Tom Cruise Teases ‘Never Been Done Before' Stunts in ‘Mission: Impossible 8,' Including Wing-Walking: ‘It Was So Violent on That Airplane'
Tom Cruise made a surprise early appearance at Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday at a TikTok creator workshop, where he previewed some of the 'never been done' stunts in 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.'
Cruise participated in a fireside chat with TikTok creator Reece Feldman, also known as @guywithamoviecamera, shocking around 25 creators attending the festival. Feldman is premiering his first narrative short, 'Wait, Your Car?,' at a special TikTok event during the fest and Cruise's 'The Final Reckoning' debuts out of competition on Wednesday. Cruise began the conversation by telling Feldman that he got into Cannes at 3:30 a.m. that morning after receiving the BFI Fellowship in London on Monday night, adding that the team had 'just finished' 'The Final Reckoning.'
More from Variety
Cannes Staffers to Protest Working Conditions at Opening Ceremony
Emma Roberts and Matt Rife to Star in Romantic Comedy 'Marriage Material' (EXCLUSIVE)
Kate Mara to Star in Vampire Romantic Comedy 'She Kills Them' by Director Dan Clark, Hailing From Tea Shop Films, The Project (EXCLUSIVE)
When Feldman asked Cruise about the death-defying aerial sequence in the film, Cruise said he applied his 'decades of knowledge' flying planes.
'I'm an aerobatic pilot being able to fly these airplanes, so I now choose the airplane and present it — what colors should they be, what engineers do I have building this aircraft and working on the engines and how far can I push that aircraft?' he said. 'Now I have to hire the crew; I audition the crew around me. And I'm learning how to wing walk, and this kind of wing-walking that we're doing has never been done before because what I want to do is really, really extreme.'
The Oscar-nominated actor said he wanted to 'go zero-G' when walking between the wings of the airplane, which presented some logistical challenges. 'I'm going, how long can I hold the airplane in an inverted position? The engine stops after a few seconds because it's not a fuel injection, so I know the engine's going to stop,' he said. 'So what we have to do is just take our time, and I'm just approaching it step by step.'
Cruise went on to say that he hired 'incredible' pilots for the sequence, but he also 'had to train them how to fly the airplane with me on the wing.'
'I'm a human being on that airplane — it was violent. It was so violent on that airplane,' he continued. 'The amount of air force that's coming over that wing…'
After the 20-minute talk with Feldman, Cruise held a meet-and-greet with the TikTok creators, speaking with them one-on-one and taking photos.
Cruise has been making the press rounds lately ahead of 'The Final Reckoning' premiere, giving a talk at the British Film Institute in London on Sunday (and also showing off his stuntman skills by appearing on the roof of the BFI Imax cinema). During his BFI conversation, Cruise reflected on the roles that made him a movie star, including the best picture-winning 1988 road comedy 'Rain Man' alongside Dustin Hoffman. Cruise said that he landed that role after his little sister forced him to go up to Hoffman at a New York City restaurant in 1984.
'I said, 'Excuse me, Mr. Hoffman, I'm sorry… And he went, 'Cruise!'' he recalled. Hoffman ended up offering Cruise and his sister tickets to 'Death of a Salesman,' which he was starring in on Broadway at the time, and invited them backstage after the show. 'As I was leaving he said, 'I want to make a movie with you.' And I said, 'That would be nice, sir,'' Cruise said, laughing at the memory. 'And that's what happened, and basically a year later he sent 'Rain Man.''
After premiering at Cannes on Wednesday, 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning' debuts in theaters on May 23 via Paramount Pictures.
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz
Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Clumsy Kitten Napping on Dad's Guitar Is the Definition of Cuteness Overload
We've all seen countless adorable videos of babies (both human and animal) sleeping, but have you ever seen one of a kitten napping on a guitar as dad plays and sings? TikToker Elgunnasibli has been posting videos of his tiny kitten doing just that, and it's the cutest thing you'll see today. The video is a montage of clips showing all the times his 'clumsy kitten' has slept so soundly on his guitar that he slips right off it! We can't get enough of the cuteness and could watch it on repeat all day! Swoon! What an adorable kitten! Now we need to learn to play the guitar and then get a kitten! Elgunnasibili's video has racked up millions of views and has more than a thousand loved it! @Abiska Aveely got more than 25 thousand likes when they said, "The fact that one day they'll be too big to do this is so sad!" @LazyPaws added, "He knows you're always gonna catch him. That's why. He trusts you with all his life." @Jus Samanka agreed, "The dad reflex is so real!"Commenter @julianyeen asked, "I wonder if the vibrations feel like purring, so they think you're purring at them?!" We thought that was a reasonable guess but wondered if cats really enjoy music. According to PBS, not human music. "Cats, in fact, do enjoy music, but they don't enjoy human music — at least according to new research. A study recently published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science believes that in order for our feline friends to enjoy music, it has to be species-specific music." Species-specific music? The article went on to explain what that means. It's music "that fits into how the animal communicates, writes University of Wisconsin psychologists and study authors Megan Savage and Charles Snowdon. 'We have developed a theoretical framework that hypothesizes that in order for music to be effective with other species, it must be in the frequency range and with similar tempos to those used in natural communication by each species.' Curious to hear what cat music sounds like? You can check it out here. Clumsy Kitten Napping on Dad's Guitar Is the Definition of Cuteness Overload first appeared on PetHelpful on May 22, 2025
UPI
5 hours ago
- UPI
'Lilo & Stitch' tops North American box office for 3rd weekend
Hannah Waddingham's "Lilo & Stitch" is the No. 1 movie in North America for a third weekend. File Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI | License Photo June 8 (UPI) -- Lilo & Stitch is the No. 1 movie in North America for a third weekend, announced Sunday. The film took in an additional $32.5 million in receipts this Friday through Sunday. Coming in at No. 2 From the World of John Wick: Ballerina with $25 million, followed by Mission: Impossible -- The Reckoning at No. 3 with $15 million, Karate Kid: Legends at No. 4 with $8.7 million and Final Destination: Bloodlines at No. 5 with $6.5 million. Rounding out the top tier are The Phoenician Scheme at No. 6 with $6.3 million, Bring Her Back at No. 7 with $3.5 million, Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye at No. 8 with $3.1 million, Sinners at No. 9 with $2.9 million and Thunderbolts at No. 10 with $2.5 million.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Teen Loses Foot After Freak Accident. Days Later, He Learns Man Who Saved Him Had Been in a Crash and Was Down the Hall
18-year-old Bryson Wilkinson from North Carolina was working a shift at a tree removal company when he got caught in a rope and ultimately lost his foot and part of his right leg A man rushed to apply a tourniquet while they waited for first responders Soon Wilkinson and Gary Caldwell, the man who saved him, were reunited at the hospital after Caldwell was injured in a crashA North Carolina teenager who lost his foot in a tree removal accident quickly found himself recovering in the same building as the man who helped save him. Bryson Wilkinson, 18, was working a shift at a tree removal company on Wednesday, May 21, when he got caught in a rope and ultimately lost his foot and part of his right leg in the accident, according to local NBC affiliate WECT. 'I thought it was over for me. I thought that was about to be the end of my life,' Wilkinson said. Gary Caldwell, a resident of the area, rushed to apply a tourniquet and Wilkinson was taken to a local hospital to undergo an amputation. Just two days later, Caldwell found himself at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, down the hall from Wilkinson, according to local station WRAL. "He ended up in a motorcycle accident," Wilkinson told the outlet WRAL. "I just couldn't believe what I saw." Doctors helped reunite them as they both began to heal. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'As soon as I walked in I broke down crying. I couldn't believe it,' Wilkinson told WECT. 'I'm going to keep staying in touch with him as long as I can.' Since getting home from the hospital, Wilkinson has been sharing updates about his recovery on TikTok. A GoFundMe to support him has raised more than $1,000. 'I want to tell people that their life's not over if they lose a limb. Things happen,' he told WECT. 'They can get past it in life. They don't need to give up. They don't need to lose hope.' Read the original article on People
