
Tom Cruise details gruesome injury caused during ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ stunt
Tom Cruise has revealed that he almost broke his back during the filming of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and picked up another harrowing injury on set.
Following its release in May, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning has been one of the stand-out performers at the box office this year, and earlier this week, it became available to watch digitally.
The digital release comes with bonus content, including commentary from Cruise and McQuarrie, who provide a peek behind the curtain, including revealing how the Hollywood A-lister almost suffered a catastrophic injury while dangling from a biplane during a crucial scene.
In the commentary, Cruise says, while the dangerous stunt plays (per Entertainment Weekly), “Oh, this almost broke my back.” Director McQuarrie intervenes to add, “You’re talking about a lot of pain here.”
At another point in the scene, Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, is hanging onto a seatbelt while the plane flies upside down. McQuarrie commented in the commentary, “Now watch this: The thing we haven’t talked about, holding on to this belt,” to which Cruise added, “Oh God, that was brutal.”
McQuarrie then revealed: “This separated the joints in Tom’s fingers from the force, so by the time we finished this sequence, your hands were absolutely swollen — oh my God, it was so painful to watch.”
Following the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Cruise has many more projects that he’s begun working on, including Top Gun 3, and a sequel to his 1990 classic Days of Thunder. He’s also set to star in a mysterious new project by director Alejandro G Iñárritu.
Last week, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that Cruise rejected the opportunity to be part of the Kennedy Center Honors list for 2025 due to “scheduling conflicts”.
The Washington Post states their report is “according to several current and former Kennedy Center employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss event plans”.
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