Summary
- Tom Cruise's love of doing stunts began in his childhood, where he would jump over trash cans on his bicycle.
- To prepare for a jaw-stopping motorcycle dive in the latest Mission: Impossible film, Cruise did 500 skydives and 13,000 motocross jumps.
- Tom Cruise does his own stunts to create an immersive experience for the audience and to connect them with the story and characters.
Tom Cruise has been wowing audiences in the recent Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One with his showstopping stunts. The actor has recently admitted his love of being a daredevil came from his childhood.
In an interview used to promote his latest movie, Cruise opened up about doing stunts on his bicycle as a child. One of the biggest set pieces of the seventh film in the action franchise sees Cruise drive a motorcycle off a Norwegian cliff before disposing of the vehicle and free-falling until he opens his parachute. To train for the showstopping stunt, Cruise did 500 skydives and over 13,000 motocross jumps. This training also allowed the director and crew to map out the camera angles and create the end result we all saw.
The latest Mission: Impossible film finds Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt teaming up with IMF agents to track down a terrifying weapon that threatens all of humanity.
Tom Cruise's Love Of Doing Stunts Started In Childhood
During an interview to promote the seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible series, Tom Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie alongside Hayley Atwell and Greg Tarzan Davis spoke about Cruise's wild stunts.
"I was that little kid. As soon as I could ride a bike, I set it up so that I could jump over the trash cans. So, I start down that hill. The pedals are going so fast, [and] I couldn't keep my legs on the pedals. Halfway through it, the wood breaks. My body's flying like a rag doll! I hear a child screaming," the actor recently explained in an interview recently posted to Instagram.
His childhood bicycle jump helped him prepare for the jaw-stopping motorcycle dive Cruise did off of a mountain while trying to board the Orient Express. "The ramp is considerably larger now," the director joked.
"I've gotten a little better at it," Cruise cheekily responded.
Cruise's dreams of Hollywood stardom came at a young age “I love this industry, and I've been blessed to be able to live my dreams since I was a kid,” the Top Gun actor has declared.
Cruise explained that. “I was four years old and I wanted to travel the world, make movies. I wanted to go to different cultures and not just visit as a tourist. I wanted to work there. I wanted to be there. And this has given me my dream and afforded me to be able to share it and put it on screen. And I've dedicated my life to this art form."
"I make movies for audiences. I don't really think about awards either. For me, it's about the audience. It's not about all of that other stuff. When I'm making movies, I'm not thinking about that. I'm literally thinking about that family that are going out to the theater. For them to have that experience. That's what's important.”
Why Tom Cruise Filmed Death Defying Motorcycle Stunt First
Tom Cruise has recently explained why he completed his thrilling motorcycle stunt on the very first day of production on Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1. If it had gone wrong or was impossible to complete, they would have had to make major changes to the story.
"We know either we will continue with the film or we're not. Let's know day one!" Cruise told Entertainment Tonight whilst promoting the acting movie. "Let us know day one what is going to happen: Do we all continue or is it a major rewrite?"
"I was training and I was ready," the Knight and Day actor added. "You have to be razor sharp when you're doing something like that. It was very important as we were prepping the film that it was actually the first thing. I don't want to drop that and go shoot other things and have my mind somewhere else. Everyone was prepped. Let's just get it done."
The director also explained why they filmed the hardest stunt on day one."Doing that on day one gave us all the time in the world to understand why he was doing what he was doing," McQuarrie said. "If we sat around and tried to figure out these movies the old-fashioned way, you'd never find it, simply because it's such a living, breathing thing."
The director, who also worked with Cruise on Jack Reacher, admitted the mototocycle jump was the scariest stunt they have shot in the franchise's history. “But we have continued and we've pushed ourselves even further in Part Two. And you'll see. It's terrifying.”
Why Tom Cruise Does His Own Stunts
Whilst most actors work with stunt people, Tom Cruise tries to do as much of the action himself as possible .The actor and producer has 31 movies which have earned over $100 million at the box office worldwide, so clearly he knows what he is doing.
Director Christopher McQuarrie, who is currently on his third film in the series, with a fourth currently being made, says that there’s a simple reason why Cruise does all his own stunts.
“Immersion, plain and simple,” McQuarrie told IGN when asked about his leading man. “It connects you to the characters and to the story in a way that you couldn't do otherwise. The challenge of that obviously is putting the camera in a place where you can see that the actor is actually doing it. For us, it's really important not that you are watching a stunt, but that you are experiencing that stunt with the protagonist.”
Cruise and McQuarrie are looking for their audience to feel like they are involved in the movie and aren't just watching it in the cinema. “We're finding ways to immerse an audience into a movie,” Cruise recently explained.
The Rain Man actor added, “Everything, my whole training, and when I watch movies, I want to feel connected with that character. And how do we do it? That's one way. You know, I enjoy doing it. I enjoy the challenges of it, but it all comes down to story. How do we invest the audience in the story?”
