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All of the Weird Things Tom Cruise Does in 'The Firm'

Backflips sweating weird eating ol' tom goes for it all in this exceedingly entertaining 1993 legal thriller..

Updated on 10/17/2020 at 10:17 PM

The Tom Cruise that fascinated us in the early '90s is not the Tom Cruise that fascinates us today. Back then, Cruise was fresh off the critical and commercial success of A Few Good Men and married to Nicole Kidman, on his way (if not there already) to becoming the biggest movie star in the world. This was all before the Oprah incident , " Matt, you're glib ," and the Scientology exposé, Going Clear . In many ways, 1993's The Firm , a legal thriller based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham, is the most snackable Tom Cruise film of all: aggressively familiar, momentarily enjoyable, and quickly forgotten.

But it's also weird. Really weird.

What exactly is so weird about Tom Cruise in The Firm ? The movie's plot doesn't waver too much from the nine essential Cruise plot elements, as defined by Roger Ebert: The Firm has a Mentor (played here by a game Gene Hackman), a Superior Woman (Jeanne Tripplehorn), a Craft (tax law), a Proto-Enemy (Ed Harris), and an Eventual Enemy ( the firm itself! ), all arriving at various points during the movie's leisurely 154 minutes. But after multiple viewings, Cruise’s eccentricities as a performer rise to the surface. Some are small. Some are big. Some will cause you to question the nature of reality itself. Let's take a closer look.

He sweats too much

Everybody sweats -- even Tom Cruise. But isn’t it weird that a film about a law student opens with him drenched in Kevin Garnett levels of sweat out on the basketball court? This is the first image we get of Mitch McDeere, Cruise’s hot-shot lawyer character with an alliteration-happy Grisham name. The dialogue in this scene indicates he’s playing pick-up with an older professor, so again I ask: Why so much sweat? Chill, Maverick -- this isn’t beach volleyball.

After the opening basketball scene, things go swimmingly for Mitch. Yes, he has to tend bar to bay Harvard Law bills, but he's also interviewing with all the top law firms, including the mysterious Memphis firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke, which will soon make him an offer he can't refuse, and dining on Chinese with his beautiful wife (there's no better shorthand for showing that someone is overworked than some white cartons of mu shu chicken). For the first nine minutes, this is a pretty normal movie about a sweaty lawyer.

And then this happens:

He does backflips with a kid on the street

WHAT WAS THAT? When I first saw this scene, I felt like the movie had just ripped off one of those Mission: Impossible face masks and revealed its true backflip-loving self. Seriously, what the hell? After the shock wore off, I felt betrayed: How come no one ever told me The Firm was a sick movie in which Tom Cruise does backflips on the streets with the youth of Memphis? What kind of garbage friends do I have who made me think this movie was some sub-par Pelican Brief knock-off? I took the DVD out and checked to see if I had rented the "extra backflips" special edition. Nope, just the plain old movie.

Let's pause and think about how a scene like this ends up in a big Hollywood studio film based on a best-selling John Grisham novel. Is it in the book? Don’t think so. Do you think the director of the film, Oscar-winner Sydney Pollack, was like, "We need to get to know Mitch better as a character here -- how about a couple of backflips?" Unlikely. Was co-writer Robert Towne perched over his typewriter smoking a cigarette, wiping sweat from his brow and musing to himself, " Chinatown was pretty dope, but it would've been a lot better if Jack Nicholson had done some backflips after he got his nose cut!" Probably not.

The scene smells of Cruise tampering. It’s so easy to picture him pitching that scene in some point in the production. And speaking of smells, are those ribs?

He eats ribs

Maybe I’m in the minority on this, but I think it’s unnerving to see Tom Cruise eat ribs. He seems like he’d be more into vegetables, like his spiritual guide L. Ron Hubbard . Following the ribs shot, the movie has an almost meta-moment where Mitch's wife voices some of her concerns about the firm employees’ odd behavior and southern-fried BBQ manners. "I don't mind square," she says. "I like square. Weird, I mind." Mitch, in all his shaggy dog Tom Cruise earnestness, looks up at her and says, "Weird? What do you mean weird?"

Note: That is an actual line of dialogue in the movie. I did not make it up for this piece.

He laughs like a crazy person

He's driving in car with his wife after a lawyer from the firm has died in a mysterious accident and he makes a joke about horses that is so lame I can't bear to type it all out for you here. It's a dad joke most dads would dismiss as hack. But, hey, we've all made lame jokes to break the tension. Not weird. You know what is weird? Laughing like an evil demon.

He wears a sexy pirate shirt

Sartorially, The Firm isn’t peak Cruise fashion. It can’t touch the brilliant '80s excess of Cocktail or the shirt-with-your-name-on-it perfection of The Color Of Money . But it does have this billowy white number which makes it look like Mitch wandered off the set of Captain Ron .

He has sex on a beach with a woman with a sprained ankle

Given the cringe-worthy conceit of this scene, the writers actually do a decent job of justifying why Cruise’s character would cheat on his beautiful, kind, school-teacher wife with a prostitute who just sprained her ankle after fighting off her boyfriend. (In one of the movie’s more outlandish twists, she ends up being a plant put there by the firm to seduce Cruise.)

He shakes hands with Gary Busey

For a couple brief, glorious scenes, The Firm turns into a Coen Brothers film. You've got Gary Busey as a private investigator named Eddie Lomax who used to share a prison cell with Mitch’s convict brother (played by character actor extraordinaire David Strathairn). You’ve got Holly Hunter as Busey’s flirtatious secretary. You’ve got Tobin Bell from Saw playing a mulleted hitman right out of The Big Lebowski . You’ve got all the ingredients for an excellent hillbilly crime noir. Too bad Busey gets shot in the next couple scenes. RIP, Eddie Lomax. In my mind, you are the star of this movie.

He attacks his wife with whispers

We all know Tom Cruise can YELL A LOT. But did you know he can whisper? Shhhh… He can.

He fights a copy machine

The Firm is a tremendous movie about how tedious making copies can be. Like the paranoid 1970s thrillers it occasionally emulates, the movie has an uneasy and inscrutable relationship with technology. Characters are constantly worried that they are being recorded or photographed, but the good guys in the film use these methods just as much as the bad guys do, perhaps more so. At one point, Cruise records an explicit threat from Ed Harris’s FBI agent character and threatens to blackmail him with the recording. In fact, the movie’s convoluted climax is centered around mail fraud and making copies, suggesting that controlling the tools of bureaucracy may be the key to acquiring power. But, yeah, in this scene, Tom Cruise punches a copy machine because he’s trying to put his plan in motion.

He becomes too sad to do backflips

What’s Chekhov’s rule about the gun? If there’s a rifle hanging on the wall in the first act, it must go off in the second act. It’s the same thing with Tom Cruise movies and backflips. If Tom Cruise does a happy backflip with a child in the first act, there must come a point in the second act where he sees the same child doing backflips but is now too sad to take part in the fun. That’s just storytelling 101.

He runs past flowers

Now we’re talking. You know things are about to get weird in a Tom Cruise movie when he starts running through ornately decorated law firm offices. Look at him go! He’s powered by Xenu!

He almost knocks over an old lady

Watch out you old bag! TC is on the move! He can’t be stopped! Praise Xenu.

He jumps out a window onto a truck full of cotton

Nothing better than the old cotton truck trick. The bad guys never see it coming.

He kicks Hank from Breaking Bad in the knee

Speaking of bad guys, Dean Norris has small part in the film as "the Squat Man," one of the hitmen sent to track down Cruise. He doesn’t get to do as much talking as Hank used to do on Breaking Bad , but he does get beat up and then shot at the end in a standoff, so there are some Hank-like moments here. I don’t know why Tom Cruise chooses to kick him here when he could’ve just him with his briefcase. It’s almost like they were saving the briefcase for something...

He beats up Wilford Brimley with a briefcase

Oh, damn. That’s not only weird -- it’s cold. But to Mitch McDeere, it's the right thing to do . Here we find out that Mitch is capable of annihilating the dude from Cocoon with a briefcase. The movie goes on for about another 20 minutes after this scene and Paul Sorvino shows up as a mobster, maybe just so this movie could reach some sort of “that guy” actor quota. But the briefcase scene is the real climax of the movie. Briefcases play a special role in Tom Cruise’s filmography as anyone who has seen Michael Mann’s Collateral can attest. In that 2004 neo-noir, Cruise utters the iconic line, “Yo homie, is that my briefcase?” He then shoots the man who took said briefcase in head. Back in 1993, Cruise wasn’t that ruthless yet. He wasn’t going to let his freak flag fly quite so high, but, if you look at him beating up Wilford Brimley, you can see it fluttering in the wind.

He looks like a zombie by the end

Even after taking on the FBI, the Chicago mob and a firm of creepy Southern lawyers, Mitch McDeere still wants to practice law. He still believes in what’s right. And, honestly, I understand his perseverance. Even after all the bizarre things Tom Cruise has done, I still believe in him.

Cast & crew
User reviews

A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side. A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side. A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.

Sydney Pollack
John Grisham
Robert Towne
Jeanne Tripplehorn
Gene Hackman
252 User reviews
61 Critic reviews
58 Metascore
3 wins & 7 nominations total

Mitch McDeere

Abby McDeere

Avery Tolar

Oliver Lambert

Lamar Quinn

William Devasher

Wayne Tarrance

Tammy Hemphill

Ray McDeere

Eddie Lomax

F. Denton Voyles

The Nordic Man

Royce McKnight

Thomas Richie

Sonny Capps
Barry Abanks

Young Woman on Beach
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

Trivia Holly Hunter is on screen for a total of 5 minutes and 59 seconds, one the of shortest performances ever nominated for an Oscar. She is in 20 scenes, for an average of 18 seconds per scene.
Goofs The cars of the Mud Island monorail leave and arrive at opposite ends at the same time. It would be impossible for the man following McDeere to leave his car and begin running for the other side before McDeere left his car.

Mitch McDeere : I got mine, Wayne, you get the rest of them.

Wayne Tarrance : Get 'em with what? Overbilling, mail fraud? Oh, that's exciting.

Mitch McDeere : It's not sexy, but it's got teeth! Ten thousand dollars and five years in prison. That's ten and five for each act. Have you really looked at that? You've got every partner in the firm on overbilling. There's two hundred fifty acts of documented mail fraud there. That's racketeering! That's minimum one thousand, two hundred fifty years in prison and half a million dollars in fines. That's more than you had on Capone.

Crazy credits Since laundering drug money is a major theme, this appears: "The producers wish to thank the Cayman Islands Government...for their cooperation in the making of this film and acknowledge that the Cayman Islands have strict antidrug and money laundering laws which are rigorously enforced."
Alternate versions In the scene when Mitch is at the Cayman Islands, and is talking to his new client Sonny Capps about tax representation, there is a line that had a strange overdubbing. Mitch's line "You'd feel like you were fucked with a dick big enough for an elephant to feel it" was re-shot for television. In the TV version, the line was replaced with "You'd feel like you had a prostate exam with a beach umbrella to feel it."
Connections Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Last Action Hero/Once Upon a Forest/Jurassic Park/The Music of Chance (1993)
Soundtracks Start It Up Written by Robben Ford Performed by Robben Ford & The Blue Line

User reviews 252

Jan 18, 2020
How could the girl describe the two killers? She was sitting under the desk, so she couldn't see anything.
What is "The Firm" about?
Since Mitch never actually confessed to having sex on the beach with the "other woman," he didn't have to tell Abby right away, if at all, so how would this have affected the plot?
June 30, 1993 (United States)
United States
Mount Baker, Washington, USA
Davis Entertainment
Mirage Enterprises
Paramount Pictures
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$42,000,000 (estimated)
$158,348,367
$25,400,000
Jul 4, 1993
$270,248,367

Technical specs

Runtime 2 hours 34 minutes

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Tom Cruise on Why He Endangers His Life for Stunts: ‘No One Asked Gene Kelly, ‘Why Do You Dance?”

By Naman Ramachandran

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Tom Cruise showed just why he’s the biggest movie star in the world with his 45-minute masterclass at the Cannes Film Festival .

The sold-out crowd at the Grand Palais’ Debussy theater waited in line patiently for an hour under the blazing afternoon sun and could barely contain their impatience as festival director Thierry Fremaux introduced the event. They watched a montage of the actor’s most memorable scenes — set to Richard Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra” — then broke out in frenzied applause during the famous lip-synching sequence from “Risky Business.”

As soon as Cruise hit the stage, he received a standing ovation.

Tom Cruise has arrived at #Cannes2022 . pic.twitter.com/Y0d4dhvn8p — Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) May 18, 2022

Following the retrospective nature of the montage, the main thrust of Cruise’s narrative during the event was looking back at his career, with an emphasis on learning the craft of cinema. The actor talked about learning from his directors, cinematographers and producers with anecdotes from the sets of “Taps” and “Eyes Wide Shut,” among others.

Cruise recalled working with legendary director Stanley Kubrick on the 1999 erotic psychological drama “Eyes Wide Shut.”

“We spent a lot of time talking about different lighting and lenses, and the tone that he wanted in the movie. He wanted it [to be] unsettling … in his own kind of style, and it was something that we had to discover.”

Tom Cruise on working with Kubrick. #Cannes2022 pic.twitter.com/9iQb3SdcR6 — Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) May 18, 2022

“I’ve had some incredible times in my life. And I understand the business. I’ve been studying and learning all the way,” Cruise said.

“Preparation is everything. Even if you throw it away, it doesn’t matter,” Cruise added. “I don’t want people to see the work behind it. They don’t know the work behind it. And I don’t want them to see it. I just want them to experience the world.”

The constant learning is in aid of serving his audience, Cruise said. “I love my audience. I make movies for audiences. … I make movies for the big screen,” Cruise said.

Tom Cruise: “I make movies for the big screen.” #Cannes2022 pic.twitter.com/BaC707ZXGm — Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) May 18, 2022

When asked if Paramount asked him to consider releasing “Top Gun: Maverick” on a streaming platform during the pandemic, the actor said, “That was never going to happen.”

Tom Cruise on if he ever thought about releasing #TopGunMaverick on a streaming service. “That was never going to happen.” #Cannes2022 pic.twitter.com/DgLQUYe5Pe — Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) May 18, 2022

Speaking about why he endangered his life for stunts on the “Mission: Impossible” films, Cruise said: “No one asked Gene Kelly, ‘Why do you dance?'” He also reminisced about jumping off the roof of his house using a bedsheet as a parachute as a child.

“I always thought there’s something that I can do and I wanted to push the art form, I thought, ‘How can I immerse an audience into a movie with this kind of action? And how can I entertain them? What can I do?'”

When Cruise wanted to make “Mission: Impossible,” he says his friends told him: “That’s a terrible idea. It’s a television series.”

As for what lies ahead, Cruise said, “I always know there’s another story. I’m thinking for future always, thinking, ‘What’s the next and what’s the next.'”

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The Firm Could Get A Legacy-Sequel, And I Think It Would Be A Next Great Career Move For Tom Cruise

John Grisham's cinematic hit has the potential to resurface at the box office.

Tom Cruise sits with a nervous look on his face in The Firm.

Returning to a role that made you famous is something that even legendary actor Tom Cruise isn’t afraid of. Making a mint off of returning for Top Gun: Maverick , and poised to do so again with the 2023 new movie release Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One , the past has served Cruise’s future rather well. Which is why I think the next great career move for him would be a potential legacy-quel to his legal thriller, The Firm , which is actually closer to happening than you’d think.

Don’t go expecting a new movie with the A-lister playing Mitch McDeere just yet though, as we’re still in the earliest phases of this project’s potential life span. Announced through Deadline today, author John Grisham’s upcoming book, The Exchange , would reunite readers with Mitch 15 years after the events that inspired director Sydney Pollack’s 1993 adaptation.

With publication set for October 17th, there’s no word on any sort of feature film options just yet. However, reading John Grisham’s synopsis of The Firm’s sequel, one gets the idea that there's a lot of promise for Tom Cruise to move away from action-driven spectacles. Though as you’ll read below, there’s still room for a trademark Cruise running spree or two, as this is what The Exchange is all about:

When last seen in The Firm, Mitch McDeere and his wife Abby were fleeing Memphis with the bad guys in hot pursuit. Now they’re back, fifteen years later, and living in New York where Mitch is an international lawyer and a partner in a mega-firm. His work takes him across the globe, and not always to safe places. During a trip to Libya, his trusted associate is kidnapped, and an execution is threatened unless an enormous ransom is paid. Only Mitch can facilitate the exchange and I hope readers have as much fun with the novel as I am writing it.

Admittedly, Tom Cruise’s stance on stunts is that he won’t quit them. Which is fair, so long as the man feels he’s up to doing things like jumping motorbikes off of absurdly high ramps into his seventh decade of life and beyond. However, that’s not to say that every Cruise picture needs to put him on the high wire of life. And admittedly, the synopsis above does sound like a movie that's firmly in Cruise's wheelhouse.

A potential adaptation of The Exchange would be a shrewd move to diversify the actor’s portfolio and reacquaint him with the types of movies he made before diving head first into action. Some of Tom Cruise’s greatest roles , like his part in A Few Good Men , and even underrated performances in films like Lions For Lambs, have already shown him playing more dramatically inclined parts.

However, if The Firm’s fast-paced conspiracy tinged tone is still present in its sequel, it’d make the potential movie even more of a fantastic prospect. Acting as a stepping stone between the pure adrenaline and dramatic powerhouse that the actor is, the hypothetical movie version of The Exchange would make for a good stop gap between sending the actor to space and grounding more of his future on this planet, with fewer stunts.

Should he not want to return as The Firm’s Mitch McDeere, there’s always the option of bringing in his TV equivalent, Josh Lucas , to continue his work in the character. Of course, the Risky Business icon would be the preferred choice, simply because he helped make the cinematic incarnation the most successful John Grisham film to be released into theaters.

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The man’s already playing the legacy-quel game and, since Paramount is the home studio of The Firm , Top Gun , and Mission: Impossible , one could imagine an offer already being drawn up to make this happen. It's not like I'm saying the star needs to start committing only to legal dramas and giving up the physical stuff (while he can still do it), but this potential legacy-quel would be a good middle gear for a career shift back to more desk-based combat.

John Grisham fans, your day has finally come. The Exchange is set for release on October 17th, returning Mitch McDeere into the world of literature. Meanwhile, if you want to get all nostalgic and revisit the Tom Cruise version of The Firm , that title is currently available for streaming for those with an HBO Max subscription .

Mike Reyes is the Senior Movie Contributor at CinemaBlend, though that title’s more of a guideline really. Passionate about entertainment since grade school, the movies have always held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but swore off of running for public office a long time ago. Mike's expertise ranges from James Bond to everything Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. He fights for the user.

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Why does Tom Cruise do his own stunts? ‘No one asked Gene Kelly, ‘Why do you dance?’’

Cruise spoke at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick.”

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By Kyle Buchanan

May 18, 2022

CANNES, France — It has been 30 years since Tom Cruise attended the Cannes Film Festival, and it’s evident the festival would like to make up for lost time.

Perhaps that’s why, in advance of a conversation with the actor billed as a “Rendezvous with Tom Cruise” — which was itself happening in advance of the evening premiere of Cruise’s sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” — the festival played a nearly 15-minute-long clip reel of Cruise’s filmography, hyperbolically scored to Richard Strauss’s “Also sprach Zarathustra.” As the actor and audience watched from their seats, the reel touched on Cruise the action star, Cruise the dramatic thespian and Cruise the romantic, though the latter section, which featured him pitching woo at a bevy of leading ladies, notably left out Cruise’s ex-wife and three-time co-star Nicole Kidman.

“It’s wild seeing this reel,” Cruise said after taking the stage. “It’s like your life in ten minutes — very trippy.”

Cruise was speaking in front of a mostly unmasked crowd in the Salle Claude Debussy, which included hundreds of journalists and a team from Cruise’s agent, CAA. “After everything we’ve been through, it’s such a privilege to see your faces,” he said. He noted that “Top Gun: Maverick” had been held for two years because of the pandemic, though he refused to show it on a streaming service in the meantime. “Not gonna happen!” Cruise said to applause.

The 59-year-old star is insistent that his movies receive a lengthy theatrical window, a mandate that has sometimes put him in conflict with studio heads, who are eager to fill their streaming services with star-driven content. And in an era where big names like Leonardo DiCaprio and Sandra Bullock have no problem appearing in films for Netflix, Cruise remains a rare holdout.

“There’s a very specific way to make a movie for cinema, and I make movies for the big screen,” said Cruise. “I know where they go after that and that’s fine.” He said he even called theater owners during the pandemic to reassure them: “Just know we are making ‘Mission: Impossible.’ ‘Top Gun’ is coming out.”

Cruise is a discursive speaker who will leap out of one anecdote before it’s done to land in another, then another. (Perhaps that would make for an esoteric set piece in one of his action films?) But it was striking how often he returned to his formative experience shooting the 1981 movie “Taps,” in which he acted opposite George C. Scott and found himself fascinated by the way the filmmaking worked. Cruise said that while shooting, he thought, “Please, if I could just do this for the rest of my life, I will never take it for granted.”

And in the absence of any challenging questions from his interlocutor, the French journalist Didier Allouch — who was mostly content to burble blandishments like “You're absolutely extraordinary” to his interview subject — Cruise had the freedom to basically spin his own narrative of being a determined student of cinema and his fellow man. (And “Taps,” of course.)

“I was the kind of kid who always wrote goals on the wall of what kind of movies I liked or what I wanted my life to be, and I worked toward those goals,” Cruise said.

Though the conversation increasingly leaned toward bland generalities — “I’m interested in people, cultures, and adventure,” Cruise said more than once — it did provide one major laugh line when Allouch asked why he was so determined to do his own stunts in the “Mission: Impossible” movies, which will soon be receiving seventh and eighth installments shot back-to-back.

“No one asked Gene Kelly ‘Why do you dance?’” replied the star.

Kyle Buchanan , a Los Angeles-based pop culture reporter, writes The Projectionist column. He was previously a senior editor at Vulture, New York Magazine's entertainment website, where he covered the movie industry. More about Kyle Buchanan

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Tom Cruise's Wildest Stunts in His Movies, from 'Top Gun: Maverick' to 'Mission: Impossible'

Stunt double, who? Tom Cruise has become synonymous with the dangerous stunts seen in his action-packed movies because he performs all of them himself. Between running down the world's tallest building in Mission: Impossible to flying a jet in Top Gun: Maverick , here's a roundup of the adrenaline junky's most intense scenes

Tom Cruise's Cliff Jump in Mission: Impossible II

There's nothing that amps Tom Cruise up more than doing his own dangerous stunts , which he has done numerous times throughout the Mission: Impossible franchise.

In the second installment, one memorable and nail-biting scene involved a 2,000-foot cliff in Moab, Utah.

Not only did Cruise scale the cliff with his bare hands, but he jumped a 15-foot gap from one side of the cliff to another with nothing but a thin rope holding him for safety. (Oh, he also hung onto the cliff's side by only his fingertips before pulling himself up.)

"I was really mad that he wanted to do [the stunt], but I tried to stop him and I couldn't," director John Woo told Entertainment Weekly . "I was so scared I was sweating. I couldn't even watch the monitor when we shot it."

Tom Cruise's Knife to the Eye in Mission: Impossible II

Cliff climbs and frightening jumps weren't the only hard-to-watch stunts in the second installment of Mission: Impossible . While our eyes were nearly shut watching this next stunt, Cruise insisted his be wide open.

The infamous "knife-to-eye" scene involved a real knife being propelled full force at his eye, stopping precisely one quarter-inch away from his eyeball, as opposed to somewhere vaguely near his eye like director Woo had suggested, per the Mission: Impossible II Blu-Ray behind-the-scenes clip.

Tom Cruise's Skyscraper Run in Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol

One of Cruise's most famous stunts took place in Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol when he scaled down the side of a building. But not just any building! He scaled the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai.

To complete this daunting task, Cruise's character Tom Hunt sported special suction gloves in order to reach the 130th floor of the 2,722-foot skyscraper before rappelling down and concluding with a giant leap of faith.

"One night, after one of the earliest shooting days, I bolted up in bed realizing that we had our star dangling about a mile up in the air on a thin wire and my brain was screaming, 'What the hell are we doing?' " director Brad Bird told the New York Daily News .

Tom Cruise's Exoskeleton Armor in Edge of Tomorrow

While the stunts in Edge of Tomorrow were nonetheless next-level, it was the costume that posed even more of a challenge ! Cruise sported metal exoskeleton armor, a detail that's typically added via CGI in post production.

But naturally, the daredevil actor opted to wear the heavy suit — with one version weighing roughly 85 pounds, costume designer Pierre Bohanna told Entertainment Weekly .

"They're brash, quickly-made pieces of equipment. So you've got to see the guys struggling in them," Bohanna said. "But it's a massive worry when you take something like this and put someone like Tom in there. It's a massive ask for anyone to put up with, let alone somebody that important."

Tom Cruise's Plane Hang in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

The Top Gun alumnus is no stranger to action-packed air travel, but his stunt in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is incomparable to say the least.

While Top Gun had Cruise daringly fly and pilot fighter planes, Rogue Nation saw the actor cling onto one from the outside!

Using only his fingertips, he dangled 1,000 feet in the air from the side of an Airbus A400M at a speed of 100 knots for six to eight minutes, the film's photography director, Robert Elswit, told The Hollywood Reporter .

In order to safely accomplish the stunt, Cruise was attached via a wire that was later erased in post production. He also wore protective contacts to shield his eyes from flying debris and intense gusts of wind, per CNN.

Tom Cruise's Zero-Gravity Stunt in The Mummy

Ever wonder how actors recreate a cargo plane plummeting to the ground? Ask Cruise, who did just that during the infamous plane crash sequence in The Mummy .

In true Cruise fashion, the actor opted for 64 takes in zero gravity, as opposed to the suggested sound stage alternative, per Variety .

Tom Cruise's Helicopter Hang in Mission: Impossible Fall Out

Cruise was offered to shoot this daunting Mission: Impossible Fall Out scene on a backlot with a green screen, but that's just so out of character.

To complete the stunt, the actor endured 16 hours of intensive helicopter training every day for more than a month in order to pull off the scene's difficult maneuvers and climactic downward spiral, per the Los Angeles Times .

"It's all Tom flying, 100 percent of it. There's a lot of jeopardy," the film's stunt coordinator, Wade Eastwood, told the outlet.

As for the crash sequence, "It's kind of like being in a theme park ride but really dangerous because your limbs are flying everywhere and all you need to do is catch your wrist in the wrong place and that's a permanent injury," costar Henry Cavill added.

Tom Cruise's Building Jump in Mission: Impossible Fall Out

Did you really think hanging off the side of a helicopter, plummeting 40 feet to the ground , and doing a downward spiral were the only missions accomplished by Cruise i n Fall Out ? In the film, he also had to leap from one building's rooftop to another.

To film the chase scene, Cruise was attached to two safety harnesses as he sprinted off one building, leaped off, and crashed against the side of the other before hoisting himself up (only to then keep running again).

Unfortunately for Cruise, the "easy" stunt did go wrong, resulting in a broken ankle for the actor, he told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show .

Tom Cruise's Cockpit Scene in Top Gun: Maverick

In the blockbuster sequel to Cruise's 1986 Top Gun , the cockpit scene in Top Gun: Maverick was — you guessed it — extremely dangerous.

All of the actors were professionally trained to pilot their individual fighter planes themselves.

"We worked with the Navy and the Top Gun School to formulate how to shoot it practically because if we're going to do it, we're going to fly in the F-18s," said Cruise in a behind-the-scenes Paramount Pictures video clip.

Tom Cruise's Motorcycle Jump in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning

The seventh installment of the Mission: Impossibl e franchise, Dead Reckoning Part One , which is set to release in 2023, will see Cruise take on one of his most daring duties to date .

In the film, he rides a motorcycle off a massive ramp, flies into the sky, and parachutes his way down to safety — all while cameras are rolling and helicopters are following him to get the shot, per Today .

Tom Cruise's Most Daring 'Mission: Impossible' Stunts

Tom Cruise famously does nearly all of his own stunts throughout the "Mission: Impossible" series and is constantly finding ways to elevate them to new levels.

In "Mission: Impossible 2" (2000), he free-solo climbed on camera, a stunt which was originally supposed to be done by a professional climber. In "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol" (2011), Cruise climbed on the side of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is the world's tallest building. For the action scenes in "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation" (2015), he clung to the side of an airplane flying 1,000 feet in the air and then trained alongside costar Rebecca Ferguson to hold his breath underwater for an extended period of time.

In "Mission: Impossible — Fallout" (2018), he performed a HALO jump on camera from 25,000 feet in the air, trained 16 hours a day to fly a helicopter, and then rode a motorcycle at up to 100 mph in Paris.

In the latest installment, "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" (2023), Cruise's stunts involve a motorbike jump off a mountain, a one-handed car chase while handcuffed to actor Hayley Atwell, intense fight choreography in Venice's narrow alleyways, and a fight scene on top of a moving train.

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15 crazy stunts Tom Cruise actually performed in movies

Published: Aug. 17, 2017, 11:20 p.m.
Geoff Herbert | [email protected]

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By Geoff Herbert | [email protected]

Tom Cruise is well-known for his efforts to perform his own stunts in movies, but at what cost?

The Syracuse-born actor suffered an injury doing a stunt for "Mission: Impossible 6" over the weekend in London. He was seen slamming into a wall while attempting to jump over a gap between buildings (while attached to a pulley system) but appeared to come up short, hitting the edge with his upper body.

When he pulled himself up onto the platform and attempted to run, he could be seen limping with a grimace on his face. On Wednesday, Paramount Pictures announced Cruise suffered a broken ankle .

"M:I 6" director Christopher McQuarrie told Empire on Wednesday that Cruise was always supposed to slam into the side of the building for the stunt, and was wearing padding for protection. They performed the stunt multiple times, and Cruise was never supposed to land on top of the next building.

"What happened is a matter of coordinating what Tom is doing with what the camera is doing, which means you have to do it a number of times," McQuarrie explained. "And on the fourth try, he hit the building at a slightly different angle and he broke his ankle. He knew the instant that he hit the building that his ankle was broken. You can see it on his face... So he got up and powered through the shot, and... as soon as he knew he was off-camera he went down. He knew that was the only way to preserve the shot. I don’t know that I would have the wherewithal to do that."

"You're thinking about the lighting, the angle, how's the shot," Cruise said of his " Mission: Impossible 5 " stunt, hanging out the side of a plane 5,000 feet in the air.

"Plus, you want to live through it."

Paramount Pictures

Production on the latest "Mission: Impossible" sequel will be delayed 6-12 weeks, but is still expected to hit its release date of July 27, 2018. The blockbuster's cast includes Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Alec Baldwin.

It's unclear whether the 55-year-old thrillseeker's injury will delay other projects. Cruise has been seen taking helicopter lessons in preparation for the highly-anticipated "Top Gun" sequel, "Top Gun: Maverick," currently scheduled for release on July 12, 2019.

As a result, it raises the question: Is it worth it for Cruise to continue doing most of his own stunts?

Let's look back at 15 crazy stunts Tom Cruise actually performed.

Scaling world's tallest building in 'Mission: Impossible 4' (2011)

That's really Cruise dangling 1,700 feet off the ground in Dubai, climbing the 123-story Burj Khalifa to get to a computer server in "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol." He's in a harness (removed in post-production) that's held by a cable with the thickness of a piano wire for eight days of shooting at a height 250 feet above the Empire State Building's spire.

"One night, after one of the earliest shooting days, I bolted up in bed realizing that we had our star dangling about a mile up in the air on a thin wire and my brain was screaming, 'What the hell are we doing?'" director Brad Bird told the New York Daily News .

"[Cruise has] balls of steel," veteran stuntman and stunt coordinator Randy Butcher ("X-Men," "Dawn of the Dead") told Vulture . "He was definitely outside that building. He hung outside that building. I'm not convinced it's him running down the side. It's entirely possible that it is. But the close-ups of climbing, with that glove — that takes incredible nerve."

'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' hanging on side of plane (2015)

Cruise is really hanging off the side of a plane in mid-air for "Mission: Impossible 5." The Syracuse-born actor said he performed the stunt himself on the massive Airbus A400M eight times, reaching heights of 5,000 feet while worrying a harness couldn't protect him from jet fumes, birds and runway particles.

"I was scared s---less," Cruise admitted . "I want to keep audiences on the edge of their seats."

'Knight and Day' motorbike chase (2010)

In the 2010 movie "Knight and Day," Cruise is driving a motorbike with Cameron Diaz behind him, then flips her to the front so she can shoot bad guys behind them. Some stunt doubles are used, sure, but that's really Cruise, an accomplished rider, racing through the streets for the chase scene.

"I called [Director James Mangold] and I said, 'Look, I've got this stunt (idea). It's this motorcycle stunt," Cruise told Access Hollywood . "We've gotta put a motorcycle in this scene and I've gotta flip her around this thing. I called Cameron and said, 'Are you up for it?' She came out. We practiced it and stuff and Jim shot it. I couldn't wait to do that!"

'Mission: Impossible' wire suspension (1996)

Ethan Hunt can't touch the vault floor, so he breaks into Langley while suspended on a wire.

"That's Tom, hands down," Butcher said. "He's in a harness, and they're using some Spectra Rope, which is better than cable. Whether it's 30 or 40 feet, Tom is absolutely in that harness, using his own stomach muscles and his own balance to maintain that position and that shot... The fact that we can always see that it's Tom really helps make the scene. There's a profile shot of him over the computer, and you can actually sense his struggle to maintain that balance, which really adds to it."

'Mission: Impossible III' jump off skyscraper (2006)

Wth J.J. Abrams at the helm, the third "Mission: Impossible" movie amped up the excitement with a shot of Cruise jumping -- though not from the actual buildings in Shanghai (likely 3D models with a green screen and, of course, lots of cable).

"When Tom starts his run, and then jumps off, with that city in the background, that is one of the most beautiful plate shots I've ever seen," Butcher told Vulture .

"When he falls on the building, they may have had Tom Cruise falling against a green-screen, on a cable, for maybe 30 or 40 feet, to get those shots with the camera running beside him — but that was not done here at this location," Butcher explains. "Good stuff, though."

'American Made' plane stunt (2017)

"American Made" doesn't come out until September 29, but director Doug Liman revealed Cruise is really flying the plane in this movie based on the true story of Barry Seal, a commercial airline pilot turned CIA gunrunner (and drug smuggler for Pablo Escobar) in the '80s. In one scene, he leaves the controls to throw cocaine bales out of the plane in mid-air.

"I'm flying alongside him in a helicopter filming, and that made a big impression on me – there's nobody in the cockpit of the plane!" Liman told Yahoo! Movies . "It's one thing to have Tom Cruise alone in the airplane flying it – that's already outrageous – now he's alone and he's not even in the cockpit so he's gone beyond."

'Jack Reacher' car chase (2012)

"For every drift, gear shift and hub smash in this scene, there is a steady push-in shot on Tom Cruise's chiseled and focused face," ScreenRant writes of the "Bullitt"-inspired scene. Cruise is really driving the red 1969 Chevelle SS like a bumper car.

'Collateral' takes out club security (2003)

Cruise plays a villain for a change and, to sell his ruthlessness, rehearsed a lengthy club scene for weeks with director Michael Mann. "Beyond the stabbing, neck twisting and gunplay, Cruise's floor-bound barrel roll leaves quite the impression," ScreenRant writes.

'Mission: Impossible II' free climbing (2000)

Yes, that's really Cruise showing off his rock-climbing skills. There's a stunt double used in some shots, but it's otherwise mostly Cruise -- albeit with a harness and rope for safety, digitally removed in post-production.

'Edge of Tomorrow' battles (2014)

Yeah, that's really Cruise and Emily Blunt running around a (controlled) battlefield amid flamethrowers, rocket launchers and explosions. Blunt later told "Conan" that she nearly killed her co-star when she was driving in a scene, hit the brakes too late and they hit a tree.

"I hear him going brake, brake, brake, " she recalled. "When I first heard him say brake, in my head I went, 'oh shut up,' as if I knew more about stunt driving than Tom Cruise."

It's still too bad the movie had such a terrible title. A sequel is reportedly in the works, called 'Live Die Repeat and Repeat.'

'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' underwater (2015)

Cruise learned to hold his breath for six minutes (!) to perform an underwater stunt in "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation."

"Normally in underwater sequences, people hold their breath for 10 seconds, 15 seconds max," Cruise said in a behind-the-scenes featurette. "So I had to prove to everyone that it was actually safe, and spend time with the safety guys and the safety officers to show them, look, not only is it safe, it's better that I know how to hold my breath because I'm going to be very relaxed. No one's going to have to rush in, no one's going to have to panic."

'The Last Samurai' swordfighting (2003)

Cruise reportedly underwent samurai and martial arts training for more than half a year, executing over full-length sword fights with over 70 points of contact. ScreenRant reports Cruise almost lost his head during one scene, riding a mechanical horse towards Japanese actor Hiroyki Sanada, whose horse stopped a foot past its mark and Sanada's sword ended up just an inch from Cruise's neck.

'Minority Report' jet packs (2002)

Butcher explains that everyone on hoverpacks is actually on cranes or mechanisms on top of building rooftops, plus harnesses and cables. At one point, Cruise jumps from one cop's jetpack to another.

"Absolutely, it's Tom Cruise doing a lot of that stuff," Butcher says. "The wirework takes some nerve to do, but [it's] relatively very safe to do."

'Mission: Impossible' water tank explosion (1996)

Super secret gum explodes on a water tank, giving Ethan Hunt a chance to escape -- and making for a cool shot of water and glass flying behind Cruise.

"If you watch, you'll see that Tom is at first behind a pillar," Butcher told Vulture. "So he was out of harm's way when they jerked the [first] guy through [the window]. Once the glass is blown through, he comes out from behind that pillar and runs through the scene, towards [the] camera. I would have personally no issue at all putting an actor in that spot. I have no doubt that that's Tom Cruise. (I'm pretty sure that that's not live fish in there, though.)"

Zero-G plane crash in 'The Mummy' (2017)

Cruise performed a reported 64 takes of the trailer's plane crash scene in zero gravity for "The Mummy" reboot. The dramatic moment was briefly spoiled when one version of an IMAX trailer accidentally left out the music and sound effects -- so all we hear is Cruise screaming, almost to funny effect.

The film is launching Universal's reboot of its movie monsters -- Frankenstein's monster (Javier Bardem), Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Russell Crowe) and the Invisible Man (Johnny Depp) -- in a shared "Dark Universe."

Video: 'Top Gun' tribute to Art Scholl

Risks of stunts

Cruise performing many of his own stunts is risky, especially when you consider the potential for serious injury -- or death -- in many of them. Art Scholl, a stunt pilot for "Indiana Jones" and "The Right Stuff," lost altitude and crashed into the sea after filming a flat spin maneuver for "Top Gun" in 1986; his body was never recovered.

Bruce Lee's son Brandon Lee famously died on the set of "The Crow" in 1994 when an improperly cleaned prop gun, fired by co-star Michael Masse, fired a small piece of debris into Lee's chest. He bled to death before the movie finished filming and a stunt double completed the role.

Vin Diesel's stunt double Harry O'Connor died while filming a parasailing scene for "xXx" in 2002, hitting a bridge with his head. Another stuntman died while shooting a Joker chase scene with the Batmobile for 2008's "The Dark Knight."

More recently, a stuntwoman was recently killed on the set of " Deadpool 2 " while performing a motorcycle stunt in Vancouver. A stuntman for " The Walking Dead " died when he fell off a 25-foot-high balcony on the set of the AMC zombie drama earlier this year.

Going forward

Will Cruise let stunt actors do more work on his movies? Or will he continue to push himself? How many more "Mission: Impossible" sequels can he do?

The actor hasn't spoken yet about his injury, but it'll be interesting to see how he recovers and whether or not that changes his films. A little more CGI and stunt doubles couldn't hurt, Tom.

Video Interviews

Tom cruise on performing his own stunts and dead reckoning details, the mission: impossible star breaks down the risky stunts he's performed for the blockbuster action franchise and the evolution of super-spy ethan hunt..

TAGGED AS: Action , blockbusters , interviews , movies

Tom Cruise sat down with RT correspondent Nikki Novak and spilled new details about his upcoming movie Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One . He dives deep into performing his own stunts and the challenges that come with it, Ethan Hunt’s character development, and more.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) is in theaters on July 12, 2023.

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101 Facts About Tom Cruise: The Actor Who Does His Own Stunts

Facts About Tom Cruise

Tom cruise's career, tom cruise's accomplishments, tom cruise's family.

Tom Cruise is a legendary American actor and producer who works in the Hollywood movie industry.

Since making his film debut back in 1981 in 'Endless Love', Tom Cruise has remained one of the leading men in Hollywood. Tom Cruise's films have grossed over a billion dollars in the box office.

A report released in 2012 stated that Tom Cruise was the highest-paid actor in America in that year. His personal fortune is worth around 550 million dollars.

From poverty to absolute superstardom, Tom Cruise is a true example of rags to riches story. He has been an inspiration to millions the world over. His life teaches us that even with disabilities and disadvantages, it is possible to succeed in life and carve out a unique niche for oneself.

So grab a copy of your favourite Tom Cruise movie right now and get entertained!

Tom Cruise has been stealing the show for almost 40 years now. He is well-known for going against the advice of his team and doing the action stunts of his movies himself.

In several instances, he has been injured while attempting life-threatening stunts. Interestingly, even in his late 50s, the veteran actor has remained quite fit and can run reasonably faster than most people of his age!

When he is not jumping from rooftops to rooftops, Tom Cruise pilots his Pitts Special S-2B stunt plane.
His other hobbies include scuba diving and skydiving.
While filming for the movie 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' (2011), Cruise shot a scene that was too dangerous even by his standards. It involved the climbing of a portion of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.
He surpassed his limits during the shoot of 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' when he shot a scene where he is seen trying to hold on to the edge of a plane while it is accelerating!
Cruise has always had a penchant for fast machines. To shoot for his 1992 film, ' Days of Thunder ', he had to learn how to drive racing cars.
His top speed while test driving a Hendricks Motorsports R&D car at Daytona International Speedway is an incredible 205 mph (330 km/hr).
In an incident dating back to 1996, Cruise stopped his car to help a hit-and-run victim lying on the road. He went on to pay for the entire cost of treatment for the woman named Heloisa Vinhas, who was working towards becoming an actress.
Cruise has the unlikely distinction of being the first actor ever to have won featured in the best and worst picture of a single year. This happened in 1988, when the movie Rain Man won the Best Picture award at the Oscars, while another of his films, 'Cocktail', got the Worst Picture award at the Razzies.
Cruise identifies the late Paul Newman as his on-screen idol. He considers himself really fortunate and lucky to have been able to work with Newman in the film 'The Color of Money'.
Tom Cruise tried his hand in wrestling as a student and still enjoys professional wrestling.
Despite being approached by video game companies, Cruise has made it clear that he would never permit them to use his image in a video game.
Tom Cruise is an immensely dedicated film actor. He learned Japanese to get ready for his role in 'The Last Samurai'.

Tom Cruise was in high school when he thought about becoming an actor. Cruise's teachers told him that he had natural acting capabilities.

Cruise had become involved in the theatre scene of his high school and was encouraged by his school teachers to chase his dream of becoming a Hollywood star.
Tom Cruise left his school at the age of 18 and went to New York to try and find auditions for film roles.
At the young age of 19, he got his play his first acting part in a film named 'Endless Love'.
From 1981 to 1983, Cruise starred in a total of six films- 'Endless Love' (1981), 'Taps' (1981), 'The Outsiders' (1983), 'Losin' It' (1983), 'Risky Business' (1983), and 'All The Right Moves' (1983).
He found a small role in Godfather-fame legendary director Francis Ford Coppola's ' The Outsiders ', which had other upcoming actors such as Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Diane Lane.
Cruise found fame after starring Joel Goodson in the film 'Risky Business'. This film catapulted Cruise from a minor actor portraying supporting roles to a major star.
'Risky Business' gave Tom Cruise's acting career the first real boost.
Cruise earned his the first Golden Globe nomination of his career for 'Risky Business'.
It was the movie 'Top Gun' that cemented Cruise's star status and turned him overnight into a Hollywood superstar.
'Top Gun' was actually the biggest movie of 1986 based on revenue collection and broke box office records in the U.S. after its release.
It is worth noting that after the film's mind-blowing success, Cruise was asked whether he would reprise the role of Lt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell in a possible sequel in the future. Tom Cruise had reportedly said yes to the idea, and as we stand today in 2022, 'Top Gun 2' is scheduled for a release later this year.
Following Top Gun's release, Tom Cruise's star status continued to head sky-high with him playing a variety of interesting roles in films such as 'The Color of Money' (1986), 'Cocktail' (1988), 'Rain Man' (1988).
By the end of the 1980s, Cruise had already worked with some of the best directors and actors in Hollywood.
In 'The Color of Money', Cruise was directed by one of the best directors of all time, Martin Scorsese.
He shared the screen with legendary actor Paul Newman in the same film.
The film 'Rain Man' had Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman play the role of estranged brothers. This film had garnered heaps of praise for both the leading actors.
Dustin Hoffman went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading role for putting a memorable performance as Cruise's elder autistic brother.
Cruise proved in films like 'Rain Man' and 'A Few Good Men' that he could hold his own ground while sharing the screen with iconic actors.
In 'A Few Good Men' (1992), Cruise had a lot of screen time to share with Jack Nicholson and was superb in his role.
In 'Far and Away' (1992), Cruise had to face a lot of flak for his failed Irish accent.
Cruise worked with director Sydney Pollack in the film 'The Firm' (1993), an adaptation of John Grisham's book of the same name.
A year later, Cruise joined an ensemble cast including the likes of Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Kirsten Dunst, and Christian Slater in a Gothic drama titled, 'Interview with the Vampire'.
The early years of the '90s did not bring much success to Cruise. It was, however, with the release of 'Mission: Impossible' in 1996, that Tom Cruise became a global phenomenon.
The 'Mission: Impossible' films have set the bar very high for all action movies.
So far, six MI films have been released under the banner of Paramount Pictures.
Paramount Pictures is a film production house in Los Angeles, California. The company has collaborated with Tom Cruise's own production house, named Cruise-Wagner Productions, in producing the 'Mission: Impossible' films.
The seventh 'Mission: Impossible' film is about to be released in theaters.
The filming of the eighth installment of 'Mission: Impossible' is already underway.
Following the incredible success of the first 'Mission: Impossible' back in 1996, Cruise decided to take advantage of his newfound status as an action superstar to sign for many more action and science-fiction films throughout the late 1990s and 2000s.
Some of the standout action performances of this time would include 'Mission: Impossible II' (2000), 'Minority Report' (2001), directed by Jurassic Park fame Steven Spielberg, 'Collateral' (2004), 'War of the Wolds' (2004).
Although known primarily as an action star, Cruise has never stopped making movies in the drama or comedy genres.
In 2003, he acted in the historical drama 'The Last Samurai', for which he got another Best Actor Golden Globe nomination.
Cruise played his most bizarre character ever in the 2008 film 'Tropic Thunder'. In the Ben Stiller-directed comedy, Cruise appeared as a foul mouth movie producer.
To play the part of the character named Les Grossman in 'Tropic Thunder', Cruise had to put prosthetic makeup on.
He continued experimenting with the choice of his roles after signing for 'Rock of Ages'.
'Rock of Ages', a 2012 period drama, saw Cruise portraying the part of an aging rock star named Stacee Jaxx. It went a long way in proving Cruise's versatility as an actor.
Cruise returned to play action roles in the Jack Reacher franchise in 2012.
This was followed by the box office mega-hit 'Edge of Tomorrow' in 2014. The latter was one of the biggest movies of 2014 and reminded the audience that Tom Cruise still had what it takes to be an action hero.

Tom Cruise is still going strong at the age of 59. In a career spanning over five decades, Tom Cruise has already starred in over 60 movies. He has received countless awards and nominations for his acting roles over the years. Let us take a look at the major accomplishments of this Hollywood legend.

Tom Cruise joined a host of luminaries in 1986 when he was presented with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This is located at 6912 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.
Tom Cruise has won three acting Golden Globe Awards in his career.
He was nominated three times in acting categories for the Academy Awards as well.
His role as a Vietnam War veteran in Oliver Stone directed 'Born on The Fourth of July' (1989) got him his first Golden Globe award and Oscar/Academy Award nomination in 1990.
For the movie ' Jerry Maguire ' (1996), Tom Cruise won his second Golden Globe award for an actor in a leading role.
This performance also got him his second Oscar nomination.
In the 1999 movie 'Magnolia', Cruise gave, what most believe, the best performance of his film career.
Cruise's character in 'Magnolia', that of a maniacal motivational speaker, received widespread acclaim from both film lovers and critics alike.
For the film 'Magnolia', Cruise accepted his third Golden Globe award. This time, however, he won the award in the supporting actor category.
Cruise received his third and last Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category for 'Magnolia'. He lost out to another screen legend, Michael Caine.
Tom Cruise has also won two MTV Movie Awards in his career. He won the award the first time for Best Male Performance in a film in 1997 for 'Jerry Maguire'.
Cruise got his hands on another MTV Movie Award in 2001 in the same category for 'Mission: Impossible II'.
For the film 'Rain Man' (1988), Tom Cruise won the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award. He won this in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category.
Cruise grew up facing learning impairments and was later found to be dyslexic. So, to help people like him, Cruise founded and became a board member of the Hollywood Education and Literacy Project. This organization actively supports children and adults who face troubles in learning how to read and write.
Tom Cruise has been active in philanthropic projects for most of his life. Cruise has been a donor to charitable foundations such as Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, H.E.L.P., Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Friars Foundation.
When one of his acting colleagues, Jackie Chan, founded the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation, Cruise stepped forward and donated wholeheartedly.
Tom Cruise was awarded the Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2003 by the National Mentoring Partnership after years of collaborative work with the organization.
In 2005, Cruise was honored with the Special David award at the David Di Donatello award show.
Recognizing his tireless engagement with charitable works, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance presented Tom Cruise with their Humanitarian Award in the year 2011.

Tom Cruise saw the light of the day on July 3, 1962, when he was born, in the city of Syracuse, New York State. His childhood days were spent in a number of different towns and cities.

The name on his birth certificate is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV.
Tom Cruise's father's name was Thomas Cruise Mapother III, who was an electrical engineer by profession.
Tom Cruise's mother, Mary Lee Pfeiffer, was a special education instructor.
Both Tom Cruise's parents hailed from Louisville, Kentucky State.
Tom Cruise comes from a family of mixed heritage. He has Irish, German, and English roots.
Tom Cruise has a fascinating Irish heritage. His Irish ancestry can be traced back to over 840 years when Cruise's ancestors held titles like barons and knights.
Modern research has unearthed the family crest of the Mapothers of Ireland.
Tom Cruise grew up along with three siblings, all sisters. They are Lee Anne, Marian, and Cass.
Since the Cruise family was always moving from place to place in the U.S. and Canada, young Tom Cruise and his sisters had to change schools in quick intervals. So much so that he had been admitted to 15 schools by the age of 14!
Tom Cruise was raised in a family that was deeply religious.
His Catholic upbringing influenced him to join a Franciscan Seminary as a teenager.
Tom Cruise received a scholarship from the Church he and his family members attended.
With the scholarship, young Tom Cruise went to pursue religious studies for a short while in a Franciscan Seminary in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio State.
However, he relinquished his interest in becoming a priest sometime in his late teens and took the call to try his hand at an acting career instead.
Tom Cruise had a troubled relationship with his father while growing up.
Thomas Cruise Mapother III was violent by nature and would often physically abuse a young Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise's parents did not earn much, and they spent their days in relative poverty.
Due to his small physique, young Tom Cruise was routinely bullied in his school days. During these tough early years, Tom Cruise's mother stood by him like a rock.
Tom Cruise battled learning difficulties throughout his childhood and teenage years. He was later diagnosed with dyslexia.
Tom Cruise was still in his early teens when his father got a job offer from the Canadian Armed Forces. When his Cruise's father accepted the job offer, the whole family had to move to Canada.
Soon after the Cruise family moved to Canada, Tom Cruise's parents ended their marriage. It was then that Tom Cruise, his mother, and his three sisters moved back to America.
After making up his mind that he really wanted to pursue acting, Tom Cruise dropped out of his high school after he turned 18 and headed to New York City to try his luck in the movie business.
Tom Cruise has been wed three times in his life.
His first wife was Mimi Rogers, who was also an actress. Cruise and Rogers married in secret in 1987 and separated in 1990.
After working together in the film 'Days of Thunder' (1990), Tom Cruise and his co-star Nicole Kidman began a romantic relationship that culminated in marriage. They married in December 1990 and remained so until 2001.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman had been paired opposite each other during their time together. 'Days of Thunder' (1990), 'Far and Away' (1992), and 'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999) are the films they have paired together.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are parents to two adopted children. They first adopted a boy named Connor Cruise and then a girl, Isabella Jane Cruise.
Since separating from his wife of over 10 years, Nicole Kidman, Cruise got into relationships with other actresses, most notably Spanish star Penelope Cruz. The duo reportedly was a couple from 2002 to 2004.
Cruise's third and last marriage took place in the year 2006 to American actress Katie Holmes.
Katie Holmes is the mother of Cruise's sole biological child, a daughter named Suri Cruise.
Unfortunately, this marriage, too, did not last for more than six years. In June 2012, Katie Holmes filed for a divorce, and the marriage was concluded soon.
Since 2012, Tom Cruise has remained unmarried. But he has, however, been with a host of beautiful women. An example would be British Iranian actress Nazanin Boniadi.

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Master of Arts specializing in Mass Communication/Media Studies

Srija Chanda Master of Arts specializing in Mass Communication/Media Studies

An aspiring media professional, Srija is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Mass Communication at St. Xavier's University, Kolkata, after completing her degree in journalism. With experience in PR and social media, she has also honed her leadership skills through her participation in a youth parliament. Srija's interests include devouring books, watching movies, and exploring new places through travel.

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Screen Rant

Tom cruise's 14 mission: impossible stunts ranked by most dangerous.

Tom Cruise continues to perform his own dangerous stunts for the Mission: Impossible movies, each death-defying sequence upstaging the last.

Both the Mission: Impossible franchise and its lead actor and producer Tom Cruise have become synonymous with blood-curdling, dangerous stunts. With each new film, Cruise insists on doing his own stunts , taking it upon himself to risk his life in increasingly, treacherous sequences for the quality of the finished product. At this point, Cruise is a bona fide stunt performer whose bravery in dangerous stunts allows the capture of unique moments not seen in other movies.

Luckily, Cruise's training, dedication, and ambition, coupled with experts' guidance, film direction, and stunt coordination make these sequences as safe as possible so that Cruise's stunts can get even bigger. Nonetheless, unpredictable elements and variables and there being nothing Cruise won't do for a Mission: Impossible stunt make them life-threatening. Here are 14 of the most dangerous times Tom Cruise has risked everything to make Mission: Impossible's audience's pulse race.

14 Helicopter-Train Jump in Mission: Impossible

Seemingly shot before Cruise had a death wish, the stunts in Mission: Impossible seem tame compared to that of the franchise's later entries. However, that's not to say there weren't a few perilous moments, and one that stands out is during the film's climax. After tussling with Jon Voight's villain Jim Phelps on top of a TGV bullet train and jumping onto a helicopter that soon explodes, Cruise's Ethan Hunt then jumps back onto the train.

This stunt was filmed on a sound stage in Pinewood Studios using a wind generator firing dangerous winds of 140 mph to emulate the blast. Considering his stunt career trajectory, Cruise was initially reluctant to include the stunt. Therefore, this stunt could be the origin story of his passion for doing his own Mission: Impossible stunts. After completing the jump four times, Cruise was bleeding, bruised, and cut; however, it was a sign of even more danger to come.

13 Cable Drop in Mission: Impossible

One of the most iconic scenes, not only in the Mission: Impossible franchise, but in spy movies, sees Hunt rappel down from the ceiling into a locked-down room. Breaking into Langley, the CIA's headquarters, Hunt is lowered into the room to avoid triggering alarms. As if this weren't dangerous enough, Hunt's wire lifeline is also let go by Franz Kreiger, causing him to plummet to the ground and stop just inches from the floor.

The stunt was all about balance, as Cruise discovered quickly, repeatedly overbalancing and thwacking his head on the floor. Brian De Palma was about to shoot the scene differently when Cruise filled his shoes with pound coins for counterbalance and got the shot. Though this sequence is not one of Cruise's most dangerous stunts, hanging and falling 40 feet from the ceiling for days and repeatedly enduring blows to the head isn't exactly health and safety conscious.

12 Aquarium Explosion in Mission: Impossible

Another entry from the movie that started it all, this stunt involves Cruise outrunning 16 tons of water bursting out of an exploding aquarium. After learning that he's been double-crossed, Hunt makes his escape from his untenable position by throwing a piece of exploding gum at a fish tank in a Prague restaurant. After stunt specialists delivered underwhelming attempts, de Palma grudgingly let Cruise undertake the sequence.

It says something about Cruise's body of stunt work that this one is low down the list. The aquarium sequence was incredibly dangerous when taking into account the water, shattering glass, and miscommunication regarding the exact timing of the stunt. Although Cruise limped away with a hurt ankle (not for the last time), the stunt made for a spectacular scene.

Related: Mission: Impossible Movies Ranked - From The 1996 Original to Fallout

11 Casablanca Bike Chase in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

In a movie with such iconic stunts, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation's bike chase is somewhat eclipsed. The thrilling sequence sees Hunt racing after Rebecca Ferguson's Isla Faust, first by car and then on a BMW S1000RR motorcycle. Although Hunt's chase is unsuccessful and Faust escapes, this sizzling pursuit around the extreme turns of the Casablanca highway put Cruise's life firmly in danger.

Having started riding motorcycles at the age of 10, it is no surprise that Cruise is keen to use them in his stunts. Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie even wrote the script around this motorcycle chase, and it pays off as it injects a high-octane punch brimming with raw danger. Cruise rides up to 130 mph and leans over sometimes just inches from the ground, and all without a helmet.

10 Paris Bike Chase in Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Mission: Impossible - Fallout somehow managed to outdo its predecessor's motorcycle chase, but this time Hunt becomes the hunted. For this sequence, Cruise and his fellow biker stunt performers abandoned their safety rigs, meaning that did the whole chase by free riding. All the turns weaving in and out of oncoming traffic and going well above the Parisian speed limits executed by Cruise, were all as dangerous as they look.

Hurtling through the streets at over 100 mph with cars and bikes pursuing and coming at him head-on sounds like enough to deal with, but McQuarrie revealed Mission: Impossible - Fallout's motorcycle chase was more perilous than it seemed. Between numerous automotive variables, slippery wet cobblestones, and cameras seeking close-ups at stomach-turning speeds just inches away from his head, it's amazing Cruise escaped from shooting this sequence without a scratch. Further, a miscommunication problem with the local stunt drivers meant they sometimes failed to hit their mark.

9 Free Climbing Cliffhanger in Mission: Impossible 2

The opening of the franchise's second film establishes that even in Hunt's time off between missions he enjoys getting his heart pumping. It is during some R&R mountain free climbing at Dead Horse Point in Utah that Hunt gets his mission that sets up M ission: Impossible 2 . Despite safety precautions taken by the film's production, it shows what Cruise is made of.

Unlike his adrenaline junkie character, Cruise wore a safety rope throughout the sequence, however, the margin of error was so chillingly slim that even director John Woo had to look away. The only scene where the free climber in the shot isn't Cruise is when Hunt almost slips and tumbles between two cliffs. Other than that, it's really him hanging off the red rocks, 600 feet above a talus slope and a further 2000 feet from the ground. It's a precarious, impressive feat and a great opening sequence.

Related: Every Time Tom Cruise's Hunt "Died" In The Mission: Impossible Series

8 Roof Jump in Mission: Impossible - Fallout

One of the most famous stunt accidents in recent years, Cruise's ankle break occurred while filming a relatively straightforward stunt in London for Mission: Impossible - Fallout . As he leaps from one building to another, misjudging it horribly, Cruise clatters into the building's side and bends his foot nine ways to Sunday.

Though it might not seem as dangerous as the other stunts on this list, as anyone who has seen the nauseating footage of the injury can attest, this jump looked very painful. It was also an expensive injury, as Cruise was unable to continue filming it halted production for seven weeks and cost the studio $80 million. This was of the few times a Mission: Impossible stunt has gone wrong, and it shows how real the stakes are and that Cruise is, in fact, human.

7 Eye-Watering Knife Fight in Mission: Impossible 2

A similarly disturbing stunt that features in Mission: Impossible 2, and the risk was even higher. During the third-act battle, Dougray Scott's villain Sean Ambrose tries to sink his very sharp knife into Hunt's eye. To ensure maximum realism, Woo wanted Scott to genuinely push down with all of his force onto Cruise's eye. During the stunt, the blade gets as close as a quarter-inch away, Cruise being protected only by a steel cable attached to an overhead rig. Needless to say, if these cables malfunctioned, the consequences could be at the very least life-changing and at the very most life-ending.

6 HALO Jump in Mission: Impossible - Fallout

The mission in Paris in Mission: Impossible - Fallout begins with a high-altitude low-open jump that goes awry when Henry Cavill's character August Walker's oxygen supply malfunctions. The sequence is breathtaking and its realism is palpable with Cruise's face alight as he exhibits both expert skydiving and high-caliber acting. It's the fruit borne by hard work and sheer nerve in the face of danger, and not just from Cruise.

Falling from 25,000 feet, Cruise, Cavill's stunt double, and a videographer jumped 106 times (including rehearsals) and shot the sequence in three-minute takes, once per day, to ensure the dusk lighting was perfect. The scene is three takes stitched together, each more dangerous than the last. Jumping out of the plane is hazardous enough, and there was a serious risk of colliding with Cavill's double when filming Hunt plummeting to Walker's aid. Finally, during the take in which Hunt saves Walker, Cruise had to judge the height at which to stop providing him oxygen and deploy his parachute.

5 The Airbus Scene In Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

During the comic opening scene and plane stunt of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation , Benji Dunn fails to remotely open the door to let Hunt onto a plane in Minsk, Belarus. This gave Cruise the opportunity to perform a stunt in which he clings to the side of an Airbus A400M plane as it takes off. The scene follows Hunt ascending thousands of feet into the air; as the seconds elapse the danger proliferates.

Considering Cruise was bolted to the plane via a harness, at speeds of 260 mph, birds and debris became the biggest dangers. Indeed, the actor was actually injured by a pebble at high speed. The stunt is even more terrifying considering that, according to McQuarrie, Cruise was wearing earplugs and contact lenses, meaning he couldn't see or hear. Further, the toxic fumes from the engine added potential long-term effects to the mix.

Related: Tom Cruise’s New Cliff Stunt Creates A Big Mission: Impossible 8 Challenge

4 Helicopter Chase in Mission: Impossible - Fallout

During the Mission: Impossible - Fallout helicopter chase stunt , Hunt finds himself on a rope hanging from a moving helicopter, eventually crawling up the rope to fly it and chase Cavill's character. Again, all that stands between Cruise and certain death, as he hangs out of the side of the helicopter, is a harness. That said, what makes this sequence especially dangerous is the proximity to which the two helicopters come to each other.

Cruise piloted the helicopter himself after becoming certified in an unusually accelerated timeframe and training hard for 16 hours per day. Moreover, flying in dim seasonal light Cruise got as close as a few feet from the other helicopter's rotor blades. It was so dangerous that director McQuarrie has said that he wouldn't have begun filming the sequence had he known beforehand what it took to capture.

3 Underwater Heist in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

In Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation , Hunt and his team are tasked with swapping a file in an underwater database. When he fails to open the escape hatch, Faust must come and save him to prevent him from drowning. This extremely dangerous stunt had real stakes; both Cruise and Ferguson risked their lives holding their breaths while exerting themselves, burning through oxygen at a rapid rate.

Cruise's underwater Rogue Nation heist stunt was filmed in a succession of continuous shots, meaning the actors had to train to hold their breath for over six minutes. According to McQuarrie, by the end of the stunt's 10-day shooting schedule, Cruise was spent, with nitrogen in his blood and brain fog so bad that he couldn't memorize his lines. As if this life-threatening sequence weren't enough, Cruise also had to perform a jump off of a 120-foot ledge to get Hunt into the subaqueous security system.

2 Climbing the Burj Khalifa in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

The franchise's most memorable stunt saw Cruise climbing the side of the Burj Khalifa , the tallest building in the world. In Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Hunt had to 11 floors of the 2,722-foot skyscraper to get to the 130th floor with only adhesive gloves, one of which fails. Though secured with a harness, Cruise actually performed this climb almost half a mile in the air, including the part where he plummeted when the glove failed.

Both the scene and the shoot itself were a race against the clock. It was time sensitive to film, as Cruise's harness was at risk of cutting off the actor's circulation, and it doesn't tend to be easy to breathe at that height. This stunt is the epitome of danger, a truly petrifying feat; nevertheless, the sensational scene speaks for itself.

1 Motorcycle Jump in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Cruise himself has labeled the marquee motorcycle cliff stunt Mission: Impossible 7 as the greatest in cinema history. It's a stunt he's wanted to perform since he was a child, and is the most dangerous yet. It certainly delivers the wow factor in the film's trailers.

Shot in Norway, the stunt involves Cruise riding his motorcycle off of a cliff, propelling into a nosedive, and deploying a parachute. Cruise performed 13,000 training jumps for the sequence to ensure he could execute it with the precision required. This Evel Knievel-like jump that's been all over the marketing campaign has unquestionably piqued fans' interest in the eagerly anticipated next Mission: Impossible installment.

Sources: The New York Times , The Independent

Key Release Dates

Mission: impossible - dead reckoning part one, mission: impossible - dead reckoning part two.

Nostalgic Buzz

Ranking The Top 26 Best Tom Cruise Films Ever Made

Posted: April 24, 2024 | Last updated: April 24, 2024

<em>Far and Away</em> was slammed by critics in 1992 for being a shallow, simplistic American epic. There’s some truth there, as director Ron Howard seems more interested in telling a weepy love story than he is in actually examining this particular period of history. However, that also sells short everything else the film has to offer. It’s beautifully shot, particularly the final land grab sequence. The score is memorable and moving. Cruise and Kidman’s natural chemistry elevates an otherwise very old-fashioned romance story. This isn’t anyone’s <em>best</em> work, but it's still worth revisiting. You just have to look past Cruise’s very, very, very bad Irish accent.

26. Far & Away (1992)

Credit to <em>Oblivion</em> for attempting to do something new -- even if the whole thing feels wholly familiar. It's a kind of pastiche of the genre. The movie is visually stunning and the effects are great. However, as the story begins to lay out its cards, you realize that it's all in service to an unsatisfying narrative. Tom Cruise is fine here playing a familiar version of Tom Cruise, but that’s not enough to elevate this above being a somewhat enjoyable but extremely average science fiction movie.

25. Oblivion (2013)

They weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel with this one. Tony Scott teams back up with Tom Cruise to essentially remake <em>Top Gun,</em> trading out fighter jets for stock cars. It doesn’t quite reach the same heights as their first outing, but there’s still a lot of good here. The supporting cast is fantastic, bringing depth to what were pretty stock characters on the page, and every scene with Cruise behind the wheel is thrilling. It’s arguably one of the best racing films ever made. <br> <br> <em>Days of Thunder</em> is dumb, loud and tons of fun.

24. Days of Thunder (1990)

Tom Cruise earned his first Oscar nomination for his performance in <em>Born on the 4th of July.</em> It totally makes sense -- as this is exactly the kind of role that the Academy notices. It is a BIG swing from Cruise, and he spends the entire 145-minute runtime capital 'A' acting. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie doesn’t live up to his performance. Oliver Stone is completely unsubtle and heavy-handed here (even for him), and leaves us with an experience that is ultimately less than the sum of its parts. This is a good movie that should have been great.

23. Born on the 4th of July (1989)

<em>Interview With a Vampire</em> is more of a vibe than a movie. Credit not only to Director Neil Jordan but also to the cinematographer, production designer and costume designers for creating a gothic feast for the eyes. The strong tone and sense of place is probably why this is one of the few performances where Tom Cruise is actually able to (at times) disappear into his role. There are moments where we are not watching Tom Cruise the movie star -- but rather the seductive vampire Lestat. <br> <br> Good thing, too, since there isn’t much of an actual plot.

22. Interview With a Vampire (1994)

If you made a “best of” list for the <em>Mission: Impossible</em> franchise, <em>Mission: Impossible 3</em> would chart near the bottom. It’s still an above-average action thriller, but the latter entries in the series have topped it in nearly every way. <br> <br> I say <em>nearly</em> because <em>Mission: Impossible 3</em> happens to have the most compelling villain that has ever crossed Ethan Hunt and the IMF. We see the villain in the form of a ruthless arms dealer portrayed by the inimitable Philip Seymour Hoffman. He brings such an intensity to the performance that even scenes where he’s monologuing are as tense and thrilling as any sequence where Cruise jumps out of a plane. That’s reason enough to seek out this movie.

21. Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Tom Cruise’s second collaboration with writer-director Cameron Crowe, <em>Vanilla Sky,</em> is a tough movie to pin down. I’ve seen it called an “erotic science fiction thriller"...only it's not very erotic -- and the science fiction is introduced very late in the game. There are some nice performances here, and Crowe knows how to write deeply human characters. However, the movie seems less interested in them than it is in teasing the audience with its mind-bending twist. For some, <em>Vanilla Sky</em> is an instant favorite. For others, it's a forgettable snooze.

20. Vanilla Sky (2001)

There aren’t many new ideas in <em>The Last Samurai,</em> but it is still a solid period epic that explores the tension between tradition and modernity. The film seems to take great care in trying to portray late 1800s Japanese culture as accurately as it can, and it manages to mostly avoid falling into that western romanticized trap. The cast is solid. Credit to Ken Watanabe who not only turns in a stellar performance but also comes off as an equal to Cruise. None of this works if Watanabe gets overshadowed by the sheer star power of his co-star.

19. The Last Samurai (2003)

Let’s set aside to what extent Dustin Hoffman’s performance is or isn’t problematic. Simply taken as a piece of acting, it hasn’t aged particularly well. Perhaps it's because “Raymond” has been parodied to death, but the whole thing comes off as very one-note and unobserved. Thankfully (despite all of the accolades going to Hoffman) <em>Rain Man</em> is Tom Cruise’s movie, and he is fantastic in it. Cruise weaponizes both his inherent smarminess and infinite charisma to get us to hate -- and then slowly understand the deep flaws in this human being. <em>Rain Man</em> is a flawed but mostly enjoyable road movie.

18. Rain Man (1988)

This is the fifth entry in the franchise, and the first directed by longtime Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie. It’s the one with the Vienna Opera House sequence. It has the moment where Ethan Hunt hangs off of an airplane as it takes off. How about that motorcycle chase on the Marrakesh Highway? I’ll never forget the underwater stunt where Ethan retrieves a computer chip. It's insane that Cruise performs most of these stunts himself.

17. Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation (2015)

There are moments in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of <em>War of the Worlds</em> that stay with you long after the movie ends. The panic on the Hudson River ferry, the sea of humanity that swarms our lead family’s van, Tom Cruise covered in ash evoking memories of 9/11. It is at times as much a horror film as it is action sci-fi. It’s nearly the perfect alien invasion movie until it enters the 3rd act and limps to the finish (the source material has a clever but cinematically disappointing conclusion). It’s also a nice change of pace for Cruise, who typically plays someone who is the best at their chosen field. Here, he’s not the best at anything, just a regular guy trying his best to be a decent father.

16. War of the Worlds (2005)

This is the fourth entry in the franchise and is adroitly directed by Brad Bird. It’s the one where they infiltrate the Kremlin and then later it explodes. It has the scene where Ethan Hunt has to free-climb the Burj Khalifa. How about that chase through the middle of a sandstorm? I’ll never forget when Hunt runs down the Burj Khalifa and ends up hanging out of a window. It's insane that Cruise performs most of these stunts himself.

15. Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol (2011)

There is a moment during<em> Risky Business</em> when you can actually see Tom Cruise transform from a promising 20-year-old actor to a bonafide movie star. No, it isn’t the scene you're thinking of. The most iconic scene from the film is of course Cruise sliding into the frame and dancing to Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll”. This is a moment that immediately entered pop culture and was parodied to death for decades. But the moment when Cruise truly becomes a star comes near the end of the film. Finishing a failed interview with a Princeton recruiter, he slaps on a pair of iconic Ray-Ban Wayfarers and, with a toothy grin, declares “Looks like it's the University of Illinois!” I think actual dollar signs appear on the screen. <br> <br> <em>Risky Business</em> is a solid teen comedy. Very much of it’s time. I’m not sure if it entirely holds up for modern audiences, but it's an important movie in charting Tom Cruise’s rise to fame.

14. Risky Business (1983)

Remember legal thrillers? There was a time when Hollywood would produce something like a dozen of these a year. They were typically solid, enjoyable movies made for adults. Some were better than others, a few were occasionally great. <em>The Firm</em> is an above-average entry in the genre, buoyed by one of the best casts ever assembled. There’s not a poor performance to be found in this film, and Tom Cruise anchors the proceedings as an upwardly mobile but morally conflicted young lawyer caught up in something much larger than himself. <em>The Firm</em> is also notable as having some of the finest examples of the “Tom Cruise run.”

13. The Firm (1993)

Anyone who tells you that <em>The Color of Money</em> is “mid-level Scorcese” doesn’t know what they’re talking about. I dare you to watch the opening scene of the film and not find yourself on the hook to finish. Cruise is perfectly cast as Vincent, a ball of chaotic energy/pool savant. Paul Newman is doing some of the best work of his long and esteemed career playing Fast Eddie for a second time. <br> <br> Martin Scorcese and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus are masterful, drawing us into every game and making nine-ball pool feel as exciting as a boxing match. <em>The Color of Money</em> is as good as any of Scorcese’s best films.

12. The Color of Money (1986)

<span>This is the sixth entry in the franchise, and the second directed by longtime Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie. </span><span>It’s the one with the Halo jump (that they did for real). It has the moment where Ethan Hunt hangs off of a long line attached to a helicopter. How about that motorcycle chase through Paris? I’ll never forget the wild helicopter spiral in the final act. It's insane that Cruise performs most of these stunts himself. Does anyone else get the feeling that Cruise wants to die on camera?</span>

11. Mission: Impossible -- Fallout

If you stop at any time during <em>Collateral</em> to think about the story, you will realize that it is quite ridiculous. Taking place over one night, a cab driver is forced to ferry around an assassin on a killing spree -- the motivation of which connects directly to a fare the driver had picked up earlier that night. In a city as big as Los Angeles, what are the odds? What makes it all work, though, are the two central performances. Both men are playing against type, Cruise as a nihilistic hired gun and Fox as the meager everyman. They have great chemistry together, and their conversations as they move from hit to hit are engrossing. This is a slick, effective thriller with a great script (if you can get past some of the contrivances).

10. Collateral (2004)

You might also know this movie as Live. Die. Repeat. <br> <br> Whatever you want to call it, this is an incredible science-fiction action film. The movie brilliantly combines the Groundhog Day gimmick with a big-budget war film, where half the fun becomes watching all of the different ways it can manage to kill its protagonist. There’s enough humor here to keep things from getting too grim, especially as we see Tom Cruise’s incredulous public affairs officer adjust to his new reality of living like he’s playing an arcade shooter with an infinite supply of quarters. Exciting, inventive and fun. What more can you ask for?

9. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

<em>A Few Good Men</em> is one of the great afternoon cable movies, able to grab you no matter if you’re watching from the beginning -- or you find it halfway over while flipping through channels on a lazy Sunday. The story is uncomplicated but elevated by its cracking script from Aaron Sorkin. It also has some peak performances by a murderer's row of actors. Cruise holds his own, even opposite titans like Jack Nicholson. It's a shame Tom didn’t play more military officers in his career, the man looks damn good in a uniform.

8. A Few Good Men (1992)

Who doesn’t like a good old-fashioned high-concept neo-noir action sci-fi whodunit? This is <em>A.I</em>. and <em>Raiders of the Lost Ark</em> smashed together, with a mystery added for flavor. <em>Minority Report</em> ranks among director Steven Spielberg’s best films. That he manages to pack so much into the 145-minute runtime while never feeling like any moment is rushed through or short-changed is an achievement. The movie is creatively unrelenting, just scene after scene of inventive thrills. Even more amazing is that the movie still has a heart and a brain beneath all those set pieces. Tom Cruise’s cop-on-the-run shows great depth as he grapples with the film's central theme of free will versus fate. This is a must-see.

7. Minority Report (2002)

There’s more to<em> Top Gun</em> than just the aerial combat. Maverick’s rivalry with Iceman, a steamy romance between Cruise and Kelly McGillis, beach volleyball...but the dogfighting sequences are so incredible. They're well-crafted and edge-of-your-seat thrilling. You could replace the other stuff with industrial footage and <em>Top Gun</em> would still be one of the best action movies of all time. Director Tony Scott’s kinetic style of “doing the most” is well matched here with this look into the high-velocity world of elite pilots. It is never a bad time to throw this movie on and enter the Danger Zone.

6. Top Gun (1986)

One of the great romantic comedies? Or one of the best sports movies of all-time? Why not both? Tom Cruise is at the peak of his powers here, weaponizing his nuclear-grade charm and charisma. <em>Jerry Maguire</em> is a broken man, furiously trying to keep his head above water and plastering over any cracks in his crumbling façade with a wink and a smile. Cameron Crowe’s script is razor-sharp and immensely quotable, and as a director, he has surrounded Cruise with a stellar cast. Jonathan Lipnicki, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Renee Zellweger all give career performances. <em>Jerry Maguire</em> is the right blend of sappy and cynical. Oh, and the soundtrack is excellent to boot (this is a Cameron Crowe film after all).

5. Jerry Maguire (1996)

This is, without a doubt, the most esoteric film in Tom Cruise’s vast filmography. There are layers of meaning here to unpack and sift through. Tom Cruise gives a fine performance, but one wonders if Stanley Kubrick cast him not because of his acting talents, but because of who he is as a person. One reading of the film is that it is a deconstruction of the type of masculinity that Tom Cruise represents. I’ll leave that up to you. Like most of Kubrick’s films, it rewards re-watching. <br> <br> <em>Eyes Wide Shut</em> wasn’t as well received upon release by audiences or critics, likely because it was advertised as an erotic thriller (and it is only partially playing in that genre). This isn’t an easy movie to watch, but it is absolutely worth watching.

4. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Though <em>Magnolia</em> is a true ensemble film, it ranks high on this list because it features the finest performance of Tom Cruise’s career. Frank Mackey, a distasteful and misogynistic motivational speaker promoting pickup artistry, twists Cruise’s natural charm and shows us a darker side. He presents us with a deeply damaged man, covering old wounds with false confidence. The final scenes with this character, where Mackey confronts the source of his pain, show us some of the finest acting in any Paul Thomas Anderson film.

3. Magnolia (1999)

Thirty-six years later we finally got another installment in the <em>Top Gun</em> franchise. With even more action, fantastic aerial maneuvers, and Danger Zone. While Goose passed in the first installment, we get to see his son, Rooster (Miles Teller) take the reigns and eventually team up with Maverick to kick some ass. While theaters were still struggling to get people out to see movies, <em>Top Gun: Maverick</em> drew people out in droves and raked in nearly $1.5 billion in profits (the highest of Cruise's career). This movie hit all the right notes of nostalgia while still giving us something new to enjoy. Perhaps we are looking at the start of another successful franchise for Tom Cruise to make more sequels.

2. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

The first <em>Mission: Impossible</em> film isn’t as outrageous as the latter entries. The set pieces are smaller, the stakes are lower, and there’s less tech. What it does have, though, is the bold and stylistic direction of Brian De Palma. This <em>Mission: Impossible</em> is less obsessed with having its protagonist jumping off of increasingly tall buildings, and instead focuses on creating tension and paranoia both in the story and its set pieces. Like Ethan Hunt in the film, the audience never knows who to trust. We’re left constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. The CIA headquarters heist sequence remains the high point of the franchise, even though it's also the series at its quietest and most deliberate. Selfishly, I wish the franchise would return to its slow-burn spycraft roots. The first <em>Mission: Impossible</em> is the best of the franchise and Tom Cruise’s best film.

1. Mission: Impossible (1996)

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Suri Cruise Reportedly Doesn’t Want Tom’s Help Getting Into Showbiz As She Prepares To Start College

Despite reports that Tom wants to reconcile with his daughter, she apparently has no plans to make contact despite being a legal adult.

Suri Cruise plans to enter adulthood without a relationship with her dad Tom Cruise, despite his efforts to reconnect.
She aims to make her own mark in Hollywood and the business world, with no intention of relying on her father's fame.
Katie Holmes, her mom, faces uncertainty as child support ends and she prepares to re-enter the industry, possibly with a tell-all book.

Suri Cruise is almost all grown up, as she’s preparing to celebrate her 18 th birthday and head off to college. Despite reports that her father, Tom Cruise, is hoping to repair his relationship with the teen once she becomes a legal adult, Suri may have other plans.

According to a new report, the teenager doesn’t want a relationship with her famous father after being estranged for over a decade.

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman adopted kids now

What Are Tom Cruise And Nicole Kidman's Adopted Kids Doing Today?

Katie and suri reportedly don’t feel they need tom in their life.

“Katie’s very clear that Suri doesn’t need Tom’s money to be happy or afford the life they’re accustomed to,” a source revealed. “Katie’s made plenty of her own money and she can take care of her daughter and send her to whatever college she wants.”

There have been claims that Tom will continue to provide financially for Suri past her 18 th birthday, even though child support payments will come to an end. He’s reportedly been paying $40,000 a month since his divorce from Katie in 2012. Their divorce was settled in a matter of weeks, with the Mission: Impossible star not challenging Katie’s request for primary guardianship of their only child. Reports have suggested Tom’s involvement in Scientology was the deal breaker.

The source said that Suri is interested in getting into the entertainment industry, but won’t be relying on Tom’s star power. “Suri is going to be quite the superstar, whether she goes into business or Hollywood. But one thing that’s very clear as far as Katie’s concerned is that she doesn’t need Tom’s help to get ahead,” they continued.

Reports say that Suri is interested in studying fashion in New York, where she’s been raised by her single mom. She has expressed an interest in acting, though, as she starred in her school’s play earlier this year.

Reports Have Claimed Katie Is Worried About Money Without Tom’s Child Support

There were claims that Katie Holmes was desperate for work knowing her child support payments are going to come to an end.

“For years, Katie’s enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, thanks to Tom’s consistent support,” a source claimed to In Touch . “But as their child nears adulthood, both mother and daughter are facing an uncertain future. It’s a terrifying prospect — going from an amazing standard of living to a question mark overnight!”

The report claimed that Holmes is even considering a tell-all book now that her alleged NDA is set to expire, and knowing she could make millions from revealing her side of her marriage to Cruise.

“She’s actively looking for roles and is eager to throw herself back into the industry full-time,” they continued. “And don’t forget the non-disclosure agreement she signed — it’s set to expire, too. If things get tough, Katie could cash in by penning a tell-all book!”

While Katie may not be getting child support (though her rep denied she was worried about money or actively looking for work), reports say Tom will continue to financially support Suri , even if they don’t end up repairing their relationship.

Tom Cruise 'Dumbfounded' Guests at Victoria Beckham's 50th Birthday Party by Breakdancing and Doing Splits: Insider

Apr. 22 2024, Published 3:30 p.m. ET

Tom Cruise is capable of much more than just doing his own dangerous stunts!

According to a report, the actor shocked guests with this dance moves at Victoria Beckham 's 50th birthday party on Saturday, April 20.

Tom Cruise showed off his dance moves at Victoria Beckham's birthday party.

"People were absolutely dumbfounded," a source told a news outlet of how the movie star, 61, was breakdancing and doing splits at the bash in London.

It was noted that the dad-of-three was wearing his tux while showing off his moves.

The fashion designer turn 50 on April 17.

Other guests at the shindig included the fashion designer's husband, David Beckham , Salma Hayek and Victoria's fellow Spice Girls members: Mel B , Melanie C , Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell . At one point, the soccer star filmed a video of the ladies doing a dance to their hit track "Stop."

"Getting together was a lot of fun but it was also a meaningful moment for all of them," a friend shared of the girl group, which Victoria left several years ago. "They have had fallings in and fallings out — plenty of them, but they all loved being there to celebrate with Victoria and her family."

The mom-of-four had to use crutches earlier this year after a gym accident.

" Victoria really seemed to be in seventh heaven," another guest told the outlet of the fun night. "I fear she might have woken up with a sore head though."

Cruise has been living in the U.K. for a while now to film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two , which won't hit theaters until next year.

Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!

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Tom Cruise and Russian Socialite Elsina Khayrova Call It Quits: 'Their Relationship Ran Its Course'

Tom attended the shindig solo, since as OK! reported, a source claimed the Scientologist and Russian socialite Elsina Khayrova called it quits on their romance in February after dating for only a few months.

"To end things on a bad note would’ve been awkward if they bumped into each other in the lift," the source spilled, noting they live on the same block. "There are no hard feelings between them and, for Tom, their relationship simply ran its course."

The actor is single.

According to a source, the pair met in the fall of 2023 at a members only club.

" They hit it off, but he wanted to keep things super discreet while they first got to know each other," the source spilled of how they flew under the radar until they were seen together in December.

Khayrova was the first woman he was romantically linked to in several years after going through three divorces.

" Tom never gave up hope he’d find the right match," a source claimed. "The official version he likes to tell is that he just wanted to take his time, but in truth, he had some setbacks and some rejections that bruised his ego."

"Tom is going into 2024 totally energized, excited and feeling healthier and happier than he has in years," another person said last year. "What started as a basic friendship quickly turned into something more special. He wanted to take his time and not rush into any relationships just for the sake of it."

Daily Mail reported on Tom dancing at Victoria's party.

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Meet the Stunt Team Behind 'The Fall Guy' in New Sneak Peek

The Ryan Gosling movie premieres next month.

The Big Picture

Ryan Gosling performs stunts in The Fall Guy for authenticity, including a 12-story fall and Sydney Harbor bridge drag.
Stunt team highlights include driving double An Holladay and martial arts performer Justin Eaton blowing away director Leitch.
The star-studded cast of The Fall Guy includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Winston Duke, and Teresa Palmer. Premieres May 3.

The Fall Guy is near its release and fans are getting in in-depth look at all the facets of this movie including adrenaline-filled action sequences. Led by Ryan Gosling as a battered stuntman and Emily Blunt as his ex-girlfriend and movie director, the David Leitch movie is billed as a love letter to the stunt community and a new featurette shows us why. The movie has already set a Guinness World Record for its behind-the-scene action the new clip highlights all the stuntmen who are behind the epic action.

“I was happy to be the first actor to say ‘I don’t do my own stunts,’ but it was important that I do some of the stunts for authenticity in the film,” reveals Gosling of his stunt work in the film . “The whole opening sequence leads up to them dropping me 12 stories off of a building then I got dragged across the Sydney Harbor bridge,” he quips.

The Fall Guy Has an Incredible Stunt Team

“Ryan has an incredible aptitude for action, that being said, we did use four doubles,” informs Leitch. The makers aimed to recruit the best in the stunt industry as the movie features Gosling as a stuntman who goes out on a mission to find the missing leading actor of the film. Stunt designer Chris O Hara elaborated on the work of An Holladay, “Who’s our driving double. An is brilliant at rolling, driving, and jumping.” Adds Holladay of his work, “The adrenaline rush I used to get racing I now get that doing stunts.”

All the martial arts stunts in the movie are performed by Justin Eaton . “He just really blew me away with his skill level,” says Leitch. “All the fire burns and car hits that’s parkour-like that’s Ben Jenkins, ” tells Gosling, while Troy Brown did all the jumps, “ This is a big chapter in my life people are going big on this show, breaking records , I’m just glad to join the party,” Brown says of his 150 ft jump in the movie.

The movie also cast Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Tom Ryder, a famous action film star, Winston Duke as Dan Tucker, Colt's best friend, Hannah Waddingham as producer Gail Meyer, Stephanie Hsu as Alma Milan, Tom's assistant, and Teresa Palmer . The Fall Guy premieres on May 3 in the US. You can check out the new featurette below and get more details about the film with our guide here.

The Fall Guy

Colt Seavers is a stuntman who left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health. He's drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie, which is being directed by his ex, goes missing.

IMAGES

15 crazy stunts Tom Cruise actually performed in movies
Ranking Tom Cruise’s Best ‘Mission Impossible’ Stunts
10 Most Insane Movie Stunts Tom Cruise Has Done
Insane STUNTS Performed by Tom Cruise
15 crazy stunts Tom Cruise actually performed in movies
Top 20 Most Intense Tom Cruise Stunts

VIDEO

Matt Damon Talks About Tom Cruise’s Stunts
Why Tom Cruise's stunts are insane #missionimpossible #stunts #movies #shorts

COMMENTS

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