Tom Cruise reveals ‘Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning' stunt that ‘almost broke my back'
Tom Cruise almost broke his back filming a scene in 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.'
In Entertainment Weekly's preview of bonus content from the action film's digital release, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie watched the iconic plane fight scene between Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and Gabriel (Esai Morales) that nearly had serious real-life ramifications for Cruise.
'Oh, this almost broke my back,' Cruise, 63, said in the commentary of the scene, which featured Ethan hanging from the wing of Gabriel's (Esai Morales) 1930s biplane.
8 Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.'
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
'You're talking about a lot pain here,' added McQuarrie, 56.
Cruise, who does his own stunts, explained that hanging from the plane was 'punishing,' adding, 'I need my whole body going. I have to somehow fly to him to hit him. How are we gonna do it? I don't know.'
8 Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie on the 'Mission: Impossible' set.
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
As the scene showed Ethan dangling from a seatbelt while the plane is upside down, Cruise admitted, 'Oh God, that was brutal.'
'This separated the joints in Tom's fingers from the force,' McQuarrie explained. 'So by the time we finished this sequence, your hands were absolutely swollen. Oh my God, it was so painful to watch.'
8 Tom Cruise hanging from a plane in 'Mission: Impossible 8.'
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
8 Tom Cruise almost broke his back filming this scene in 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.'
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Once the pair watched Ethan slam into the side of the plane, Cruise recalled, 'Oh, that was brutal. That hit, that was a hard one.'
'And you improvised that, thank you very much. I appreciate that,' McQuarrie told the movie star. 'You were like, 'I think we're gonna need that,' and I was like, 'I didn't ask you to do that.''
8 Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in a scene from 'Mission: Impossible 8.'
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Cruise's eighth and supposed final 'Mission: Impossible' movie was released in May and made nearly $600 million at the worldwide box office.
The film follows Cruise's Ethan and his IMF team race against the clock and across the globe to stop the Entity, a rogue AI, from destroying all of humanity.
Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Tramell Tillman and Angela Bassett also star.
8 Pom Klementieff, Greg Tarzan Davis, Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell in 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.'
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
In February, Cruise revealed that he passed out filming the airplane scene.
'When you stick your face out, going over 120 to 130 miles an hour, you're not getting oxygen,' he told Empire. 'So I had to train myself how to breathe. There were times I would pass out physically; I was unable to get back into the cockpit.'
8 Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of 'Mission: Impossible 7.'
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
8 Tom Cruise with 'Mission: Impossible' director Christopher McQuarrie in 2023.
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Cruise, who has played Ethan Hunt since 1996's 'Mission: Impossible,' has said repeatedly that 'The Final Reckoning' marks the end of the franchise.
'It's the final,' he told The Hollywood Reporter at the film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May. 'It's not called 'Final' for nothing.'
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Buzz Feed
11 minutes ago
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'90s Celebs Who Disappeared
Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community to share which '90s stars once seemed destined for greatness but have since faded from the spotlight — whether by choice or not. Here are 16 of their top responses: "Skeet Ulrich." —angrygoose681 Skeet was a '90s horror icon with his roles in Scream and The Craft. He continued to work steadily, but after his twins were born in 2001, he made them his priority. In 2005, he got a divorce and won custody of the kids, so he decided to be a stay-at-home single dad because he could afford it. In 2019, he told Fatherly, "Being a parent has driven me to make the decisions I've made. I did work, but I would only work in Los Angeles until Riverdale. The kids would be there with me. I hired a nanny once when I was doing the first season of Jericho. They were starting kindergarten, and I hired a nanny once more when I did Law & Order. That's it. A screaming kid is screaming for boundaries, screaming for something they know. They need a parent to step up." "Stuart Townsend, but that's his own fault because that ego is too big." —justineh4c2cc065d With his star on the rise, Stuart was set to play Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings in the early '00s. However, one day before filming began, he was replaced by Viggo Mortensen. He was reportedly fired for being difficult to work with, and Ian McKellan allegedly asked him if he even wanted to be there. However, Stuart has a different opinion on what happened. In 2005, he told Entertainment Weekly, "Two weeks ago I finally read an article where the filmmakers said, ''We were totally wrong about Stuart, and we accept that it was our fault,' which was so nice because I did get shafted up the ass. I was there rehearsing and training for two months, then was fired the day before filming began. After that, I was told they wouldn't pay me because I was in breach of contract due to not having worked long enough. 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Also — shout out to his Barney Rubble in the live action Flintstones movie (it's worth a Google to remember that killer cast)." —braccolirob In 2015, Rick told the Hollywood Reporter, "I took a break, which turned into a longer break. But I'm interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role...I was working with really interesting people, wonderful people [in Hollywood]. I went from that to being at home with a couple of little kids, which is a very different lifestyle. But it was important to me. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. My life is wonderful." "Jonathan Taylor Thomas for sure! He was super talented and had that X factor about him. I wish he would make a comeback. The actor who played Jill on Home Improvement [Patricia Richardson] was on a podcast last year where she said she still spoke to him and said he has no desire to return to acting, and I respect him for that. 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However, don't come into my house, don't bother me at a non-public event. But if I use my personal life to advance my fame, then I owe you my personal life. If I invite People magazine to the wedding, then they're invited to the divorce as well." "Edward Furlong." —Tasty-Celery9082 After rising to fame in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Edward reached teen idol status in the '90s. However, in the following decades, his career declined to mainly straight-to-DVD releases as he faced a series of substance abuse problems and legal issues, including a DUI and several alleged instances of domestic abuse. When he returned to the Terminator franchise in 2019, the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence director of programs, Jacquie Marroquin, told the Hollywood Reporter, "It's important not to sweep Edward Furlong's reported history of domestic violence under the rug just because he's returning to a beloved movie role... There are consequences for survivors, who may think twice about seeking help when they see people who harm gaining fame or power without being held accountable by their fans and peers." "Anybody remember Dan Cortese, the rock climbing himbo from Seinfeld?" —Aromatic-Bath-5689 Dan has worked consistently, but he dealt with typecasting. In 2009, he told Greg in Hollywood, "It is one of those things with television where it's, 'Dan's great at playing the good-looking, dumb guy, that's what he does. If you need a good-looking, dumb guy who can hit his mark and hit the punchline, he's your guy.' It is tough to play against type... I always want to play against type. The fact that I've basically made my living as a television actor. In television, you tend to get pigeonholed, where they'll be like, 'You know who we need for this? We need Dan because Dan plays that guy.' But I would love to have like a film role where I could play completely against type. 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It was really psychologically crushing, and so giving myself two years to contemplate, 'How do I do this? Can I do this? Does this make me happy?' and developing a career and a strategy that upheld my number one goal, which was to make sure my mental health was the priority. Then my number two goal was I want to make the records I want, how I want, in the genre I want, that's going to be how it is. It's going to be an adventure." "The choices I made in my career, especially in the '90s, were considered suicidal–career suicide. Taking two years off at the height of my fame was a huge no-no. Switching genres was a huge no-no, but it's what I needed to do to keep myself psychologically healthy and creatively healthy. I had to deal with a lot of people saying, 'Oh, she's washed-up. She doesn't know what to do for her third album.' Completely misunderstood, and to make sure that didn't bother me, and that's your decision. It has to be water off a duck's back. You persevere because you believe you made the right decision," she said. Are there any other actors you thought would be major stars, but their careers never quite took off? Let us know in the comments (or in the anonymous comments box below)! Note: Some responses have been edited for length/clarity. Do you love all things TV and movies? Subscribe to the Screen Time newsletter to get your weekly dose of what to watch next and what everyone is flailing over from someone who watches everything!
Fox News
4 hours ago
- Fox News
Ex-Paramount chief hoped Trump lawsuit would force CBS to be more balanced on Israel
The former Paramount chief reportedly saw a silver lining in President Donald Trump's prolonged legal battle with CBS News. Shari Redstone, who was the controlling shareholder of the media giant before recently selling it to Skydance Media as part of an $8 billion merger, was outspoken about her support for Paramount to settle Trump's lawsuit over allegations of "election interference" in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. Trump and Paramount reached a multimillion-dollar settlement last month. However, it wasn't CBS' political coverage that irked Redstone. It was the network's coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. According to The New York Times, "Maybe, she thought, Mr. Trump's criticism of the news division, and his lawsuit, could be helpful." "We needed more balance," Redstone said in an interview with The New York Times Tuesday, referring to CBS' war coverage. "Part of me thought, maybe Trump could accomplish what I never got done." Redstone, a staunch supporter of Israel, was vocal in her complaints about how slanted she perceived CBS' coverage was against Israel. The Times reported that a major inflection point came when "60 Minutes" aired a segment featuring former State Department officials who resigned in protest over U.S. support for Israel. The segment was viewed as one-sided with an emphasis on allegations of atrocities committed by Israel, while barely mentioning the barbaric Oct. 7 terrorist attack committed by Hamas. Internal objections to the episode led to the appointment of CBS veteran Susan Zirinsky as the network's newly created executive editor of standards, which, in turn, The Times reported, led to "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens' abrupt exit in protest over the increased corporate oversight. Owens' resignation caused further consternation with "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley lamenting the drama on-air. Redstone also spoke up in defense of "CBS Mornings" co-host Tony Dokoupil, who was facing internal backlash for grilling liberal media darling and anti-Israel author Ta-Nehisi Coates in an October 2024 interview. Dokoupil was scolded by his bosses, who told him the interview didn't meet "editorial standards." Dokoupil also apologized to offended staffers. "I think Tony did a great job with that interview. I think he handled himself and showed the world and modeled what civil discourse is. He showed that there was accountability, that there is a system of checks and balances, and frankly, I was very proud of the work that he did," Redstone said at the time. "As hard as it was, frankly, for me to go against the company, because I love this company, and I believe in it, and I think we have a great, great executive team, I think they made a mistake here." CBS staffers last year were also reportedly instructed not to refer to Jerusalem, Israel's capital, as being in Israel, saying in a memo its status is "disputed" and that it "goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Redstone, the daughter of the late billionaire mogul Sumner Redstone, was widely expected to receive a $2.4 billion buyout as a result of the Skydance merger. Paramount is now being run by David Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning' Comes to Digital, But When Will ‘Mission Impossible Final Reckoning' Be Streaming on Paramount+?
Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to watch the new Mission Impossible movie, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, now the movie is coming to digital platforms to buy and rent tomorrow. The eighth movie in the franchise overall, The Final Reckoning serves as part two to 2023's Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, and co-written by McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen, Final Reckoning is, supposedly, the last time Tom Cruise will star as agent Ethan Hunt. Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, and Angela Bassett all reprise their roles from the previous film. Severance star Tramell Tillman also joins the cast in a small supporting role. Ethan's mission—and we're assuming he'll choose to accept it—is to stop the evil Gabriel Martinelli (played by Esai Morales) from obtaining the AI program known as 'the Entity.' Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning had an estimated budget of $300-400 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever made. Thankfully, the film was a hit at the box office, earning over $596 million worldwide. Now, Paramount hopes to make even more money with the digital release of the film. But before you drop $20 to watch the new Mission Impossible movie, you should know we expect to see The Final Reckoning streaming on Paramount+ before the end of the year. Where to watch Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning on streaming: Beginning on Tuesday, August 19 at 12 a.m. Eastern Time (which is also August 18 at 9 p.m. Pacific Time) Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will be available to buy digitally on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, and more. The price may vary depending on which platform you use to purchase the film, but on Amazon Prime, the movie costs $19.99 to buy. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is not yet streaming on any subscription streaming services, but we do expect to see The Final Reckoning streaming on Paramount+ soon, because it is a Paramount movie. Paramount+ offers two subscription plans. The ad-supported Essential plan costs $7.99/month, while the ad-free Premium plan (which comes with Showtime and live CBS) costs $12.99/month. New subscribers can take advantage of a seven-day free trial. TRY PARAMOUNT+ FREE FOR ONE WEEK When will the Mission Impossible Final Reckoning movie be streaming free on Paramount Plus? The Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Paramount+ streaming date has not yet been announced. Right now, the movie is only in theaters. That said, we do expect to see Mission Impossible 8 streaming on Paramount+ eventually, and we can make an educated as to when based on previous Paramount releases. In 2023, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was released on digital platforms about three months after the movie opened in theaters, and began streaming on Paramount+ about six months after the movie opened in theaters. If Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning follows a similar release pattern, you might see The Final Reckoning streaming on Paramount+ around November 2025. But this is all speculation. If you want to watch the new Mission Impossible movie right away, you can buy or rent the film online.
