action film from legendary Scarface filmmaker Brian De Palma (I bet you didn’t even know he directed that), and in the two-plus decades since, has never looked back.

Sure, there’s a Collateral here and a The Last Samuari there, but largely, Cruise’s 21st-century filmography has consisted of films like Minority Report, War of the Worlds, Jack Reacher, Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrow, The Mummy (yikes), and, of course, the Mission: Impossible franchise, perhaps the only film series in Hollywood that seems to get better with each passing film, largely due to Cruise’s unwavering commitment to excellence.

That commitment to making as awesome of a film as possible has led Cruise, now 59-years-old, to do some pretty wild stunts over the year, such as hanging off the side of a plane for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. All that said, what Cruise is doing in the still-untitled Mission: Impossible 7 is the “most dangerous” he’s ever attempted.

Speaking in a behind-the-scenes clip CinemaCon on Thursday, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie teased the film, with Cruise’s stuntwork, in particular, taking center stage.

“This is far and away the most dangerous thing I’ve attempted; we’ve been working on this for years. I wanted to do it since I was a little kid,” said Cruise.

According to reports, in order to train for the stunt, Cruise completed about 500 skydivers and 13,000 motocross jumps on a specially constructed track over the course of an entire year.

At this stage, it wouldn’t shock me if when Tom Cruise is approaching 80ish, his final role will involve him literally dying on screen and he’ll be happy to do it. In fact, he’ll likely be the one to mastermind it.

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