Tom Cruise became stuck on the wing of a biplane with fuel running low while filming a stunt for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, director Christopher McQuarrie revealed at the Cannes Film Festival. The 62-year-old actor was performing a sequence in which he walked between the wings of the aircraft mid-air over South Africa.
McQuarrie, speaking alongside Cruise at a press conference, said the stunt was extremely risky because the human body begins to break down after about 12 minutes due to wind impact and breathing difficulties. Despite warnings from professional wing-walkers, Cruise insisted on continuing beyond that mark.
“There was a moment where Tom had pushed himself to the point that he was so physically exhausted, he couldn’t get back up off the wing,” McQuarrie said. “He was lying on the wing of the plane, his arms were hanging over the front. We could not tell if he was conscious or not.”
The pilot then informed the crew that the plane had only three minutes of fuel left, but landing with Cruise prone on the wing was impossible. McQuarrie described how Cruise eventually pulled himself up, stuck his head in the cockpit to replenish oxygen, and climbed inside. “No one on earth can do that but Tom,” he added.
Cruise, who arrived at Cannes as part of a global promotional tour, said: “I don’t mind encountering the unknown. It’s just an emotion for me and it’s something that is not paralysing.” McQuarrie also criticised streaming services, accusing them of “cutting the audience off from the history of cinema” by prioritising their own productions over classic films.
