The M:I movies prove that Tom Cruise is the reigning king of stunts

When it was announced that the Oscars would finally be awarding a statue for Best Stunt Design, there was an immediate call – tongue-in-cheek or not – to retroactively give it to Tom Cruise, who we’re not actually sure has sat down once since starring in the Mission: Impossible movies. And while that won’t happen, he could at least present the inaugural award. Really, who better? Ahead of the release of Final Reckoning on May 23rd, M:I co-star Simon Pegg is sharing some behind-the-scenes stories that back up the indisputable truth that Tom Cruise is the king of stunts.

Simon Pegg has worked alongside Tom Cruise in six of the Mission: Impossible movies, so he has seen the man perform stunts firsthand plenty of times. And he’s been part of the crew that has recognized the sort of devotion he gives to each. “I’ve said, ‘You’re absolutely nuts’ many times to him. But he just cares that much about it.”

During 2011’s Ghost Protocol, Pegg remembered filming at Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which has the distinction of being the tallest building in the world at 2,722 feet. As Pegg tells it, Cruise – at a half mile above certain death – was “just leaning out of the window and seeing Tom sort of hanging there, smiling, this big sh*t-eating grin on his face, like, ‘I’m having the best time.’” And what about the motorcycle jump in 2023’s Dead Reckoning? “It was nail-biting, because we’d literally see [Cruise] just disappear, and then we’d have to wait to hear ‘good canopy’ [meaning his parachute opened safely] on the radio. And so it was a kind of breath-hold moment.”

So does Tom Cruise ever get jitters doing these stunts? Sure – after all, he is technically human. Pegg recalled such a moment during 2015’s Rogue Nation where he’s clinging to the side of a plane. “That was the first time I’d seen him nervous. There were a lot of variables involved in that stunt…a lot of things that could have gone wrong. Everything is managed to the micro detail. You know, the stunt team is amazing. Tom is obviously incredibly dedicated to making sure he’s ready.” He’s also, it turns out, incredibly devoted to eggs, although Pegg has no Cool Hand Luke-esque stories about those…

What is your favorite Tom Cruise stunt from the Mission: Impossible series?

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