Tom Cruise was Forced to Replace His Safety Guy Because He Didn’t Let Mission Impossible Star do 1 Stunt

Tom Cruise is known for doing his extreme stunts in the Mission: Impossible films. But according to Matt Damon, Cruise once replaced a safety supervisor who refused to let him attempt a dangerous stunt. Damon, in a lot of his interviews, shared an amusing story over dinner with Cruise about how the action star got to perform the breathtaking Burj Khalifa climbing sequence in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

Did Tom Cruise Ignore Safety Concerns?

As Matt Damon tells it, doing his best Tom Cruise impression:

“I asked him, ‘Can you tell me how that happened?’ Now he’s a really intense guy, he goes like (imitates Cruise) ‘Yeah I’ll tell you how it happened. I’ve been thinking about this shot for 15 years.’ I am like, ‘Wow really!’ and he says, ‘So I go to the safety guy and I lay it all out. Safety guy say we can’t do it. It is too dangerous, you can’t do it. So, I get a new safety guy.'”

This shocked Damon, who said he would have simply aborted the stunt if safety professionals deemed it too hazardous. “That’s where we are different. Like, when the safety guy says no, I am like, ‘The safety guy said that’s not a good idea!'” he joked.

Also Read: WB is Giving Tom Cruise His Own Office after He Agrees to Abandon Paramount

Did The Danger Pay Off?

But Cruise’s willingness to replace any naysayers allowed him to achieve the jaw-dropping Burj Khalifa sequence that helped reenergize the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Cruise’s stunt work has become as iconic as the films themselves. And the authenticity he seeks, while divisive, lends the action scenes a visceral immediacy that likely couldn’t be matched otherwise.

Also Read: Tom Cruise’s First Taste of $100M Salary Happened by Bending 1 Traditional Hollywood Rule That Has Now Become the Norm

Is Tom Cruise Pushing His Luck?

As Cruise is 61, some have questioned how far he can continue to push the envelope safely. With each film trying to top the last, his stunts are only growing more dangerous.

Also Read: Tom Cruise Might Have Hinted Mission Impossible Retirement After Going Back to WB That Gave Him His Hollywood Breakout Role

But Cruise shows no signs of slowing down, as evidenced by Death-Defying airplane and motorcycle sequences in the latest entry, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. While Cruise walks the line between brave and reckless, his boldness has undeniably created indelible cinematic moments.