Say what you want about Tom Cruise, but there’s no doubt the action star is committed to his craft. Whether it’s literally jumping out of a plane, climbing the tallest building in the world, or holding his breath underwater for six minutes, he’ll always put in a shift for a role, even if his out-there personality might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
While it’s tempting to think this is all for PR purposes, his co-stars on various film sets have spoken about him having a burning desire that allows him to put himself through these incredible stunts, even as he gets older — something that his Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 castmate Simon Pegg has also been happy to confirm.
While speaking to CNN, the Shaun of the Dead star discussed how COVID affected filming, and how it felt to see Cruise doing all of his insane stunts. He was also sure to mention that there was no recklessness involved and that the Vanilla Sky actor was in fact fastidious about safety when it came to doing the crazy acts he’s become famous for:
“Tom is never reckless with the stunts; with everything he’s always very careful. But that was a challenge. It took much longer than it would normally do. But I think it’s all up there on the screen.”
With this all said, it appears that Cruise does genuinely feel fear when he does these crazy stunts. The actor confirmed that “It’s not that I don’t get scared, it’s that I don’t mind being scared.” Considering how seemingly dangerous some of his latest antics are, including riding a motorbike off a cliff before base jumping six times so that McQuarrie could capture every angle necessary, that’s not the biggest surprise. And it’s not just Cruise who feels the fear: despite having worked with the Eyes Wide Shut star plenty of times previously, the McQuarrie confirmed he was still terrified for his collaborator:
“I was just staring at the crosshairs on the screen, and I was waiting to see blue – blue was the color of his parachute. Once I saw blue, I was just making sure it was a square, because if it wasn’t a square, it meant there was a malfunction. There was no coming back from it…It’s a huge relief when it’s all behind you and everybody’s safe.”
McQuarrie was less forthright when discussing the role of technology in the film industry, though, taking on a more diplomatic tone:
“Like any of the technologies that have been used in previous ‘Mission Impossible’ movies, it’s less about the technology and more about who’s using (it). What we’re presenting here is just what happens when the technology potentially falls into the wrong hands.”
While we can argue about the role of tech in the industry all day when it comes to the actual Mission Impossible film, there’s no doubt that Cruise is vital to its success, something he’s highly aware of, stating: “I strive for excellence. There’s always another story to tell, there’s always another mountain to climb. And I always feel like I can do it better.”
Hopefully, this means we will be seeing more of Ethan Hunt in the future, although even Cruise might not be able to push when he’s a hundred, as Pegg jokingly suggested. But, then again, if anyone can, it’s him.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 will be released in theaters on July 10.