Tom Cruise explains why he continues to do his own stunts in movies, despite the danger involved. Movies like Risky Business, Top Gun, and Rain Man put Cruise on the map in the 1980s, but the actor has since become synonymous with big blockbuster action filmmaking and stunt work, largely thanks to the Mission: Impossible franchise. Starting from humble beginnings in 1996 with the original Mission: Impossible from director Brian De Palma, the franchise has since transformed into a vehicle for Cruise to carry out increasingly dangerous stunts, often under the direction of Christopher McQuarrie.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout, the most recent entry in the franchise, took Cruise's Ethan Hunt to new heights – literally – and saw Cruise carry out dozens of HALO (high altitude, low opening) jumps from a large transport plane for one of the film's signature set pieces. The sequel to Mission: Impossible – Fallout, now officially titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part I, has already been confirmed to feature still more death-defying stunts, including one particularly impressive sequence where Cruise drives a motorcycle off a cliff. For Top Gun: Maverick, the action-packed upcoming sequel to Cruise's 1986 hit, the actor and producer remains similarly committed to real-world stunts, with real fighter jets being used for many of the film's aerial sequences.
Ahead of the screening of Top Gun: Maverick at the Cannes Film Festival, Cruise sat down for what was described as a "MasterClass Conversation" and explains why he remains so committed to doing his own stunts. The actor's response, courtesy of THR, is short and sweet (and suitably confident), with Cruise essentially implying that doing his own stunts is simply a part of who he is. Check out Cruise's full comment below:
"No one asked Gene Kelly, 'Why do you dance? Why do you do your own dancing?'"
Kelly, an actor known for his performances in classic hits like Singin' in the Rain and An American in Paris, was renowned for his particularly energetic dancing style, something that Cruise clearly feels a kinship with. Cruise's comment suggests that, just like Kelly was good at dancing and showing off that talent in his movies, the Mission: Impossible actor is good at doing his own stunts and making them an integral part of his movies. Cruise, who is currently 59 years old, is in the midst of filming his eighth and perhaps final Mission: Impossible film and his comment at Cannes teases that his stunt work won't be slowing down anytime soon.
While Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part II is sure to feature a number of stunts that are bigger and bolder than anything audiences have seen from Cruise thus far, the actor's untitled SpaceX project, which will supposedly film in outer space, would suggest that he is committed to death-defying stunts even outside of the Mission: Impossible franchise. It remains to be seen what surprises Cruise has in store for fans over the next decade of his career, but his recent comments affirm that stunt work is very much a part of who he is and, instead of asking "Why?" audiences should just go along for the ride.
Source: THR
