Tom Cruise talked about what he called the “most dangerous stunt of his career” just ahead of the release of his new film, “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One,” in which the stunt appears.
The 60-year-old actor sat down with Entertainment Tonight and discussed the stunt in “MI:7” which involves Cruise riding a motorcycle off the edge of a mountaintop into the air.
The actor said it was best to do the stunt on “day one” of shooting in 2020 because he had “to be razor sharp” for a stunt of that magnitude, and getting it done on day one would allow him to focus on the rest of the film.
Tom Cruise on doing his most dangerous stunt on the first day of filming ‘MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 7:
“Well we know either we’re going to continue with the film or not. Let’s know day one!”
(Source: https://t.co/sTQ42VJnNc) pic.twitter.com/44mIWkRiSl
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 20, 2023
The “Top Gun” star said he’d been basically “preparing” to do the “stunt” for years.
“I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was a kid, I’ve raced cars and spent a lot of time with aerobatics, airplanes, helicopters, [and] parachutes,” Cruise told ET.
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Speaking to Access Hollywood, the star said he knows he doesn’t have to do death-defying stunts and made it clear he does them because he wants to.
“I want to thrill that audience, I want to do everything I can,” he added.
Cruise said he always loved the “Mission Impossible” television series as a kid and noted that the first movie he ever produced was the first “Mission Impossible.”
He also talked about how doing those films allowed him to do what he had always dreamed of: travel and reside all over the world.
On Monday night, Cruise and other cast members attended the “MI:7” premiere in Rome.
“I’ve always made films for the audience and for the theaters, for distributors and for the big screen,” the superstar actor told the Hollywood Reporter.
“I love this experience, I’ve always studied the new tech and all the ways to involve viewers at every level and make it [the big screen], more immersive and fun,” he added. “I’ve always wanted to make films and travel the world, to have this opportunity, and that’s what I want to keep doing.”
Related: ‘It’s Time To Pick A Side’: Tom Cruise Posts High-Octane Trailer For ‘Mission: Impossible 7’