Credit: Paramount/Skydance
Tom Cruise has long entertained audiences with the massive feats he performs on the big screen. But, while much of that is done to satisfy the masses, the 62-year-old leading man himself gets something out of his various on-set experiences as well. Cruise is a self-professed movie fan and has shown enthusiasm for his work on multiple occasions over the years. On that note, the actor was able to accomplish a dream he apparently had from the time he was “five years old.” That came courtesy of the Mission: Impossible franchise.
At this point, the Ethan Hunt actor has pulled off a plethora of wild stunts throughout the course of his M:I tenure. Hunt hanging from the side of a plane in Rogue Nation or scaling the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol are just a few of the marquee moments in the franchise. It turns out, though, that it was Dead Reckoning that provided the Top Gun icon to live out his dream. While speaking with The Guardian about the spontaneity that comes with making the massive films, Hayley Atwell revealed the specific stunt that tickled her co-star’s fancy:
There’ll be Tom going: ‘From five years old I’ve always wanted to jump from a cliff on a motorbike’, and realising his dream. But with the rest, they’re kind of making it up as they go.
M:I — Dead Reckoning features ridiculous stunts, but none of them can arguably rival the pure insanity of Tom Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff. The scene in question comes into play later in the Christopher McQuarrie-helmed film when Hunt has to jump a cliff in order to parachute over to a train. It’s a wild moment, and one that I’ll personally never forget seeing on the big screen for the first time. What’s also wild is that the motorcycle stunt was completed on the first day of production.
Seriously, that’s some childhood dream. Tom Cruise’s motorcycle sequence was originally revealed at CinemaCon back in 2021. At that time, a behind-the-scenes teaser confirmed Cruise performed the stunt six times, before the crew agreed that they had what they needed. It’s likely that not everyone has dreams of riding off a cliff when they’re kids. Of course, not everyone is Mr. Cruise, and I can appreciate his aspiration and the fact that he accomplished it. Check out this BTS video of how it all came together:
Hayley Atwell, for her part, didn’t have to perform such a scary-sounding stunt. However, as she went on to explain, she was cast with the expectation that she could keep up with Cruise in many ways:
When I auditioned, they were clear they were looking for someone who likes to work in this way, and that it’s not for everyone. I also had to be prepared for five months of full-time physical training and to be dynamic enough to learn fight sequences, to drift in a car with Tom, to be able to shoot a gun and work with knives.
Hayley Atwell will once again work with Tom Cruise in the upcoming Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. Of course, given the secretive nature of the films, it’s hard to say just what she’ll have to do in that film. Yet something I wouldn’t expect, in any case, is a repeat of the bike feat. After all, Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie don’t prefer to repeat themselves. I’m excited to see what the duo have in store with their 2025 movie schedule entry, and here’s hoping Cruise crossed off more childhood bucket list items while making it.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning opens in theaters on May 23, 2025. In the meantime, check out that awesome (and wild) motorcycle stunt by streaming Dead Reckoning with a Paramount+ subscription. You can use that same membership to stream other installments in the franchise as well.
