The only stunt Tom Cruise refused to shoot more than once: “I can’t do it again”
Tom Cruise is a Hollywood icon, making a name for himself through his dangerously demanding stunts and risky independent projects, starring in global blockbusters and daring passion projects from directors like Stanley Kubrick and Francis Ford Coppola.
Over the years, he has come to be recognised for playing iconic characters that chart the evolution of Hollywood itself, starting out at a time when the rise of commercial films was just beginning, instead becoming known for his earnest performances in Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men, Rain Man and Magnolia.
While questionable politics have tainted his reputation, a messy divorce from Nicole Kidman and his controversial involvement with Scientology, no one can deny that he has charm and talent coming out of the wazoo. Despite having an unflappable exterior and remaining cool and collected on set, there was one stunt that managed to rattle him.
Many Hollywood actors have formed their own unique creative trademarks. It could be Margaret Qualley’s infamous sideways lip bite, Matthew McConaughey’s use of the phrase “alright, alright, alright” or the fact that Brad Pitt’s characters are always eating. However, there are some who have become famous for their involvement in a particular genre or style, with Kevin Coster creating a lifelong love affair with the Western, Martin Scorsese with gangster flicks and Michelle Williams with Kelly Reichardt.
While Cruise has worked across a variety of genres, he was become famous for performing his own stunts, often creating breath-taking visual spectacles as he defies the laws of gravity itself to levitate and dangle from strange and high places. His work will leave you on the edge of your seat as you gasp at the imminnent danger and presumed death that awaits him, somehow always managing to escape in one piece.
However, there was one stunt that even Cruise wasn’t convinced he’d make it out alive, describing the terrifying opening scene of Mission: Impossible 2 when he dangles from a cliff face while rock climbing.
When describing this, the thrill-seeking actor said, “This is back in the days where you didn’t have radios, and I’m free climbing as I’m going up to where I need to be for that opening shot. I had to pace myself, because I had to climb down afterwards, and if I fall, there’s a cable that’s going to get me, but I’m going to be slamming up against the mountain. And the rock is very soft rock. At certain times you’re going, ‘Jesus, I’m sliding, it’s breaking away.’ As I’m doing the Iron Cross (a move where he is suspended between two pieces of rock), I’m actually hanging there, but it isn’t quite right, and you can see it. I was like, ‘Just tell me this is the shot, because I can’t do it again.’”
When watching this scene, it is impossible to see the safety net that is apparently present, looking for any wires or mechanisms that he might be attached to. This only demonstrates the genuine danger of these scenes and the guts that it takes to perform them, something that only a madman as committed to entertainment as Cruise could achieve.
