Despite being a Hollywood megastar, Tom Cruise is famous for performing most of his stunts himself. So, when he’s hanging from a cliff or spiraling towards the ground in a helicopter, you’re probably looking at him instead of a stunt man.
The upcoming Mission: Impossible – Fallout is, of course, full of action scenes, so he had the chance to do even more daring things.
Granted, those 360-degree helicopter spirals were extremely dangerous and we’re sure they’re going to look awesome on the big screen. However, so should this HALO (High Altitude – Low Opening) jump, as Cruise himself jumped from 25,000 feet (7.6 km).
What’s equally impressive is that in order to get this sequence just right, the actor had to train for it extremely hard, jumping out of airplanes more than 100 times, using a special helmet designed to help him not lose consciousness.
The latest installment in the MI franchise picks up where Rogue Nation left off. Cast members Ilsa Faust, Alec Baldwin and Sean Harris are all set to return, joining Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and, for the first time, Henry Cavill.
Aside from the HALO jump and his helicopter stunt, Cruise will also be jumping out of a building, hooning an E28 BMW 5-Series around, as well as a motorcycle – a sequence that ends in a crash, based on what we’ve seen in the official trailer.
Fans of the genre (or Cruise) will be able to watch Ethan Hunt and his team “racing against time after a mission gone wrong” (as per the movie’s description) in Mission: Impossible – Fallout that premieres in theaters on July 27.