See Tom Cruise Perform A Death-Defying Stunt Just To Thank Fans
Tom Cruise jumps out of a helicopter to thank fans for making Top Gun: Maverick a hit.
To thank fans for supporting Top Gun Maverick, soon to be released on Paramount+, Tom Cruise leaped from a helicopter in a spine-chilling stunt. Cruise posted a video of the action on Twitter, where he called entertaining his fans “the honor of a lifetime.” The stunt was captured on location in South Africa while filming Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part One and Part Two.
Tom Cruise is set to release the much-anticipated Top Gun sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. In the next chapter of the 1986 story, Maverick’s military career is held back by his frequent insubordination. Unfortunately, the character continues to live up to that reputation for most of the second film.
Jumping out of a helicopter is mundane for 60-year-old Tom Cruise. However, the actor is known for doing extensive stunt work throughout his action film career. Some of his stunts are the stuff of Hollywood legends.
While filming Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, experts were brought in to teach Tom Crusie to slow down his heart rate, allowing him to hold his breath underwater longer. Because of this training, Cruise could hold his breath for more than 6 minutes on set. However, even after filming ended, the actor would catch himself holding his breath out of reflex.
The Mission Impossible series showed the world what Tom Cruise could do as an action lead. Cruise leaped from helicopters and dangled from the outside of a plane as it took off. However, many fans still wince at the memory of a knife blade stopping just a breath from the actor’s open eye.
The stunt credited with renewing interest in the film franchise involved Tom Cruise scaling and running down Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, one of the tallest buildings in the world at 2,722 feet. Unfortunately, the stunt was nearly blocked when the film studio’s insurance wouldn’t cover it. So Cruise founded his own company to produce the action, and posed for a portrait at the top of the tower with no safety restraints.
In 2017’s reboot of The Mummy, Tom Cruise sent pulses racing again with a daring free-fall stunt. Cruise’s character is on a plane that’s falling from the sky. The actor and his costar are physically thrown around, adding authenticity to the scene.
While jumping out of an aircraft to get the shot is nothing new for the veteran action star, it’s impressive at his age. Tom Crusie is currently filming Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, the latest two-part installment of the spy movie franchise. The films are numbers seven and eight in the series, and many theorize may be the last.
Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell) returns in the next installments of the Mission: Impossible series. He’s the only actor other than Tom Cruise to appear in all eight Mission: Impossible films. Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn) has the second-longest tenure, appearing in every movie since the third installment.
Many wonder why Tom Cruise is still jumping out of helicopters at 60 when most of his stunts could be replicated with CGI. The answer is that his fans are going to see Tom Cruise movies to see Tom Cruise jump out of a helicopter. So his thank you is the perfect message for his audience, who appreciate his adrenaline-pumping feats.
