Tom Cruise’s Olympics stunt follows decades of death-defying performances

Tom Cruise has confirmed to be one of probably the most daring actors in Hollywood.

All through his profession, Cruise has starred in lots of motion motion pictures, most notably the “Mission: Impossible” and “Top Gun” franchises. Whereas most stars decide to have stunt doubles carry out the extra harmful scenes of their movies, Cruise likes to carry out them himself.

The actor proved himself as soon as once more, performing a jaw-dropping stunt through the closing ceremonies on the 2024 Olympic Video games in Paris.

Tom Cruise at premiere for “Mission: Impossible” (Don Arnold/WireImage)

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Following a efficiency of “The Star Spangled Banner” by H.E.R., the digicam panned to indicate Cruise standing on the prime of the State de France. He then jumped off the roof of the sector, hovering by the sky, earlier than touchdown close to the athletes who competed within the video games, giving all of them high-fives as he made his method to the stage.

As soon as on stage, Cruise was handed the flag by Simone Biles and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, for him to deliver it to Los Angeles, the place the 2028 Olympic Video games are set to happen.

“Thank you, Paris! Now off to LA,” Cruise shared on X.

The stunt ended with a prerecorded video of Cruise on prime of the Hollywood signal, which was configured to indicate the Olympic rings. Cruise was noticed filming the stunt in March when he flashed his abs on the digicam whereas posing on prime of the landmark.

Tom Cruise waived the Olympic flag on stage on the closing ceremony. (Getty Photos)

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So how is he in a position to pull off such demanding stunts?

Based on Christine Haas, leisure PR skilled and CEO of Haas Media, it is because of the constant work he is put into the physique over time.

“Tom Cruise is notorious for his physical fitness and overall rigorous discipline,” Haas defined to Fox Information Digital. “After speaking with a director who worked very closely with Tom Cruise over the past decade, it was very apparent that he has a high level of energy and is consistently auditing his behavior and actions daily with the help of his Scientology team.”

“This level of demand and drive allows him to defy age and perform physically demanding stunts, leading to the consistent development of a masterful personal brand.”

However these stunts pose a critical danger. Doug Eldridge of Achilles PR defined to Fox Information Digital that Keanu Reeves additionally did most of his stunts all through the “John Wick” franchise, however Reeves and Cruise are actually the one ones taking part in that twin position — of actor and stuntman — in Hollywood today.
 

Keanu Reeves is understood to do his personal harmful stunts. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

“Insurance is a big factor in all of this,” he defined. “Studios have to take out aggressive policies to cover actors, stunt sequences, set locations, etc. From their point of view, the idea of Cruise holding onto the wing of an airplane or jumping a cliff on a motorcycle has really become a one-off in Hollywood.”

“Few (if any) actors have the desire or dedication to do it, and even fewer studios have the willingness to underwrite that type of effort. In a sense, this is almost a ‘grandfathered’ aspect of Old Hollywood — Cruise is the last and only one doing this type of stunt work; when he’s done, that niche and chapter will close with him.”

Haas advised, “I believe he is one of very few celebrities who can continue with these types of risks because of the intense physical and mental protocol he lives by … without that consistent training, it would be far more dangerous. Like someone training for a marathon, he stays prepared instead of allowing his fitness level to regress and expose him to injuries.”

Here’s a look again at some of the actor’s most death-defying stunts over time.

HALO Leap 

Tom Cruise carried out what’s referred to as the HALO Leap, which consists of leaping out of a airplane flying at 25,000 toes. (Paramount)

The sixth installment within the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” featured a quantity of loopy stunts, together with what is called the HALO leap.

Often performed by army particular forces, HALO stands for “high altitude, low opening.” In the course of the parachute leap, a person jumps out of a airplane at an especially excessive altitude, normally 25,000 to 40,000 toes, and does not open their parachute till they’re about 800 toes from the bottom. Based on the Nationwide Air and Area Museum, a mean skydiver will solely go as much as 15,000 toes and deploy their parachute at 3,000 toes.

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Tom Cruise had to wear a special helmet, which also acted as an oxygen mask while doing the stunt. (The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images)

One of the biggest concerns about the stunt was the possibility of losing oxygen when jumping from such a height. According to the Hollywood Reporter, a special helmet was made to allow Cruise to execute the stunt, which also acted as an oxygen mask and a windshield to protect his face.

“The aircraft is going between these C-17s between 160 and 200 miles an hour, so at that level of turbulence, we had to find a way to exit the aircraft,” Cruise said in a behind-the-scenes feature. “Then it was, we only got one take a day. I spent the whole day training and at night we would get that one take, and if there was one mistake, that was it, the take was gone.”

Cruise practiced the jump throughout the day at lower altitudes and only had one chance each day to get the stunt right. (Visual China Group via Getty Images/Visual China Group via Getty Images)

They ended up doing more than 100 takes to get the shot just right.

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Enterprise Insider reported that the stunt, which was being filmed in England, nearly did not occur as a result of the Royal Air Power did not assume it was secure and insisted they do the leap from a decrease altitude.

“Tom didn’t want to fake it — he wanted to do it for real at 25,000 feet,” stunt coordinator Allan Hewitt informed the outlet. “But the producers said they weren’t going to another country. It really looked like we were going to fake it with the RAF.”

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They had been finally in a position to movie the stunt how they wished after manufacturing was halted attributable to Cruise injuring himself, inflicting them to overlook the window of alternative the RAF had put aside to movie with them. They ended up filming the stunt in Abu Dhabi to get the scene how they wished it.

Cruise constantly pushes the boundaries as he performs harmful stunts. (Cheriss Could/NurPhoto through Getty Photos)

“If Tom didn’t break his ankle, we would have ended up faking it, which nobody wanted,” Hewitt stated.

Damaged Bones

Tom Cruise broke his ankle when he jumped from one constructing to a different whereas filming “Mission: Impossible – Fallout.” (Paramount)

Though it does not look like his most harmful stunt on this listing, leaping from one constructing to a different for “Mission Impossible – Fallout” left Cruise with a damaged ankle.

The star’s damage prompted manufacturing on the film to be delayed for a number of months whereas he healed. In an interview on “The Graham Norton Show,” Cruise revealed he went again to filming the film earlier than his leg had fully healed with the intention to end the movie in time to satisfy the discharge date.

Based on the movie’s author and director, Christopher McQuarrie, the stunt by no means concerned Cruise efficiently making the leap and touchdown on the roof of the second constructing.

“He was always supposed to slam into the side of the building. That’s what gives the stunt its energy,” McQuarrie informed Empire in August 2017. “On the fourth try, he hit the building at a slightly different angle, and he broke his ankle.”

Cruise and the remaining of the “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” solid watched footage of him breaking his ankle whereas they had been on “The Graham Norton Show.” (Han Myung-Gu/Getty Photos for Paramount Photos)

Whereas on “The Graham Norton Show,” Cruise and the remaining of the “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” solid watched footage of the actor’s accident, with Norton declaring that Cruise continued performing and completed the scene even after the break.

“I didn’t want to do it again,” Cruise stated. “I knew instantly it was broken, and I just run past camera. We got the shot, it’s in the movie. That profile shot, both the shots are in the movie. … I just went, I said, ‘Sorry guys, it’s broken. Take me to the hospital, it’s broken. That’s a wrap.’ The crew got on the phone and made their vacation arrangements.”

Hanging off the Burj Khalifa

Tom Cruise scaled the tallest constructing on this planet, the Burj Khalifa, as half of a stunt for “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.” (Paramount)

One of probably the most harmful stunts Cruise has ever pulled off in a “Mission: Impossible” film got here within the franchise’s fourth installment, “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.”

Cruise first climbs 200 toes up the aspect of the world’s tallest constructing, the Burj Khalifa, and finally finally ends up hanging out of one of the constructing’s home windows, all whereas 1,700 toes within the air.

At first, manufacturing was not sure if the house owners of the Burj Khalifa would permit them to movie on the constructing, in order that they constructed three flooring of the outside in a soundstage. Based on the movie’s stunt coordinator, Gregg Smrz, the proprietor initially solely allowed them to movie on-site for someday. Nonetheless, after a terrific first day of filming, he allowed them to come back again, and the soundstage was solely used as soon as.

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“That was probably the most nail-biting day of the show,” Smrz informed Yahoo Information in 2021 about filming Cruise’s fall from the constructing. “Somebody said, ‘What if the cable breaks?’ And I said, ‘That’s not an option.’ We actually did the math, and there was enough time of free fall for him to text me on the way down and for me to receive it!”

Stunt coordinator, Gregg Smrz, was very nervous when filming the scene by which Cruise falls out of a window of the Burj Khalifa. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Photos for DIFF)

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Not solely did Cruise full the stunt with out getting damage, he additionally determined to take issues a step additional and pose for an image sitting on the very prime of the constructing. He was taken to the highest with a helicopter and posed with out being connected to any wires.

He mentioned the image throughout an look on “The Graham Norton Show” in 2014, revealing, “I didn’t feel like I would fall. I wasn’t thinking of falling that day. … I don’t feel invulnerable, but I didn’t feel necessarily vulnerable.”

Hanging on for expensive life

Tom Cruise tried one of his most harmful stunts when he agreed to hold off the aspect of a airplane whereas it took off in “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.” (Paramount)

The opening scene of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” featured one of Cruise’s most death-defying stunts.

Within the scene, Cruise hangs on to the door of an Airbus 400 because it takes off and flies round for at the very least six to seven minutes at a minimal of 1,000 toes, and he continued to hold on because the airplane landed and taxied on the runway.

Many measures had been taken to make sure Cruise can be secure whereas performing the stunt, together with offering the actor with specifically made contact lenses to guard his eyes.

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“Tom was in a full body harness, and he’s cabled and wired to the plane through [its] door,” cinematographer Robert Elswit informed The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. “Inside the aircraft was an aluminum truss that was carefully bolted to the plane, which held the wires that went through the door, which held Tom.”

Cruise clung to the aspect of an Airbus A400 for the opening scene of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. (Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

To successfully capture the stunt, a camera was mounted onto the plane and a helicopter flew next to the plane to capture shots of Cruise hanging onto the door. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Cruise explained they did the stunt eight times in freezing temperatures.

Elswit called Cruise “probably the most obsessive artist” and said the actor probably wouldn’t want the sequence to be in the movie if a stunt double was used. “I’m all the time shocked. What inside of him makes it doable for anyone to try this form of s— and never be scared s—less? He loves it,” Elswit said.

“I could not sleep the evening earlier than, and I used to be simply going by my thoughts, ‘Did we check everything?’ after which got here the day. I used to be like, ‘OK, that is actually going to occur,” Cruise said in a behind-the-scenes featurette of the film.

Cruise told Entertainment Tonight that the only thing he was thinking when he was getting ready for the stunt was “Holy s—.”

Cruise admits to feeling worry when performing stunts for his motion pictures however says he does not let that worry cease him. (Ilgan Sports activities/Multi-Bits through Getty Photos)

“Taking place that runway, I used to be considering, ‘Holy s—!’” Cruise said. “It is not that you do not really feel that worry, it is simply it does not cease me from doing it. I form of take pleasure in that feeling. … We went from the studio to the airport, and it was a foggy, wet evening, and we landed and this factor simply regarded like a beast. It was within the fog and it was lit. It was simply sitting there, like, ‘Yeah!'”

Free climbing

Tom Cruise refused to allow a stunt double to perform the stunt in his place, insisting he perform the stunt himself. (Paramount)

Cruise climbed the side of a rock for the dangerous opening scene of “Mission: Inconceivable 2.”

Not only did he have to climb the boulder, he had to jump across a gap between two rocks, simulate a fall and then hang from a rock ledge before pulling himself up onto the rock.

Producers tried to convince the actor to perform the stunt on a sound stage, but Cruise was adamant about doing the scene in the deserts of Moab, Utah. The film’s director, John Woo, told “Leisure Weekly,” “I attempted to cease him and I couldn’t,” admitting he “couldn’t even watch the monitor” while filming.

In a behind-the-scenes featurette for the film, Cruise explained he didn’t blame Woo for being so nervous on the set, saying, “John was so nervous that I’d plummet to my demise.”

Tom Cruise attends the premiere for the second installment of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise. (Antony Jones/UK Press through Getty Photos)

“We had five cameras on the cliff, including a helicopter camera, a camera on a crane and cameramen hanging from safety cables, but we had focus problems, so we had to do it again and again,” Woo informed Leisure Weekly. “But Tom would say, ‘I’m OK, John, don’t worry, I want to do it one more time.'”

“The opening sequence just wouldn’t have been the same if he hadn’t done it himself,” co-star John Polson informed Leisure Weekly. “No amount of special effects can make you feel like that because you can tell that it’s really just him.”

Whereas everybody on the set was nervous, Cruise defined in a behind-the-scenes featurette that he was simply excited to climb.

In a behind-the-scenes function for the film, Cruise stated he is by no means been afraid of heights and had all the time wished to climb. (Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photograph Financial institution/NBCUniversal through Getty Photos through Getty Photos)

“I’ve always wanted to climb, and I love climbing, and I’m always working … with the kids and with Nic (then-wife Nicole Kidman), so this gives me a good excuse. I get to climb with the world’s greatest,” Cruise stated. “I’ve never had a problem with heights. As a kid, anytime I’d get to the edge, I’d want to jump off. I don’t know what it is, it’s subconscious. I don’t want to kill myself, I want to fly.”

Helicopter hanging

Tom Cruise climbed up a rope to the within of a helicopter after which flew the automobile whereas filming “Mission: Impossible – Fallout.” (Paramount)

In yet one more death-defying stunt, Cruise hangs from a rope connected to a flying helicopter in a scene for “Mission: Impossible – Fallout.” 

The scene required Cruise to fly a helicopter, so he took the required 2,000 hours of in-flight coaching and received his pilot’s license.

“I remember it was freezing, my hands were numb,” Cruise stated about climbing to the helicopter in a behind-the-scenes video. “I have to try to climb as fast as I can up that rope, and then it’s a free-fall to the bag.”

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Whereas Cruise knew he was totally in management of the stunt, his co-stars watching from the bottom had been terrified.

“I actually thought he fell, and I heard myself scream,” Rebecca Ferguson stated within the Blu-ray interview, and Henry Cavill added, “There was an audible gasp from the crowd. That’s a huge drop.”

Cruise’s co-star, Rebecca Ferguson, thought Cruise truly fell when he carried out the free-fall portion of the stunt. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Photos for Paramount Photos)

In a behind-the-scenes clip detailing the stunt, producer Jake Myers defined that probably the most nerve-wracking half of filming the helicopter chase was the 360-degree barrel roll he wanted to execute, saying it’s so harmful even most seasoned pilots will not attempt it.

“Flying a helicopter takes a lot of skill,” aerial coordinator Marc Wolff defined within the function. “To put someone like Tom in a situation like this is almost impossible to imagine.”

Myers defined that when a helicopter chase is filmed, there sometimes aren’t cameras pointed towards the pilot, however they wished to ensure audiences knew Cruise was the one actually piloting the plane, in order that they discovered a method to mount cameras on all sides of the helicopter to showcase Cruise’s new expertise.

Whereas filming the seventh “Mission: Impossible” film, Cruise landed his helicopter within the backyard of a British household. (James Devaney/GC Photos)

Since studying to pilot a helicopter for the film, Cruise has flown many extra occasions, and he has been identified to land in some questionable locations. When filming “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1,” the airport was closed and Cruise was compelled to land his helicopter within the yard of a British household. They weren’t informed who was within the helicopter, solely that it was a “VIP who was running late.”

“I thought it would be kind of cool for the kids to see the helicopter land in the garden,” Alison Webb, the proprietor of the house, informed the BBC. “He basically arrived and got out, and it was like, ‘Wow.’ He went straight over to the children for a chat, then came over and elbow-bumped us and said thank you very much. Then he said if the kids would like, they could go up in the helicopter.”

Underwater mayhem

Tom Cruise needed to be taught to carry his breath for six minutes with the intention to movie a scene in “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.” (Paramount)

One of probably the most spectacular stunts Cruise carried out was for “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,” when Cruise filmed a scene underwater, holding his breath for six minutes.

Whereas it was doable to movie the scene utilizing CGI or take frequent breaks for Cruise to catch his breath, the actor insisted the stunt be as reasonable as doable and skilled himself to carry his breath for a record-breaking 6 and a half minutes.

Tom Cruise is rarely afraid to get harmful. (JC Olivera)

“Normally in underwater sequences, people hold their breath for 10 seconds, 15 seconds max,” Cruise stated in a behind-the-scenes video. “So, I had to prove to everyone that it was actually safe and spend time with the safety guys and the safety officers to show them, look, not only is it safe, it’s better that I know how to hold my breath because I’m going to be very relaxed. No one’s going to have to rush in, no one’s going to have to panic.”

The free-diving skilled on the set, Kirk Krack, defined that he skilled Cruise utilizing a breath-hold specialization program that’s used for the army. Crew members had been each shocked and terrified whereas watching Cruise practice, with one individual saying within the video, “Tom’s very comfortable underwater, and he likes to challenge the crew by staying under longer than he should on a breath-hold, get us all worried.”

Cruise needed to persuade producers it was secure for him to be taught to carry his breath underwater for a number of minutes. (Yuriko Nakao/Getty Photos for Paramount Photos Worldwide)

Cruise spoke in regards to the expertise on “The Graham Norton Show” in 2016, saying it took quite a bit of observe to get previous the ache of pushing his physique to the restrict, and he defined the agony he felt the primary few occasions he tried it.

“You have these free divers that came in and trained me how to do it. It’s not pleasant,” Cruise stated on the present. “You get to the moment where you train your system to, ‘I’m controlling the breath.’ I’ve got a low heart rate anyway, very low heart rate, which means my body’s not using as much oxygen, but also we did stuff to bring the heart rate down even lower and certain breathing exercises.”

Cruise held the file for the longest breath maintain for an actor till lately, when Kate Winslet surpassed his time by holding her breath for 7 minutes and 14 seconds whereas coaching for “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

Kate Winslet broke Tom Cruise’s file for the longest breath maintain, reaching 7 minutes and 14 seconds whereas coaching for “Avatar: The Way of Water.” (Mike Marsland/WireImage)

“Poor Tom,” the actress informed USA At this time in December 2022. “I mean, I don’t know Tom at all – I’ve never met him in my life – but I’m sure he’s getting very fed up of hearing this story of how I broke his record. I loved it, though. … I was amazed how good I was at it and how I just kept getting better.”

Essentially the most harmful stunt so far

Tom Cruise pulled off his most harmful stunt so far when he drove a motorbike off a cliff in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1.” (Paramount)

Within the seventh film within the franchise, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” Cruise performs what he’s calling his most harmful stunt to this point.

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The stunt consists of Cruise driving a motorbike off an extended ramp positioned on the edge of a cliff after which instantly participating in a base leap. 

Tom Cruise is one of the only a few performers snug sufficient to carry out their very own stunts. (Joseph Okpako/WireImage)

“This is far and away the most dangerous thing we’ve ever attempted. We’ve been wanting to do this for years,” Cruise stated in a behind-the-scenes take a look at the stunt. “Wanted to do it since I was a little kid. It all comes down to one thing: the audience.”

Based on the movie’s stunt coordinator, Wade Eastwood, Cruise put collectively a staff of consultants in a quantity of specialties, together with BASE coaching and cover coaching, in addition to intense skydiving coaching and motocross coaching.

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Cruise skilled in a quantity of completely different specialties with the intention to correctly execute the movie’s largest stunt. (Mark Thompson/Getty Photos)

“I had about six seconds once I departed the ramp to pull the chute, and I don’t want to get tangled in the bike,” Cruise informed Empire journal in October 2021. “If I do, that’s not going to end well.”

As a way to get the stunt good, Cruise practiced the bottom leap with 30 skydiving workout routines a day, amounting to greater than 500 dives, in addition to 13,000 motocross jumps. Replicas of the ultimate ramp had been constructed in a subject in England for Cruise to observe the stunt.

Cruise spoke with “Extra” on the New York Metropolis premiere of the movie in July 2023, saying that “a lot of training” went into ensuring the stunt went proper on the day.

“Years and years of all the motorcycle and all the parachutes, and then we just refined it and had to do it,” Cruise stated on the pink carpet. “We didn’t know what was going to happen on that motorcycle when it went off. It was very interesting. It was exciting. … It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. When I was a little kid, I used to build ramps and go off and have some terrible crashes on my bicycles, but it was a lot of fun doing that.”

Cruise informed “Extra” the stunt within the newest film is one thing he has been getting ready for since he was a child. (Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Photos for Paramount Photos)

The long run of Tom Cruise, motion star

For decades now, Cruise has continued to push his physique to the boundaries, doing issues that almost all actors would by no means think about.

It is unclear how a lot stunt work Tom Cruise has left in him.

Based on Haas, “Regarding how long Tom Cruise can continue performing these dangerous stunts, it’s difficult for anyone to predict. Ultimately, the decision will depend on his personal judgment, the demands of the roles he chooses and the advice of his professional team.”

“However, it has become part of his legacy brand, and it’s clearly something that drives millions to the theaters. To say it’s impressive is quite the understatement.”

Tom Cruise might have years of motion motion pictures forward of him. (Getty Photos)

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Eldridge added, “Only Tom knows [how much longer he can keep going]. Fans love the fact that he doesn’t use a stunt double and seldom utilizes a green screen. That said, the only two ‘teams’ that are undefeated throughout history are Mother Nature and Father Time. Eventually, the latter will catch up with Cruise, but based on what we’re seeing in 2023, Tom still has a commanding lead.”

Lori Bashian is an leisure manufacturing assistant for Fox Information Digital.