Tom Cruise: Plane Stunt For ‘Mission Impossible’ As Dangerous As They Come, How Did He Hold On? [Video]

The Tom Cruise plane stunt for the upcoming action blockbuster Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation has many people wondering why and how he did it. Tom Cruise began his movie career in 1981, and since then he has developed a taste for doing as many of his own stunts as possible. Wade Eastwood is the stunt coordinator for Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. Not only does he confirm that the deadly plane stunt was done by Cruise, but that the movie also did not employ a stunt double for Cruise.

“There is no stunt double in this movie. The only time we used them was in rehearsal.”

While talking with the New York Post, Eastwood talks about how incredible Tom Cruise is on set in regard to performing his own stunts. Eastwood claims that Cruise prefers the movie to look as real as possible. In order to do that, Cruise needs to perform as many of the stunts as possible in order to maintain the continuity of the scene being shot. Eastwood also tells the New York Post that Tom really enjoys his fans seeing him perform things that they could never imagine him doing.

Eastwood continued to explain that it was Tom himself that came up with the idea for the plane stunt. It was then the job of the stunt coordinator to get a plane to perform the death-defying stunt. Airbus was the company whose plane was used, but they were not completely on board when the idea was pitched to them by Eastwood.

“If one of their planes has a little hard landing, that’s bad publicity for them. If they hurt Tom Cruise, it would just be bad publicity forever.”

A great deal of research needed to be completed before Tom was even put in the air. The stunt crew worked out equations that dealt with two major factors that could injure or kill the star. G-forces and the changes in temperature at specific altitudes were those concerns. When the team was convinced that Cruise would survive, testing of the plane stunt began with a dummy. Once that worked out it was time for Cruise to go into the danger zone and feel the need for speed.

With Tom securely attached to the side of the plane, the Airbus took off to an altitude of 5,000 feet. The speed of the plane during the stunt topped out at 184 mph. The only part that the team could not control was any type of debris that could hit Cruise while he was in the sky. The biggest fear was that a bird would impact the movie star and create a huge injury. The plane stunt took a total of eight takes. What did Tom Cruise have to say after the stunt?

“I’m feeling the force of the wind hit me. I’m actually scared (bleep)-less”

What are your opinions on Tom Cruise not only doing the crazy plane stunt but all the other stunts in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation?

[Image via Paramount]