When it comes to tackling death-defying stunts in movies, Tom Cruise doesn’t just take the easy way out — he leaps, literally! The Jack Reacher star never steered away from performing his own stunts and challenged himself by risking his life to film his action sequences.
Many filmmakers revealed that he’s the one who always insists on performing several white-knuckle stunts in the movies (particularly in the Mission Impossible franchise).
From holding his breath for six minutes and beholding a knife near his eye to riding a motorcycle off a cliff — these are some of the insane actions the actor has done in the M: I franchise.
Christopher McQuarrie, the director of three Mission: Impossible films, said the stunts come from the lead actor himself. He emphasized that normally, during the action movie shoot, most of the filmmakers try to hide the fact that it’s a stuntman and not the actor. But wasn’t the same in his case.
Tom Cruise Did Biggest Stunt in Cinema History in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Fans have witnessed Tom Cruise Burj climbing the tallest building in the world for Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, which got him up to 1,700 feet in the air.
But recently, the actor performed an even bigger death-defying motorcycle stunt in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and amazed the fans totally.
Paramount Pictures made a cool ten-minute video that shows how Cruise got ready for the stunt. He trained for years and did 500 skydives and 13,000 motocross jumps. The video by Paramount Pictures starts with the writer and director, Christopher McQuarrie, saying, “This is far and away the most dangerous thing we’ve ever attempted.”
Even a crewmember added that the actor did six takes of one of the “biggest stunts in cinema history.”
Tom Cruise’s Fierce Response to Why He Does His Own Stunts
Tom Cruise showed why he’s the biggest movie star in the world with his 45-minute masterclass at the Cannes Film Festival. At the event, he talked about his career, emphasizing learning the craft of cinema. He went on to say (as Variety reported):
“I’ve had some incredible times in my life. And I understand the business. I’ve been studying and learning all the way.”
The biggest reason for him is the constant learning that serves his audience, to which he added:
“I love my audience. I make movies for audiences. … I make movies for the big screen.”
The star even remembered his childhood adventure when he jumped off his house roof using a bedsheet as a parachute. When it comes to why he takes such risks for stunts in the Mission: Impossible movies, Cruise had this to say:
“No one asked Gene Kelly, ‘Why do you dance?’”
It’s clear Tom Cruise does his own stunts because he wants the audience to have the best experience. He thinks if he uses a stunt double, people can tell, and it ruins the movie for them.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
