Tom Cruise is no stranger to death-defying stunts, but even he admits that one particular scene in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning pushed him to his limits—so much so that he actually passed out while filming.
In an interview with Empire, Cruise recounted performing a daring sequence where his character, Ethan Hunt, dangles off the wing of a 1930s Boeing Stearman biplane—while flying at 10,000 feet over South Africa.
“When you stick your face out, going over 120 to 130 miles an hour, you’re not getting oxygen,” Cruise explained. “So I had to train myself how to breathe. There were times I would pass out physically; I was unable to get back into the cockpit.”
Director Christopher McQuarrie described the experience as mind-blowing, saying some of the stunts Cruise performed in Africa would “melt your brain.”
McQuarrie also teased another stunt that was even more nerve-wracking—an underwater sequence so intense that just thinking about it made him feel sick. “I truly want to puke thinking about the stress,” he admitted.
Cruise’s latest adrenaline-fueled adventure, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, is set to hit theaters on May 23, 2025.