See Tom Cruise Nearly Kill Himself For The Biggest Movie Stunt Ever

Tom Cruise rode a motorcycle off of a bridge while filming Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, succeeding at one of the biggest stunts of all time.

By Sckylar Gibby-Brown | Published

tom cruise mission impossible

There is no doubt that Tom Cruise is one of Hollywood’s most serious actors. Often taking his job far beyond being an entertainer, Tom Cruise performs most of his own stunts, many of which are extremely dangerous, in order to make a good movie. In Cruise’s latest film, Mission: Impossible— Dead Reckoning Part One, the Top Gun actor took on the biggest movie stunt to ever be attempted, which Paramount has shared to YouTube.

When it comes to dangerous stunts, many actors pass on the action, allowing their stunt doubles to perform amazing feats for them instead. This is not the case for Tom Cruise, who always seems to negotiate doing his own stunts as part of his filming contract. Over the years, we’ve seen Cruise cling to the side of a flying airplane and even hold his breath underwater for more than six minutes (a record that Kate Winslet recently broke for Avatar: The Way of Water).

Now, for the latest in the Mission: Impossible series, Tom Cruise attempted (and survived) not only his most dangerous stunt ever but possibly the biggest movie stunt to ever be attempted. This particular stunt was years in the making, involved Cruise speeding a motorcycle off of a cliff and then springing off of the motorcycle, and into a BASE jump. In the behind-the-scenes footage recently released to promote Mission: Impossible 7, Cruise admitted that this was the most dangerous stunt he or any of his Mission: Impossible crew has ever attempted.

In the clip, you can see Tom Cruise performing the stunt starting at the 3:11 mark. Cruise’s stunt crew attached a GPS chip to the actor, which tracked each one of Cruise’s jumps, as well as his speed and the type of wind so that the filming crew could capture the incredible jump with their drone cameras. In order to get the footage, Cruise, age 60, had to perform the stunt multiple times so that the GPS chip could be configured properly. Then, he had to perform the stunt again in order to get the takes needed for the film.

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Tom Cruise performing a stunt in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation

When it comes to creating a blockbuster hit, Tom Cruise seems to hold both himself and his fellow castmates and crew members to a higher caliber of dedication that goes beyond performing dangerous stunts. In addition to his stunt work, Cruise also has a deep understanding of the importance different characters have to the overall plot, a skill he used to help co-star Glenn Powell tap into his character in Top Gun: Maverick. Cruise also helped co-star Emily Blunt work through a breakdown she was having on the set of Edge of Tomorrow when he gave her some sharp, but apparently needed, advice about filming an action flick.

Dead Reckoning Part One is the seventh installment to the Mission: Impossible franchise and is directed by Christopher McQuarrie, starring Pom Klementieff and Rebecca Ferguson next to Cruise. In addition to Tom Cruise’s death-defying stunt, the film also promises a desert storm sniper battle and multiple car chases in the action-packed spy thriller. Mission: Impossible— Dead Reckoning Part One comes to theaters on July 14, 2023.