Tom Cruise explains why he performed daring Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One motorcycle stunt on day one of filming: ‘I was training and I was ready’
Tom Cruise explains why he and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One director Christopher McQuarrie filmed the movie’s most dangerous sequence first.
In the scene, Cruise, 60, is seen riding a motorcycle off a cliff before activating a parachute that lands him safely on the ground as the bike crashes.
Cruise, who is on the promotional trail for the summer blockbuster, explained to entertainment tonight that the rationale for filming the dangerous stunt was first to make sure that if he got hurt, it wouldn’t shut down the $200 million movie right off the bat.
“Well, we know we’ll either continue with the movie or we won’t – let’s know day one!” Cruise, who plays Ethan Hunt in the action movie franchise, told the outlet.
The veteran Hollywood star continued, “Let’s know day one what’s going to happen: do we all continue or is this a major rewrite?”
Latest: Tom Cruise, 60, explains why he and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One director Christopher McQuarrie filmed the movie’s most dangerous sequence first. Photographed in Rome on Monday
The showbiz stalwart once injured his ankle during production on Mission: Impossible 6, impacting filming.
The A-list actor said he was intensely focused on the cinematic sequence involving the motorbike, which requires the utmost physical precision.
“I was training and I was ready,” Cruise said. “You have to be extremely sharp when doing something like that.
“It was very important while we were preparing the film that this was actually the first thing. I don’t want to drop that and go shoot other things and have my mind elsewhere.
He added of the mood before filming: “Everyone was prepared – let’s do it.”
Cruise said capturing the moment was a sample of his own past experience with stunts and innovations from the filmmakers he worked with on the film.
The film’s director, Christopher McQuarrie, said earlier this month Empire magazine that the start of filming with the dangerous stunt set the tone for the production.
“Doing this on day one gave us all the time in the world to figure out why it [Ethan] was doing what he was doing,” he said. “If we sat down and tried to figure out these old-school movies, you’d never find it, just because it’s such a living, breathing thing.”
The A-list actor is known for doing his own stunts in his action movies
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 bike crashes.
Cruise, who is on the promotional trail for the summer blockbuster, was pictured in Rome on Monday signing autographs for fans
The upcoming action blockbuster also stars Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Henry Czerny, Vanessa Kirby and Frederick Schmidt.
Cast members joining the action anthology for the new film include 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 set to debut on July 12.
