Tom Cruise enters Guinness Book of Records for ‘death-defying’ stunt
The action king.
Tom Cruise has once again raised the bar for action stunts, this time by setting a new Guinness World Record for the most burning parachute jumps by an individual.
The Mission: Impossible star performed 16 such death-defying leaps during filming of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the eighth chapter in the high-octane franchise.
Guinness World Records made the announcement on Thursday, praising Cruise’s dedication to authenticity and fearlessness.
‘Tom doesn’t just play action heroes – he is an action hero!’ said Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records.
‘His absolute focus on pushing the boundaries of what a leading man can do is unmatched. It’s an honour to recognise his utter fearlessness with this new title.’
In the film’s dramatic climax, Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt faces off against his nemesis Gabriel, portrayed by Esai Morales, high in the skies.
Cruise has long had a reputation for doing his own stunts (Picture: YouTube) At one point during a recent stunt the director feared Cruise had lost consciousness (Picture: @TomCruise/Instagram) The actor really hung from the wing of a plane to film the stunt (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)The scene culminates with Hunt jumping from a burning plane. After deploying his parachute, the fabric ignites and disintegrates, forcing him to cut away the charred chute and deploy a backup.
Cruise, who is a licensed skydiver, executed the stunt 16 times. Each jump involved leaping out of a helicopter while strapped to a parachute soaked in fuel and set ablaze.
According to Guinness, no other actor or stunt performer has come close to matching that number of fiery parachute drops.
Cruise is certainly willing to push the limit. At one point during filming, director Christopher McQuarrie shared a terrifying moment when he feared Cruise had passed out while filming a death-defying stunt on the wing of a plane.
