Follow us on Google News
Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed
Tom Cruise is one of the most successful and well-recognized actors in Hollywood. Outside of the massively successful projects that he has been a part of, with theTop Gunfilm series,The Mission: Impossiblefranchise,Day and Knight, andJack Reacherbeing excellent examples, he is also notorious for performing his stunts, captivating the attention of his audience with the fact that he chooses to put his life in danger to bring the most unique feeling to a film.
It is only natural that when the lead actor in an extremely expensive project decides to do dangerous stunts themselves, those involved would advise against it. From getting injured and having to pause production for weeks, to sustaining a permanent injury or even death, there is a lot that can go wrong in a situation like this. So it is no surprise that the director of one of Cruise’s films was skeptical when the actor wanted to do an extremely dangerous stunt himself.
Also Read:“I hated it so much”: Before Promising To Work With Tom Cruise, Scarlett Johansson Confessed Her True Feelings For Actor’s $162M Movie With Nicole Kidman
The Famous Cliff Scene InMission: Impossible II
Though the second part of theMission: Impossiblefranchise is not the best according to critics, being the lowest-rated film out of all time films in the series on IMDb, the film certainly had some very memorable moments. The infamous scene ofTom Cruise‘s Ethan Hunt hanging off the edge of a cliff with no safety gear makes the list of the most iconic scenes in the franchise.
The scene was shot at the Dead Horse Point in the state of Utah, with an elevation of 5,900 ft. Though Hunt did not have any harness, Cruise, of course, did. Despite this, it is only natural that anyone involved would not be a big fan of the actor performing the scene on his own, putting himself in harm’s way for the sake of a scene.
Also Read:“I was never a victim”: Tom Cruise’s Ex-Girlfriend Sofia Vergara Came Out In Defense Of Talk Show Host Who Humiliated Her Countless Times On TV
Tom Cruise Went Against Director John Woo’s Wishes For This Scene
Even though this scene is one of the most iconic from the film, Director John Woo revealed that he had advised Tom Cruise against doing the scene himself. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he revealed that during the filming of this scene, he was infuriated at Cruise for not listening to him, while also being extremely worried for his wellbeing. The director revealed that this was so intense that he was unable to look at the monitors when Cruise was hanging off the cliff.
“I was really mad that he wanted to do it, but I tried to stop him and I couldn’t,”Woo says.“I was so scared I was sweating. I couldn’t even watch the monitor when we shot it.”The director toldEW,“We had five cameras on the cliff, including a helicopter camera, a camera on a crane, and cameramen hanging from safety cables, but we had focus problems, so we had to do it again and again,”he says.“But Tom would say, ‘I’m okay, John, don’t worry, I want to do it one more time.”‘
Woo wasn’t the only tense person on set as everyone was so on edge during the filming of this scene that Cruise had to do the stunt quite a few times. One would expect the actor to also be afraid or at least annoyed, however, Cruise would simply say that it was not a problem and film the scene over and over again.
Also Read:“Aladdin was the least interesting thing in the movie”: Before Tom Cruise, $504M Robin Williams Movie Used Back to the Future Star as Visual Base for Lead Character
Ananya Godboley
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2219
Ananya Godboley is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows, with over 2,000 articles published. She has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years. Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology from K.R. Mangalam University, Ananya also likes to fangirl as a full-time job. She covers news and analyses on anything from Rick and Morty to Hannibal and even Arcane. In between these lines, she also enjoys superheroes and Taylor Swift.A philosophy enthusiast, Ananya enjoys digging deeper into the media she consumes, trying to understand the root of her favorite characters' behavior.
