From Scaling the Burj Khalifa to HALO Jumps: Tom Cruise’s best Mission: Impossible stunts across All 8 Films
From scaling skyscrapers, jumping out of aircraft and off mountain cliffs, to plunging into the depths of the ocean, here are the best stunts by Tom Cruise
At 62, Hollywood star Tom Cruise continues to redefine the boundaries of action filmmaking, performing his own stunts with unwavering commitment. From scaling skyscrapers to executing high-altitude jumps, Tom's dedication stems from a lifelong passion for pushing physical and cinematic limits. Reflecting on his career, he once remarked during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, “I want to entertain the audience, and I want them to know it’s real.”
This authenticity is evident in his meticulous preparation for each stunt, ensuring both safety and spectacle. He also acknowledged the inherent risks. “It’s not that I’m not scared. I don’t mind being scared. It’s important to look to confront it. There is a tremendous amount of pressure, but pressure is a privilege”, he had said during a press conference in Seoul for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One in 2023.
His approach combines rigorous training with a fearless mindset, allowing him to perform feats that captivate audiences worldwide. As he continues to challenge the impossible, here are eight stunts from as many instalments of the Mission: Impossible franchise that proves that Tom's legacy as a true action star remains unparalleled
The CIA vault descent
One of the most iconic moments in action cinema came early in the franchise: Tom’s precision drop into the CIA vault in the first film which released in 1996. Suspended on wires, Tom’s Ethan Hunt has to lower himself silently into a pressure-sensitive room without touching the floor. What made this scene memorable was how physically demanding it was—Tom had to maintain a perfectly horizontal posture for extended takes, which proved difficult. In one famous instance, he kept hitting the floor until he figured out how to balance by placing coins in his shoes. Tom later revealed he was more exhausted after shooting that sequence than any car chase. “It looks easy, but it was one of the hardest stunts I’ve ever done,” he admitted.
Free solo cliff climb
The second instalment in the Mission: Impossible franchise opens with a breathtaking shot of Tom free climbing the famous Dead Horse Point in Utah, US. This was no special effect, as Tom actually scaled the cliff face without a safety net, secured only by a hidden harness and safety cable digitally removed in post-production. During one take, Tom made a 15-foot leap between ledges and tore a muscle in his shoulder, but refused to stop. Director John Woo was reportedly terrified. “I was very scared,” Woo admitted. “I tried to stop him, but he insisted.” Tom trained with expert climbers to prepare for the stunt, and he later said, “I love climbing. That feeling of danger, of being fully alive—it’s addictive.”
Shanghai skyscraper swing
In this third installment, Tom pulled off a high-flying stunt over the Shanghai skyline, leaping between two buildings using a cable rig. Though the sequence was filmed partially on location and partially on a set with CGI extensions, Tom still performed the stunt himself—launching off a real rooftop and crashing into the side of a building during filming. He cracked a couple of ribs after a particularly hard landing, but continued filming. “You just feel it snap, and you keep going,” he had said later in interviews. This sequence marked Tom’s growing obsession with realism and using wire work and real movement rather than digital tricks to sell a stunt.
Climbing the Burj Khalifa
Perhaps the most legendary stunt of Tom’s career, this one had him running, jumping, and scaling the exterior of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai—the tallest building in the world at over 2,700 feet. Wearing a special harness and using suction gloves, Tom climbed several floors of the tower, sometimes suspended by a single wire. High winds made the stunt incredibly dangerous, as did the heat reflecting off the glass windows. He trained with skydivers and base jumpers to prepare, and underwent weeks of rehearsals. “I knew I had to do it. The audience had to believe Ethan Hunt was really out there,” he said. The shots, captured by IMAX cameras, remain among the most breathtaking visuals in action film history.
Hanging from an Airbus A400M
The teaser alone sent shockwaves through Hollywood: Tom Cruise clinging to the side of a massive Airbus A400M as it takes off. And yes—he really did it in the fifth instalment of the franchise. Filmed in the UK, the stunt involved Tom strapped to the exterior of the plane, which took off with him holding on. The aircraft reached speeds of over 160 mph at altitudes of around 1,000 feet. He performed the stunt eight times to get the right take, wearing contact lenses to prevent debris from blinding him. Tom admitted this was one of the scariest stunts he’s ever done. “While you’re going down that runway, there’s a moment you think: 'Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.' But that’s part of the thrill,” he had said. The resulting footage is pulse-pounding and absolutely real—no CGI magic required.
The HALO jump
Tom took his death-defying feats to new heights—literally—with a real HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jump from 25,000 feet in the sixth instalment. This military-grade skydiving maneuver had never before been done on film with an actor. He trained for over a year and completed hundreds of practice jumps to prepare. Because he had to act during freefall—delivering dialogue and reacting mid-air—the team developed a custom helmet with a built-in oxygen supply and camera to capture his face in the dive. They shot the scene at golden hour for the right lighting, meaning they had only one take per day. “There’s a very real sense of danger here. One mistake and it’s over,” Tom had said during an interview.
Motorcycle cliff jump
This stunt was teased as “the most dangerous ever attempted in cinema”—and it lived up to the hype. In Dead Reckoning Part One, Tom rides a dirt bike off a massive cliff in Norway, lets go mid-air, freefalls for several seconds, and finally deploys a parachute. No stunt double. No green screen. He trained for a year, logging 13,000 motocross jumps and 500 skydives. On location in Hellesylt, Norway, the team built a custom ramp on the cliff's edge. Tom performed the stunt six times to get it perfect. “I’ve wanted to do this since I was a kid,” he said in behind-the-scenes footage. The sheer complexity—from ramp geometry to wind calculations—made it a logistical nightmare, but the result is jaw-dropping. It’s the perfect encapsulation of what Mission: Impossible has become: practical, perilous, and powered by Tom’s obsession with authenticity.
Biplane wing walk
The behind-the-scenes footage from the stunt in the recently released instalment, shows Tom performing a full biplane wing walk mid-flight—without a harness visible. Shot over South Africa, the scene involves him standing and moving on the wings of a World War II-era biplane at thousands of feet in the air. Tom trained in aerial acrobatics and even piloted the plane himself during some rehearsals. For the real take, he stood strapped to the wing and acted while the plane performed a loop. “We wanted to top everything we’ve done before,” Cruise said in a promotional video. “And this is just the beginning of what’s coming in Part Two.” It’s arguably the most visually staggering stunt yet, showcasing his endless commitment to pushing boundaries.
