Does Tom Cruise Do His Own Stunts? Find Out the Truth Behind the Action Star's Impressive Physical Feats
He’s cool as can be, has played some of the most iconic film characters in history and, quite frankly, is one of the most accomplished action stars of the century — of course, we’re talking about none other than Tom Cruise. If you caught his jaw-dropping stunt at the Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony, in which he skydived onto the field of the Stade de France, you may have started asking yourself, does Tom Cruise do his own stunts?
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The 62-year-old actor, who found early fame throughout the 80s in movies like Risky Business (1983), Top Gun (1986) and Rain Man (1988), has built a career for himself that has spanned far beyond the decade of neon, teased hair and fishnets.
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In the last few decades, he’s come to be known for films like Top Gun: Maverick (2022), in which he reprised his 1986 role of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, as well as his work in the countless franchises he’s become the face of, such as the Mission: Impossible series and the Jack Reacher film series.
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Within those franchises and in the action-genre as a whole, Cruise has become known for his intense dedication to his roles, not just in an emotional sense in terms of his acting, but also in the physical sense.
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Now for the truth: Does Tom Cruise do his own stunts?
In short, yes. The hunky Hollywood actor has been notorious over the course of his career for putting himself in the driver’s seat (both literally and figuratively) in the films he’s led. His interest in the craft of stunt work began at a very early age.
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At a 2022 panel at the Cannes Film Festival, Cruise recalled being just over four years old when he had his first taste of this type of performance.
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“I had this doll, and you throw it up in the air and a parachute comes down. I played with this thing, and I'd throw it off a tree, and I was like, 'I really want to do this.' I remember taking the sheets off my bed, and I would tie a rope...and I climbed up to the eave, and I got up to the roof. I looked and my mother was in the kitchen — she had four kids — and I jumped off the roof," he shared, as reported by People.
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What stunts has Tom Cruise done?
When it comes to the times in which Tom Cruise has taken a front seat on the action, the list is long. His commitment to his roles is so intense, he’s even broken a few bones along the way. While filming Mission: Impossible — Fallout, Tom Cruise broke his ankle during a chase scene with Henry Cavill. While this barely scratches the surface, there are a few of his stunts that stand out as some of the most impressive in our eyes.
In Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation (2015), Cruise was famously holding his breath in one particular scene underwater for over six minutes.
In the same film, the actor literally hung from an airborne plane as it was taking off. While he was of course harnessed and following proper safety precautions, very few Hollywood actors can say they’ve committed quite like him!
These two death–defying stunts, though wildly impressive, hardly scratch the surface of his long list of accomplishments. From flying planes and sword fighting to rock climbing and scaling the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, who knows what Tom Cruise will take on next when it comes to his action sequences!
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