Tom Cruise is no longer a young man yet a fearless actor who insists on doing his own stunts. The 61-year-old Hollywood star recently pulled off what many call “the biggest stunt in cinema history” in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, the latest installment of his iconic series. The stunt was way too risky for a young man, never mind a 61-year-old who has already faced injuries from doing his own stunt work.
So, what did Cruise do to earn the status of accomplishing the “biggest stunt in cinema history?
This feat of strength and courage had Cruise drive a motorbike right off a cliff! Most people half that age barely make it to the gym on a regular basis.
Now, how did a sexagenarian manage to pull this difficult stunt off? Well, had years of training, made 500 skydives, and did 13,000 motocross jumps. Now, that’s some Risky Business!
The Mission: Impossible movies are beloved by critics and fans alike. This action-packed franchise holds a significant place in the industry, ranking as the 18th-highest-grossing film series of all time and making over $3.5 billion U.S. worldwide. Moreover, critics say it’s one of the greatest action series ever produced.
The sixth film in the franchise, Fallout, came out on July 27, 2018, and is currently the series’ highest-grossing entry. So, it’s very likely that the upcoming two-parter Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning will be a massive success.
Cruise has made these high-octane Mission: Impossible films for many years. So, how old was he when he played Ethan Hunt in these action spy movies?
Mission: Impossible
We know that Tom Cruise is now 61 years old, but when he first began starring in this series, it was 23 years ago. In the first movie, released in 1996, we see Ethan Hunt being framed for the murder of his Impossible Mission Force (IMF) team during a failed mission in Prague. He’s also accused of selling government secrets to an arms dealer, so Hunt must flee. While at large, Ethan is on a new mission to uncover the real traitor and prove his innocence. Cruise was a sprightly 34 years old when he acted in this film.
Mission: Impossible 2
The second movie was released in the year 2000. It shows Ethan cooperating with a professional thief as the two go undercover to prevent a rogue IMF agent from starting a pandemic after stealing a deadly virus and trying to sell the antidote. Cruise was still a youthful 38 years old in this movie.
Mission: Impossible III
Released in 2006, moviegoers now find Ethan Hunt engaged to a woman who knows nothing of his work. Hunt puts together a team to capture an arms and information broker trying to find a buyer for a dangerous, unknown object called “The Rabbit’s Foot.” Tom Cruise was a handsome 44 years old when he made this film.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Because Tom Cruise was 49 years old when he worked on Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, the stunt coordinator confessed that it was planned that this would be Cruise’s last film as Ethan Hunt. But Cruise insisted that age is just a number and wanted to keep going. As a result, he performed his own stunts in the movie, where Ethan and the entire IMF team are framed for bombing the Kremlin.
Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation
In 2015, Tom Cruise shot this movie about the IMF’s potential dissolution. Ethan Hunt leads his team on an impossible mission to prove that a nefarious organization called the Syndicate exists and must be destroyed. At 56 years old, Cruise hurt his leg and snapped his ankle while trying to jump from one building to another. Filming stopped for nine weeks while Cruise healed, which cost $80 million in production costs.
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1
This 61-year-old A-list actor is no slouch. At an age when many start thinking about retirement, or at least spending more time on the couch and less time doing stunts on moving trains, Tom Cruise is still doing his own stunts. So, now that the two-part Dead Reckoning movies are being called a bookend, we can assume that Cruise will finally hang up his black turtleneck and stop the stunts, right?
Well, guess again.
Cruise recently stated that he admires fellow actor Harrison Ford for his longevity and wants to emulate his hard work well into his elderly years. He asserted that “Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope to be still going (in my 80s). I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him. I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age.”
So, put down that double brownie ice cream tub, and hit the gym. Tom Cruise is setting the bar so high for himself that it’s an inspiration!