Yes, the rumors are true, Tom Cruise is indeed immortal. Only fools would doubt this fact, given his confidence in undertaking the most dangerous of stunts with ease, showcasing that there’s nothing the superstar fears. Even though there may be things that give him pause, death is certainly not one of them.
Consequently, a Mission Impossible 7 stunt was so dangerous that the actor insisted on doing it on the first day, to assess whether filming could continue as planned or if major changes were necessary for the franchise. He was determined not to let any of the invested money go to waste. The megastar truly operates on a whole other level.
How Was Tom Cruise Feeling Before Making the Impossible Stunt in MI7 Possible?
There are very few days when Tom Cruise doubts himself, and even fewer when it comes to doing his own stunts. However, an exception occurred on the sets of Mission Impossible 7. Despite knowing all the stakes and consequences he would face if even a minor mishap occurred, he made the decision to shoot the most difficult stunts on the very first day.
His motive was to ensure that all the invested money wouldn’t go to waste if something were to happen to him. This decision truly showcases the next level of dedication that only fans can expect from Tom Cruise.
During an Entertainment Tonight interview, the actor offered fans a sneak peek into what was going on in his mind that led him to undertake this challenging task. He said,
“Well we know either we will continue with the film or we’re not. Let’s know day one–Let us know day one what is going to happen: Do we all continue or is it a major rewrite?”
He then further explained,
“I was training and I was ready–You have to be razor sharp when you’re doing something like that. It was very important as we were prepping the film that it was actually the first thing. I don’t want to drop that and go shoot other things and have my mind somewhere else. Everyone was prepped. Let’s just get it done.”
The real reason is that he had his mind ready, he was fully aware of the set of challenges he had to face while filming the movie and the series of stunts he had to perform. He wanted to tackle them one at a time. Thus, since he was training and getting ready for that major event, it only made sense to film it first to get it out of the way so he could focus on something else.
It was truly a spectacle to behold, as he propelled off the side of a mountain on a dirt bike, and then parachuted to the ground.
How Did Shooting the Stunt on the First Day Benefit the Production?
Well, first off, executing the stunt on the very first day, in typical Tom Cruise fashion, really helped to establish the objective and motive for Ethan Hunt, the character in the essence of it. The director of the movie, Christopher McQuarrie, revealed to Empire Magazine,
“Doing that on day one gave us all the time in the world to understand why he [Ethan] was doing what he was doing, If we sat around and tried to figure out these movies the old-fashioned way, you’d never find it, simply because it’s such a living, breathing thing.”
Riding a motorcycle off a cliff presented significant risks. Therefore, Cruise was determined to avoid any mishaps this time. He holds the Mission Impossible movies in high regard, one might say like his baby. And Cruise sustaining severe injuries or, God forbid, meeting an untimely demise during the motorcycle stunt on the set of the big-budget movie would have deeply hurt the movie.
Given Cruise’s previous ankle injury during Mission: Impossible 6 led to production delays, he knew he could not repeat the same mistake twice. It is undeniable that the absence of Tom Cruise would leave an irreplaceable void in the franchise, but given the actor is indeed an immortal being, that’s the least of the worries!
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is available on Paramount to stream.
