The Oscar-nominated actor has spent the last couple of decades primarily focused on his action-packed “Mission: Impossible” films — and just set a Guinness World Record for one of the most daring stunts in the series.
The British institution announced Thursday that Cruise now holds the title for “most burning parachute jumps by an individual” for leaping out of a helicopter 16 times before lighting his chute on fire in the latest franchise installment, “The Final Reckoning.”
“Tom doesn’t just play action heroes — he is an action hero!” wrote Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief at Guinness World Records. “A large part of his success can be chalked up to his absolute focus on authenticity and pushing the boundaries of what a leading man can do.”
Cruise and Paramount Pictures both posted behind-the-scenes footage of the stunt on social media. Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie can be seen plotting out logistics with the stunt coordinators and acknowledging the danger before Cruise attempts his jump.
The stunt was filmed in the Drakensberg, South Africa.
“What I’m going to do is, I’m going to be deploying,” says Cruise in the footage, shot during a production meeting on location. “If this is twisted while it’s burning, I’m going to be spinning and burning. I have to kick out of the twist and then ignite within 10 seconds.”
The result onscreen shows Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, forced to cut the burning nylon tatters free to deploy a reserve chute at the last second. The stunt was shot with a chute that was soaked in fuel to light on fire.
Over the course of his films, Cruise has run along the exterior of the 163-floor Burj Khalifa in Dubai (“Ghost Protocol”), harnessed himself to an airplane during takeoff (“Rogue Nation”) and base-jumped into a canyon after riding off of a cliff (“Dead Reckoning”).
“Tom is no stranger to record breaking,” Glenday wrote Thursday.
Cruise does indeed hold another Guinness title for “most consecutive $100-million-grossing movies” for an actor, for the 11 films between “Jack Reacher” (2012) and “Final Reckoning.” The latter hit theaters in late May and has grossed nearly $400 million worldwide.
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