Tom Cruise relives filming his death-defying plane stunt for the Mission: Impossible franchise that the director had originally suggested as a joke. Since the franchise’s inception in 1996, Cruise has been executing increasingly daring stunts for the audiences’ enjoyment. The stunts started more modestly in the original movie, directed by Brian De Palma, but were no less iconic, including the Langley break-in scene which required Cruise to dangle just inches from the floor. The most iconic stunt in Mission: Impossible 2, directed by John Woo, required a knife to stop just inches away from Cruise’s eye.

One of Cruise’s most iconic stunts came in Ghost Protocol when he scaled the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. However, since Christopher McQuarrie took over as the franchise’s director, each installment has featured increasingly elaborate and daring stunts staged by Cruise. In Rogue Nation, Cruise clung onto the side of a mᴀssive plane in midair, followed by Fallout‘s various stunts. ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning featured the biggest stunt in cinematic history as Cruise rode a motorcycle off a cliff, let go of the bike, and pulled his parachute. The Final Reckoning trailer features Cruise hanging off biplanes in midair.

Tom Cruise Relives His Plane Stunt From Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Director Christopher McQuarrie Originally Suggested The Stunt As A Joke

Tom Cruise relives his plane stunt from Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Directed by McQuarrie, the 2015 Mission: Impossible film follows Ethan Hunt and his team who, following their disbandment from the IMF, are targeted by the CIA and must take on the Syndicate, a global network of government operatives gone rogue. The opening scene sees Ethan intercepting a shipment of nerve gas being moved by The Syndicate, for which Cruise clung onto the side of Airbus A400M as it took off and reached about 5,000 ft in the air.

During a recent interview with Empire Magazine, Cruise relived the plane stunt from Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. The actor revealed that McQuarrie originally suggested the plane stunt as a joke, and detailed the extensive preparation required to pull off the stunt safely. However, some debris still hit him in the ribs and knocked the wind out of him. But beforehand, Cruise urged McQuarrie not to stop filming, even if he looked scared. Read his full comments below:

McQ was like, “Oh, look at this airplane, how would you like to hang off that airplane?” I said, “Sure!” He later told me he was joking. So we set it up. We’re doing it. We had to go through a tremendous amount of engineering to make sure that if anything happened, that the camera wouldn’t come off and hit me and kill me. There was a runway [at RAF Wittering] that we had to clean, to make sure there were no particles that could come up and hit me. And I came up with the idea of using square lenses to protect my eyes, so I could keep my eyes open for the close-up.

On the day, it was freezing. I was strapped in, and we had hand signals for if I was in trouble. Once I am out there, you can’t get me in. I’m out there for the whole ride. So now I’m taxiing and I’m ingesting fuel because I’m right in the exhaust. Because he’s my friend, and I know he’s nervous, I call McQ and say, “Listen, man. No matter what, don’t stop. If I look scared, I’m acting. Don’t stop. I’m gonna do this.” We’re at the top of the runway, and I could feel it. The pilot goes full throttle and I’m like, “Here we go.”

We start blasting down that runway, and I’m getting hit with the heat and the exhaust, and on the first take I got hit with something. Some particle hit me in the ribs. It knocked the wind out of me. I didn’t tell anyone about the stone. What’s the point, you know? And so we didn’t get it on the first take. The more times you do it, you start to feel the performance, and when my feet should come off the ground. So we decided to hold on a little longer so we could get it when we’re off the ground. And then we finally got it.

What Tom Cruise’s Comments Mean For Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’s Plane Stunt

He Was Lucky To Survive

Cruise’s comments reliving Rogue Nation‘s plane stunt really help put into perspective just how dangerous the stunt was. McQuarrie originally suggested the stunt as a joke, never imagining that Cruise would actually want to attempt it. While numerous safeguards were put in place to protect Cruise, he was still inhaling exhaust and was susceptible to being hit by debris while in the air. He was lucky to escape with nothing more serious than a particle that knocked the wind out of him – a reminder of just how death-defying Cruise’s stunts for Mission: Impossible really are.

Source: Empire Magazine