When you think of Hollywood actors who push themselves beyond limits, one name always comes to mind: Tom Cruise. At 63, he’s still out there dangling from planes, racing motorcycles off cliffs, and giving us the kind of adrenaline-pumping cinema most actors wouldn’t dare touch. But this time, things almost went too far. While filming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Cruise has now admitted that a brutal biplane stunt nearly broke his back. Yes, you read that right—“almost broke my back.”
The Stunt That Pushed Tom Cruise to His Breaking Point
In the final chapter of the Mission: Impossible saga, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) faces his deadliest challenges yet, including a jaw-dropping sequence involving a mid-air biplane battle with villain Gabriel, played by Esai Morales.
Picture this: Ethan jumps from his plane onto Gabriel’s, desperately clinging on while the villain does everything possible to shake him off. As viewers, it looks thrilling. But behind the scenes? Pure danger.
Cruise himself admitted in an interview with Entertainment Weekly: “Oh, this almost broke my back!” The action was so intense that every move risked serious injury. Director Christopher McQuarrie later added, “You’re talking about a lot of pain here.”
Hands Swollen, Joints Damaged, and Still Hanging On
If a near back injury wasn’t enough, the stunt also left Cruise’s hands battered. In one sequence, Ethan clings to Gabriel’s seatbelt upside down as the plane twists and turns. The force was so strong it literally separated the joints in Cruise’s fingers. By the end of the shoot, his hands were swollen and throbbing with pain.
McQuarrie recalled: “By the time we finished this sequence, your hands were absolutely swollen – oh my God, it was so painful to watch.”
And yet, Cruise didn’t stop. Despite being in visible agony, he continued the stunt to make sure the sequence looked as real as possible. He later described it in one word: “Brutal.”
Improvised Danger – Why Cruise Went Off Script
Here’s the kicker—some of the most dangerous parts of the scene weren’t even scripted. While filming, Cruise improvised certain moves that weren’t in McQuarrie’s original plan.
In one moment, as Gabriel flips the plane into a roll, Ethan slams against the side of the aircraft. That painful crash wasn’t in the script at all. McQuarrie revealed: “You improvised that. I didn’t ask you to do that, but you were like, ‘I think we’re gonna need that.’”
That’s the Tom Cruise difference—he’ll take the pain if it means making the action look authentic on screen. But it also shows just how close things got to ending badly.
Why Tom Cruise Still Risks It All
By now, most stars of his stature would use stunt doubles, but Cruise has built his legacy on doing the impossible himself. From scaling the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol to clinging onto a flying Airbus in Rogue Nation, he has consistently redefined what it means to be a leading man in action cinema.
So why keep pushing at 63? For Cruise, it’s about giving audiences an experience they can’t get anywhere else. He’s not just acting—he’s putting his body on the line to make sure every Mission: Impossible feels more real, more urgent, and more thrilling than the last.
Sure, he admits the stunts are painful and dangerous, but the payoff is undeniable. Fans don’t just watch a Tom Cruise action scene—they feel it, because they know he’s actually up there doing it.
Jay-Ho! Reality Check
Tom Cruise’s near-fatal stunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a reminder of why he’s called the last great action star. Yes, it was brutal. Yes, it nearly broke his back. Yes, his fingers were swollen and joints separated. But he still finished the shot, because that’s who Tom Cruise is.
As audiences stream into theaters for Ethan Hunt’s final mission, they’ll know one thing for sure—every gasp, every wince, every heart-stopping moment on screen is as real as it gets. Cruise risked it all so we could watch him cheat death one last time.
