5 Scariest Stunts Tom Cruise Has Pulled Off in Mission: Impossible Movies

When it comes to pushing the boundaries of action cinema, few people do it quite like Tom Cruise. The legendary actor has made it a personal mission to top himself with each installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, performing increasingly dangerous stunts, often with no stunt doubles.

Here are the five most impressive stunts Tom Cruise has performed in the Mission: Impossible films, ranked not just by danger, but by sheer audacity.

Hanging Off a Flying Plane: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

In one of the most talked-about stunts in modern movie history, Tom Cruise clung to the side of an Airbus A400M as it took off. Cruise was harnessed to the plane as it lifted off the ground, flying at 5,000 feet while wearing special contact lenses to protect his eyes from high-speed debris. He did eight takes of this stunt.

HALO Jump from 25,000 Feet: Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Cruise trained for over a year to execute a High-Altitude Low-Opening (HALO) jump from a C-17 aircraft at 25,000 feet. Cruise had to hit his mark with precision timing to land in the light just as the sun was setting. He made over 100 jumps to perfect the stunt. Also, the cameraman had to actually jump with him, so a huge shoutout to him, too!

Check out the behind-the-scenes video shared by Paramount. Looks like a dream job — and a nightmare job.

Scaling the Burj Khalifa: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

What do you do when you’re Tom Cruise? You scale the world’s tallest building, of course. For Ghost Protocol, Cruise climbed and ran along the side of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is over 1,700 feet above the ground. The stunt involved dangling from wires and performing jumps between the building’s glass panels. The vertigo-inducing sequence is as iconic as it is terrifying. Also, the Mission Impossible crew broke 35 windows while filming that.

Motorcycle Cliff Jump: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

In one of his most ambitious stunts yet, Cruise rode a motorcycle off a 1,200-foot cliff in Norway, free-falling before deploying a parachute. This wasn’t done once — it was reportedly performed six times to get the perfect shot. The lead-up included a ramp built over the edge of a mountain and precise coordination between skydiving and motocross experts. It was hailed as one of the most technically difficult stunts ever filmed.

Helicopter Crash-Landing – Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Cruise didn’t just ride in a helicopter, he flew it himself. After receiving months of training, he piloted a helicopter through narrow mountain passes and performed a dangerous 360-degree downward spiral. The sequence ended in a wild crash-landing, and it was all Cruise in the cockpit.