Tom Cruise’s Jaw-Dropping Mission: Impossible stunts

The Mission: Impossible franchise, led by Tom Cruise, has become synonymous with breathtaking stunts the actor performs. His commitment to performing his stunts has redefined action cinema, making the series a benchmark for adrenaline-pumping entertainment.

Cruise raises the bar with each installment, leaving audiences eager to see what 'impossible' feat he’ll attempt next. With the eighth installment set to hit theaters soon, Nukta explores some of the most daring stunts where Cruise risked it all for the ultimate cinematic experience.

Cable Drop, Mission: Impossible

Before he became the poster boy for dangerous stunts, Tom Cruise was a superspy who relied on his team. That’s why in one of the most iconic scenes from the first Mission: Impossible film, Ethan Hunt rappels down from the ceiling into a locked-down room at the CIA Headquarters.

This scene revolutionized spy movie stunts with its intensity and precision, becoming one of the most iconic sequences in action cinema. The reason why Tom Cruise’s character finds himself suspended in mid-air deep within the facility, so as not to trip the motion sensor alarms, is iconic even after three decades. The eleven-minute scene was shot in a studio, but its execution still gives the audience goosebumps.

Ethan Hunt had to retrieve an NOC (Non-Official Cover) list from a computer guarded by motion sensors. Despite a mouse in the ceiling and a shaky colleague holding the wire, Hunt completed the mission without triggering any alarms.

The moment when Ethan nearly plummets to the ground and is stopped just inches from the floor has become popular worldwide and has been copied in many spy files.

Helicopter – Train sequence, Mission: Impossible

In the climax of the same film, Ethan Hunt battles Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) on top of the TGV bullet train. He tries his best to stop his former team leader from reaching the chopper following them.

Since the film came out long before Tom Cruise became renowned for his death-defying stunts, the stunt was filmed on a sound stage in Pinewood Studios. One must commend the stunt team's technical precision and execution, making it appear natural.

It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that this stunt could be the origin story of Tom Cruise’s passion for doing his own Mission: Impossible stunts.

Free-Climbing Cliffhanger, Mission: Impossible 2

Director John Woo’s Mission: Impossible 2 brought style to the franchise, and even though it isn’t appreciated as much as the later installments, it does feature a few stunts that were emulated later on. Tom Cruise is shown to be free climbing at Dead Horse Point in Utah, where he gets his mission, which sets up the film.

Despite safety precautions, Cruise performed the daring free-climbing scene himself, dangling 600 feet above a talus slope—an unforgettable moment in action cinema.

Climbing the Burj Khalifa, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

While most actors rely on CGI or green screens for such scenes, Cruise scaled the Burj Khalifa himself, using only a safety rope. Ethan Hunt had to climb the Burj Khalifa in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and that’s what he did.

The stunt was a step up from the free-climbing stunt in Mission: Impossible 2 and set the tone for what was to come in the franchise. The moment when his glove fails in mid-air or when he finds out that his rope is too short, the expression he gives is both relatable and motivating because he does finish the mission even after these shortcomings.

The Airbus Scene, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

The fifth Mission: Impossible film starts with a daring stunt where Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt clings to the side of the plane mid-flight, performing another of his famous jaw-dropping stunts.

Ethan Hunt has to enter an Airbus A400M plane, but when Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) fails to open the door remotely, Ethan Hunt does what Ethan Hunt loves – cling to the plane while it’s in the air, without any support.

Tom Cruise had to wear contact lenses and earplugs for the sequence, meaning he couldn't see or hear. He was also bolted to the plane via a harness at speeds of 260 mph, where even a pebble would be deemed dangerous. He completed the stunt in one piece, which is why viewers expect the opening of Mission: Impossible flicks to be explosive.

Underwater Vault Heist, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Would you believe it if I told you that Tom Cruise learned to hold his breath underwater for six minutes to shoot this underwater vault heist sequence? No? This is precisely what happened in the fifth Mission: Impossible flick, where the team was tasked with swapping a file in an underwater database.

In this unforgettable underwater vault heist, Cruise performed a sequence that required him to hold his breath for an astounding six minutes. If that sounds unbelievable, think again—this daring sequence continued with another stunt: Hunt jumped 120 feet into an underwater security system.

HALO Jump, Mission: Impossible – Fallout

The sixth Mission: Impossible movie featured three jaw-dropping stunts, each worthy of being the centerpiece of a film. The first featured Tom Cruise and ‘Superman’ actor Henry Cavill in a one-take HALO jump sequence. They attempted a high-altitude low-open jump that goes awry when the latter’s oxygen supply malfunctions.

This sequence is groundbreaking because no actor before Tom Cruise had ever attempted such a jump; the team designed a custom helmet that provided oxygen and interior lighting, ensuring Cruise's face remained visible in the dimly lit scene—a crucial element for audience immersion.

Natural lighting posed another challenge. Cruise and the cameraman completed 106 jumps, including rehearsals, and captured the sequence in multiple takes to perfect the timing of the three-minute window.

Roof Jump, Mission: Impossible – Fallout

One big stunt would have been enough in any other Hollywood movie, but Tom Cruise doesn’t do simple things, and that's why one of the most memorable stunts in the sixth Mission: Impossible film injured Cruise.

Cruise's ankle broke while filming a scene after a rooftop chase in London. Ethan Hunt was following a bad guy (no spoiler). At the end of the grueling chase, Cruise misjudged a jump, breaking his ankle—a moment captured on film.

Helicopter Chase, Mission: Impossible – Fallout

After recovering from his injury, Cruise once again defied expectations by performing the helicopter chase stunt himself۔ Meaning he had to climb a rope hanging from a moving helicopter, crawl up the rope to fly the helicopter, and then chase the bad guy in another helicopter.

Cruise relied solely on a harness for safety during the stunt, underscoring the extreme danger. To prepare for the sequence, Cruise underwent intense training for 16 hours a day to earn his helicopter certification quickly.

Motorcycle Jump, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Many consider this stunt one of the most daring ever attempted in cinema, and for good reason. In the film's climax, Cruise’s character rides his motorcycle off a cliff, propelling into a nosedive and deploying a parachute.

Reports state that Cruise completed over 13,000 training jumps to perfect the sequence and ensure its precise execution. The onscreen landing didn't feel like the end the stunt needed, but the sequence still stands as a cinematic milestone.

Ethan Hunt performing the stunt in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning

From HALO jumps to cliff-diving motorcycles, Tom Cruise has pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in action cinema. His dedication to performing these stunts himself has cemented the Mission: Impossible series as a gold standard for adrenaline-pumping entertainment. Fans can only imagine what the actor will dare to attempt next.