Tom Cruise has been popular for starring in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise since its inception almost 19 years ago. But the ex-husband of Katie Holmes has been more notable for doing his own stunts in films.
As each "Mission: Impossible" film embrace bigger and more death-defying action scenes, Tom Cruise has definitely has his work cut out for him in terms of stunts.
Back in 2011, Tom Cruise climbed the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates - in "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol."
However, for "Mission: Impossible - Rouge Nation," Tom Cruise had to hang off an airplane door as the aircraft took off from the ground.
In fact, Tom Cruise had to wear a special kind of contact lenses so that he could keep his eyes open while the air and debris were flying onto his face for the scene.
If that stunt is terrifying enough, Cruise pushed limits when he did his own stunts for the underwater scene of "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation."
Playing the role of Agent Ethan Hunt, Tom Cruise had "to dive into an underwater safe" to obtain a clue to the story's villain. Not only did Cruise jump off a 120-foot ledge, but he also had to hold his breath underwater.
Although the jump scene was composed of CGI, Tom Cruise still performed the jump. In addition to that, the underwater set (the one Cruise jumped into and where he held his breath for six minutes - all while acting) was filled with 20-foot deep of water.
Talking to Business Insider, stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood said: "It's all Tom. There's no time you don't see Ethan in the film and it's not Tom."
Eastwood also commended Tom Cruise's stuntman chops. "It's been said in other interviews, if he wasn't an actor he would have been a great stunt man."
He continued, "The difference between Tom and a stunt man is he acts the character after hearing 'action.' A stunt person just does the stunt to double the character."
Watch the video below.
