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It’s a well-known fact Tom Cruise does his own stunts. This is included but not limited to things like driving a motorcycle off the edge of a cliff, hanging off the side of an airplane and, oh yeah, an Olympics stunt that took a year to put together. Which is why I was surprised to hear claims Tom Cruise’s stunt double on the set of the latest Mission: Impossible movieThe Final Reckoning filled in during one scene so Ethan Hunt could turn pages while ensuring the a-lister avoided a papercut.
Speaking on Capital FM’s “Capital Breakfast” program, co-host Siân Welby opened up about the rumors surrounding The Final Reckoning filming and how one scene simply had Ethan Hunt turning pages in a book. Instead of shooting the scene himself, the actor reportedly had his stunt double do it for him.
He does all his own stunts right? But in this movie, he’s hired a stunt double. This is because it’s probably one of the most deadly things he’s had to do. What’s the one thing Tom Cruise will not risk getting? A paper cut. He’s hired a stunt double to turn a page for him in this new movie. That’s the one thing he will not do.
A separate report over at The Mirror seems to indicate this did happen and there was a reason Cruise asked his stunt double to fill in for the seemingly mundane scene. Per an insider connected to the movie:
They had a body double stand in for turning a page. It was to give run-down Tom a break – he’s been working so hard to get the film finished. But I’m not sure how turning a page would have added to that.
To be clear, the longtime actor is known for doing pretty much all the heavy lifting while playing Ethan Hunt. Not only that, but he’s financially a part of the franchise and produces, too, reportedly paying extra money during Covid to keep Mission going and helping with decisions related to the franchise. It’s a heavy load, and filming for the last two Mission installments has been going for years and years.
Accordingly, his Mission: Impossible director Christoper McQuarrie previously said “the challenge” to filming a Tom Cruise movie is almost the opposite of all other action films, telling CBS News:
The challenge, normally, when you are shooting an action movie is that you are always trying to hide the fact that it’s a stuntman and not the actor. In ‘Mission: Impossible,’ it is the opposite: You are trying to show that it is Tom and not a stuntman.
Sounds like a good problem to have, and it’s one that keeps audiences interested and coming back to see the 62-year-old actor in theaters. Welby might have been a little incredulous in her comments, but she did go on to say the audience takes “for granted” all of the stuff Cruise does to make his movies cinematic, and she did note “how hard it is” for the actor to do what he is doing.
Ultimately, unless McQuarrie, Cruise or someone close to production confirms, I don’t have any idea if this is a yarn or something that really happened on the set of the new movie. However, I will say that if Tom Cruise wants to skip a scene where he has to turn pages, he’s probably earned that right.