With the recent premiere of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 we started thinking of all the stunts Tom Cruise has done over his career. Here are five daring acts that prove Cruise is a freak of nature in the world of cinema!
With the latest installment of the Mission Impossible series now upon us, there’s no better time than to look back on the most extreme stunts Tom “I’ll Do It Myself” Cruise has performed in his action-packed films.
Flying his own P-51 Mustang in Top Gun
Admittedly, this one is more of a flex than anything. Cruise has a bunch of insane machines to his name – everything from a Bugatti Veyron to a limited-production Vyrus motorcycle. That said, by far and away his coolest ride is his P-51 Mustang, the aircraft America used heavily in World War II. He brought it out for filming in the latest Top Gun, a flex for the ages.
Zero-gravity stunts in The Mummy
Employing a modified aircraft nicknamed the Vomit Comet (which astronauts use to train for missions to space), Cruise experienced freefall in steep dives to perform stunts for The Mummy. As exotic as that seems to us – the closest to being an astronaut you can get without leaving the atmosphere – it’s just another day for Cruise.
Hanging from a plane
We’ve all seen the memes of this one – Cruise hanging on for dear life to the side of a cargo plane as it takes off from the tarmac for Mission Impossible. Yep, that really was him. One false move and he couldn’t get back in the plane until it landed. It’ll be tough to beat that in the new film.
Nearly getting blinded by a knife
It’s one that will make you squirm. After carefully lining things up, Cruise laid under a knife that dropped, suspended by a string, to a quarter-inch above his eye. One false move, and he could’ve been blinded in one eye for the rest of his life – and in a particularly painful manner, no less.
Holding his breath for six minutes plus
After receiving ample training, Cruise – following a 120-foot jump that would be impressive on its own – remained underwater for over six minutes without oxygen. It’s hard to believe someone could maintain that sense of calm needed to hold his breath for 360 seconds-plus after a dive that sends chills down our spines just thinking about it.
