Tom Cruise reveals just how he prepares himself at 62 for death-defying movie stunts: ‘My body is burning’
Tom Cruise is ready to take on one final challenge for the eighth and possibly final installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise, the upcoming The Final Reckoning.
The Oscar-nominated actor, 62, has already scaled the Burj Khalifa, harnessed himself to a helicopter, submerged himself underwater, and performed a cliff dive for the action thriller film series, which began in 1996.
While it is not yet confirmed whether Tom will ultimately return to the films, or whether they’ll continue to be made after Final Reckoning, one thing’s for sure — the star can’t get enough of them. Watch the trailer for Final Reckoning below…
Picking up skills
“I will learn a skill, and I know eventually I’m going to use it in a movie,” he admitted to People, sharing further insight into the death-defying stunts he is willing and able to pull off for the franchise.
One of his skills is more innocuous — dance. “I’m interested in that art form,” he reasons. “The teachers understand how to move a body, what the shape does and the emotion it can create in others.”
“Whether it’s the piano or having more time to dance. Or parachuting or flying airplanes or helicopters,” he says of his desire to keep picking up new trades. The wonderful thing is you’re never there. It can always be better.”
© Getty ImagesFor the latest installment in the Mission: Impossible series, which will be in theaters on May 23, Tom will be hanging onto and crawling along the wings of a 1940s era biplane.
Preparing for stunts
The actor told the publication just how exactly he prepares for such stunts, and it doesn’t include any specific tactics like meditation or steeling one’s nerves. “I actually eat a massive breakfast,” he quipped.
© Getty Images“The amount of energy it takes — I train so hard for that wing-walking. I’ll eat, like, sausage and almost a dozen eggs and bacon and toast and coffee and fluids. Oh, I’m eating! Picture: It’s cold up there. We’re at high altitude. My body is burning a lot.”
The Rain Man star recalled seeing a similar stunt as a child, which instilled the desire to recreate it down the line. “I remember seeing old footage of wing-walking. Those aircraft were only traveling at, I don’t know, 40, 50 miles an hour. This aircraft is up to over 120 miles an hour. Going out there, I was realizing that it takes your breath away.”
© Getty ImagesTom’s intense dedication
Director Christopher McQuarrie attested to the actor’s dedication to his craft, having directed and co-written the last four Mission: Impossible movies and co-produced the last three.
“Anytime you see Tom in the plane, he’s at the controls,” the filmmaker explained. “He’s basically a one-man film crew: operating the camera, acting and flying.” Tom chimes in by adding: “On Mission, if it was easy, I guess we wouldn’t want to do it.”
© SkyDespite being vague about his return to the franchise, the dad-of-three proclaims his love for Mission: Impossible and his profession in general. “I love making movies. It’s not what I do. It’s who I am,” he gushed.
