Tom Cruise is known for being a daredevil who does most of his own stunts, therefore it’s no surprise that the actor has had more than one brush with death.

Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai

Tom Cruise almsot lost his head while filming The Last Samurai (Image: Warner Bros)

Tom Cruise was almost decapitated while filming The Last Samurai. The actor, 62, is known for performing most of his own stunts and has been doing so for more than 30 years.

While filming the 2003 action drama, Cruise turned down having a stunt double and chose to wield his own swords and ride mechanical horses himself.

But one moment involving these two things saw Cruise come inches away from losing his life. In the scene, Cruise was riding a mechanical horse alongside Hiroyuki Sanada, who had to swing a sword at the former’s head.

Due to a technical fault which saw Sanada’s horse veer off course, the scene nearly led to tragedy as Cruise almost lost his head.

Thankfully, Cruise’s life was saved by Sanada’s expert martial arts skills. Recalling the incident, the Top Gun star said: “One day we were shooting, I was on a mechanical horse and Hero was on one too.

Hiroyuki Sanada The Last Samurai

Cruise’s life was saved due to Sanada’s expert martial arts skills (Image: Quality: Original. Film Title: The Last Samurai. Pictured: HIROYUKI SANADA in Warner Bros. Pictures’)

Cruise continued: “He was approaching me and then suddenly his horse hit me and his sword was right here,” pointing an inch from his neck. He added: “Luckily Hero is trained in martial arts. I trust him.”

Sanada also spoke of the incident, revealing the film crew screamed in horror as they believed Cruise was moments away from losing his head.

The Japanese actor, as reported by Loopers, said: “Tom’s neck was right in front of me, and I tried to stop swinging my sword, but it was hard to control with one hand. The film crew watching from the side all screamed because they thought Tom’s head would fly off.”

Although his stunts come with great risk, this doesn’t seem to faze Cruise. During filming for 1996’s Top Gun, the actor almost lost his life during the scene where his on-screen best friend and partner Goose dies.

Goose's death in Top Gun

Cruise was almost dragged under the sea during Goose’s death scene in Top Gun (Image: Youtube)

In the scene, he lifts up the body of the deceased co-pilot while wearing a parachute in the middle of the ocean. It was later revealed that Cruise was almost dragged underwater by his own parachute after it began filling up with water.

Barry Tub, who played the role of Wolfman in the film, recalled the incident which could have left Cruise at the bottom of the ocean.

“Cruise came as close to dying as anybody on a set I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Luckily one of the frogmen in the chopper saw his chute ballooning out. He jumped in and cut Cruise loose right before he sank.

Tub added: “They would have never found him. He would have been at the bottom of the ocean.”