Tom Cruise opened up about the complexity of doing his own movie stunts and said he’s “constantly training” in an interview with People published Thursday.
Cruise candidly discussed some of the most difficult stunts he has pulled off as agent Ethan Hunt in the “Mission: Impossible” series, and revealed the things he does to prepare before executing the dramatic scenes. The actor said he throws himself into each role with authenticity, and admitted the stunts are extreme.
“You’re not going to feel as connected with the character if I went with a regular mask and a thing in my mouth to breathe,” he told People. “Luckily when you’re flying jets you train for hypoxia and for carbon dioxide buildup. You start to be able to perceive your body and how it’s reacting so that I knew when to stop.”
Cruise crawled along the wings of a 1940s-era biplane as it flew across South Africa’s Drakensberg mountain range in “Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning.”
“I remember seeing old footage of wing-walking,” Cruise told People, as he reflected on a stunt he has envisioned since he was a young child.
“Those aircraft were only traveling at, I don’t know, 40, 50 miles an hour. This aircraft is up to over 120 miles an hour. Going out there, I was realizing that it takes your breath away,” he said.
Director Christopher McQuarrie chimed in to say, “Anytime you see Tom in the plane, he’s at the controls.”
“He’s basically a one-man film crew: operating the camera, acting and flying,” he said.
Stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood shared just how intense Cruise’s stunts really are.
“Everyone will think we did some on green screen on the ground. I guarantee there was not one single shot that was not on a plane flying for real,” he told People.
Cruise gave rare insight into what he does to prepare for the high-altitude, daredevil stunts.
“I actually eat a massive breakfast,” he said.
“The amount of energy it takes — I train so hard for that wing-walking. I’ll eat, like, sausage and almost a dozen eggs and bacon and toast and coffee and fluids. Oh, I’m eating! Picture: It’s cold up there. We’re at high altitude. My body is burning a lot,” Cruise told People.
NEW YORK – MAY 03: Actor Tom Cruise arrives at the premiere of “Mission: Impossible III” at Tribeca Performing Arts Center during the 5th Annual Tribeca Film Festival May 3, 2006 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images For TFF)
In the latest, and possibly the final film in the franchise, Cruise took on a dramatic underwater stunt sequence inside of a massive water tank that tilted and rotated 360 degrees with Cruise inside. In order to feature his unobstructed face in his SCUBA mask, Cruise breathed in his own carbon dioxide.
“If we knew what it took to do it, we would not have done it,” McQuarrie said.
US actor Tom Cruise (C) speaks to people during the filming of “Mission Impossible 6” in a Paris street on May 3, 2017. (Photo: STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
Cruise expressed his passion for film and his dedication to always push the limits as far as he can go. (RELATED: You’ll Never Guess How Much Tom Cruise Was Paid For Complex Olympic Stunt)
“I love making movies. It’s not what I do. It’s who I am,” he said.
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” hits theaters May 23.
