It looks like Mission Impossible 7 will finally get its cinematic release, but not until May 2022. That isn’t stopping Tom Cruise from hyping the hell out of it. Promotion is focusing on the lengths Tom, a multi-million-dollar star, went to doing his own stunts. In this particular story in Empire, he detailed the most dangerous stunt he’s ever done. Tom, who once dangled off the Burj Khalifa for an earlier Mission Impossible film, jumped off a cliff on a motorcycle with a parachute. And get this, Tom, 58, said the stunt was “complicated.” You think?!
Even as a star whose career is defined by daredevil stunts, Tom Cruise is taking it to the next level with his latest high-stakes escapade. The actor and producer has famously always done his own stunts on the Mission: Impossible films, but there were a few reasons why his motorcycle ride off the edge of a cliff for the forthcoming seventh chapter in the franchise mattered more than the rest. And not just because it was the single most dangerous thing he’d ever done.
Cruise tells Empire about the technical eventualities that were running through his head on the first day of filming after months of training, as he was hurtling through the sky. “If the wind was too strong, it would blow me off the ramp,” he explains. “The helicopter [filming the stunt] was a problem, because I didn’t want to be hammering down that ramp at top speed and get hit by a stone. Or if I departed in a weird way, we didn’t know what was going to happen with the bike. 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. If I do, that’s not going to end well.”
“All those emotions were going through my mind,” he says. “I was thinking about the people I work with, and my industry. And for the whole crew to know that we’d started rolling on a movie was just a huge relief. It was very emotional, I gotta tell you.”
[From Empire via Just Jared]
I remember much earlier in Tom’s career, my brother was fascinated by his weight gains and losses for his roles. This was back in the ‘80s when dramatic weight fluctuations for parts wasn’t so commonplace. Tom was bulking up for roles like Taps and All the Right Moves and getting flabby for roles like Losin’ It and The Outsiders. Some magazine chronicled all of it. My brother likened Tom to being “made of putty.” Tom has always been crazy dedicated to his arts. It seems he’s obsessed with giving everything to his films, especially when you consider his fixation on doing these death-defying stunts. I’m not saying that as a compliment, I really mean he seems obsessed. He is driven to push the boundaries of common sense for stunts that ultimately don’t matter. Mission Impossible 7 is not going to change the world. Tom does not need to risk his life for it. So I don’t think these stunts are for us. I think they are for him, to fill some void. Whatever it is, I hope he gets what he needs from them because I’m terrified just reading about it.
Besides, I’m more impressed with stunts like giving back his Golden Globes in the name of equality anyway.
Photo credit: Empire and Avalon
My now ex-fiancee that i still live with is a carpenter that builds filmsets, and he has been working on MI7 since last august. Tom Cruise props up and promotes an extremely evil organisation BUT by all accounts he is utterly devoted to the movies he makes, especially MI as he invests his own money apparently. He takes the time to visit each set after its been built and take a tour with the workers to see it all and likes to thank them all for their hard work every time. I was quite impressed by that!
A friend’s brother works in production and has said similar things about him, that he demands a lot of himself and the people who work for him but he is appreciative and respectful. He worked on Tropic Thunder and was eager to work on Cruise productions after but never wants anything to do with Ben Stiller ever again.
Really!? I’ve always thought Stiller has a mean look about his eyes, for real. how interesting.
I can believe that about Stiller.
From what I’ve read, Ben Stiller is a controlling, whining A-hole.
And good lord this stunt looks terrifying.
Careful Tom, Xenu can’t be everywhere.
You forget when Scientologists reach Tom’s level, OT8; they believe they are immortal. So, of course he can jump off a cliff with a parachute because unlike the rest of us wogs, he would survive.
Henry Cavill said in an interview that Tom Cruise did something like 64 halo jumps to get that MI out of the plane shot just right. Cavill wasn’t allowed to do a single one himself. Cruise has just kept going on with the work and ignored all the abandoned-daughter and scientology stuff. Let’s see how well this approach keeps going for him.
I still like watching him onscreen. I know, I know…
Me too…I know he’s problematic but it does give a chemistry to the movie knowing he’s doing the stunts. On a darker note I do think one of these stunts will be the end of him one day…and maybe that’s how he wants it¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I know what you mean. He’s been one of the biggest movie stars in the world for decades for a reason. He oozes charisma and has such a commanding presence that’s hard to ignore. Knowing what we now know about Scientology I do feel guilty about continuing to watch his films but I just can’t help myself, he’s in so many of my favorite movies!
Me too. He’s awful, but he’s really got a strong presence on screen.
His personal life, I can’t but. But a movie with TC is for sure going to be entertaining and thrilling if that’s what I’m looking for. Precovid, TC in a movie was a sure bang for my buck. I’m sure it’s goign to be the same after covid. I hope his movies do well, and I hope his days are not going to end becuase of a stunt…
I’ve always found Tom’s obsession with doing his own stunts as selfish, because we’ve seen before that if he gets hurt production shuts down and people are out of work.
I’m pretty sure his Scientology beliefs mean he truly thinks he can’t die?
My first thought when I saw that headline in the context of Scientology, was: What do you need a parachute for? You’ll be fine!
Maybe he could try just, you know, acting……
Lol no he absolutely shouldn’t
He’s putting ing his own body at risk, which is his decision to live with. Those who do stunt work usually pay a huge toll later in life. Supposedly that was a big part of Burt Reynolds’ frailty later in life.
Tom seems to be very driven, so he likely wants to have control and give 100 percent. If he is appreciative of everyone on set, then that is a good thing. Some people are overly demanding of others, but not themselves.
maybe the void is his lack of a relationship with his daughter that he abandoned in favor of a cult.
but hey, at least he has the slave labor and the super special award he got for being the bestest cult-member EVER.
The real stunt would be if he denounced the dangerous abusive cult he supports. Unfortunately, he will never do that. He’s a fraud!
Bingo. Denounce $cientology and then we’ll talk.
It seems like a waste of a perfectly good motorcycle. Unless the article talks about that, maybe the motorcycle was undamaged somehow. And I guess I should be more fixated on Cruise’s safety but we know he survived the stunt and it’s his life, his funeral.
I am not a Cruise fan at all due to his Scientology and daughter abandoning ways but he still has a lot of fans, especially among men I’ve noticed. On social media I’ve noticed guys still worship him and his action movies–I follow the white actor from Blackish on Instagram randomly and he frequently posts about Tom Cruise and his movies and I think he even started a podcast to talk about Tom Cruise and his movies. The Scientology stuff doesn’t put off all people. And it is true that Cruise has a reputation for being really generous with fans and for being extremely dedicated to his craft, though I just see that as an extension of his addictive personality. But his obsessions stem from trying to fill a void which is probably that Scientology is one big fraud but he is in too deep to ever admit it.
Tom is crazy about his stunts. But I love that some people have passions. If not, you get people like the Waity Katies and the Baldimors. Very boring, but you know, that’s ok too.
I don’t care if he is polite and appreciative to crew members. He’s a control freak who literally thinks he has super powers and every person who works for him personally, is a cult member who is abused by him.His nice guy act is just that, an act. His pretend Covid rant at crew members was a perfect example of how he really treats people privately. Leah Remini, Mike Rinder, Claire and Mark Headley and many others who’ve known him well through the years, say that he seems great until you get to know him.This man brainwashed his children against their Mother and has abandoned his other child in favour of his cult. Doing dangerous stunts is egomaniacal and selfish. Just like Tom.
Thank you! I will NEVER watch his movies ever again. I’ve been boycotting him for over a decade. He turned his children against their mother for divorcing him. He’s a vile little dictator who says nothing about the abuses in Scientology.
Well there was that clip that came out a while back of him going off on the crew of his film… so he’s not polite and appreciative. It’s all an act.
Exactly my point. Above thread there were posts about him being nice to crew members and like you say, it’s an act. His screaming rant is how he treats people in his close orbit. He had Nazanin Boniadi put on RPF punishment, for telling a friend that she was hurt by his treatment of her. She has to scrub toilets with a toothbrush and was ostracized by fellow celebrity Scientologists for daring to say something negative about Tiny Tom/. He’s a horrible person.
Yes, I totally agree with you! It’s amazing how quickly people forget about celebs acting shitty…
And I think his movies suck. He ruined The Mummy reboot with his control freak meddling, pathetically tried to play a character who is a foot taller and 20 years younger than him and is clearly desperately clinging to youth with hair dye, plastic surgery and playing stunt man. Apparently, despite L. Ron’s deluded ramblings, the OT Levels in the cult of Scientology, can’t cure illness or stop aging,
I support stunt actors. Cool for you, Mapother.
It’s 2021. Why is anyone interested in Tom Cruise?
I misread the title MI-7 as M-17 and it was completely believable.
SAME!
He looks like the love child of Jason Priestly and Luke Perry in that candid on the police motorcycle!
I loved the MI movies since he started doing them. Similar to the Bond movies. I may not like all the Bonds but it’s a great view. Same with this series. Looking forward to 7!