Mission Impossible is a highly successful series consisting of action spy films. What makes the series more popular are the stunts, especially when Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) does not have a stunt double! That’s right all the stunts are done by Tom Cruise himself, and well let’s say he has got both the audience and the crew on the edge.
The Mission Impossible franchise is based on the 1966-1973 television series of the same name. It is the 18th highest-grossing film series of all time and has earned over $ 3.5 billion worldwide. The movies are known for their thrilling action sequences, intricate plots, and futuristic theme music.
Simon Pegg on Tom Cruise
In the premiere of the new movie, ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ in Rome, Simon Pegg told Deadline that the cast and crew often worry about Tom’s Safety when he carries out one of his iconic stunts.
“You know, I’m lucky because Benji just kind of stays behind the computer, and he, he does his thing. Tom is jumping off cliffs on a motorbike he’s hanging his, you know, hanging off trains — it’s genuinely dangerous stuff,” he said.
“There’s always a sense that, you know, one day, something might go wrong we might lose Tom, you know,” he added. “Anytime there’s a big stunt, we all have that sense of, you know, fear, but he always pulls it off.”
Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible Stunts
Tom can be considered The ‘Christopher Nolan’ of stunts in a way that he keeps it authentic and uses as less CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) as possible. Tom even goes as far as doing the stunts himself.
Here’s a look at 5 times Tom Cruise went above and beyond
1. Scaling The Burj Khalifa
In Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt scales the tallest building in the world. He climbs the glass and metal facade of the building using cables and had a safety harness attached to him as well. Note- Visual effects were also added in post-production.
2. Hanging from an Airplane
That’s correct, Tom Cruise was indeed hanging from the side of a cargo plane during takeoff in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Tom revealed that this was one of the highlights of his career and that it took multiple takes before the final shot.
3. HALO Jump
In Mission Impossible: Fallout, Tom Cruise is seen jumping out of an airplane and doing a High-Altitude, Low-Opening (HALO) jump. Tom had to train with professionals from the US Air Force and had to jump multiple times before shooting the scene.
4. Motorbike Chase
Tom Cruise engages in a high-speed motorcycle chase in ‘Mission Impossible: 2’. Most of the motorcycle stunts were performed by himself.
5. Running alongside a moving train
Ethan Hunt is seen running alongside a moving train, as one of the containers has a scanner that he must access. In this scene, Tom runs along the train before leaping onto it.
