Tom Cruise reveals why he performed the daring ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1’ motorcycle stunt on day one of filming: ‘I trained and I was ready’
Tom Cruise discusses why he and ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ director Christopher McQuarrie shot the film’s most dangerous scene first.
In the scene, Cruise, 60, can be seen falling off a cliff on a motorcycle before activating a parachute that lands him safely on the ground as the motorcycle crashes.
Cruise, who is currently promoting the summer blockbuster, told Entertainment Tonight that the reason the dangerous stunt was filmed was to ensure that the $200 million film wouldn’t be destroyed in the event of an injury would be set from the beginning.
“Well, we know, we either go ahead with the movie or we don’t — let us know on day one!” Cruise, who plays Ethan Hunt in the action film series, told the outlet.
The veteran Hollywood star continued, “Let us know what’s going to happen on day one: are we all moving forward or is it a big recast?”
The Latest: Tom Cruise, 60, opens up on why he and ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ director Christopher McQuarrie shot the film’s most dangerous scene first. Pictured in Rome on Monday
The show business star injured his ankle during the production of ‘Mission: Impossible 6,’ which impacted filming.
The star actor said he was intensely focused on the motorcycle sequence, which required extreme physical precision.
“I trained and I was ready,” Cruise said. “You have to be razor sharp when you do something like that.”
“When preparing the film, it was very important that it was actually the first. I don’t want to drop that and shoot other things and have my mind elsewhere.’
He added of the take on the shoot, “Everybody was prepared — let’s just get it done.”
Cruise said capturing that moment was a cross-section of his own past experiences of stunts and the innovations of the filmmakers he worked with on the film.
The film’s director, Christopher McQuarrie, told Empire Magazine earlier this month that the start of filming with the dangerous stunt sets the tone for the production.
“Doing that on day one gave us all the time in the world to understand why he [Ethan] “did what he did,” he said. “If we were to sit around and try to understand these films the old-fashioned way, you’d never find it, simply because it’s such a living, breathing thing.”
The high-profile actor is known for doing his own stunts in his action films
In the scene, Cruise is seen riding a motorcycle off a cliff before activating a parachute that lands him safely on the ground as the motorcycle crashes
Cruise, who is currently promoting the summer blockbuster, was photographed signing autographs for fans in Rome on Monday
The upcoming action blockbuster also stars Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Henry Czerny, Vanessa Kirby and Frederick Schmidt.
The action anthology cast for the new film includes Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Cary Elwes, Rob Delaney, Indira Varma, Shea Whigham, Mark Gatiss, Esai Morales and Charles Parnell.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is scheduled for release on July 12.