Tom Cruise death-defying stunt left Mission: Impossible crew in ‘absolute terror’

Tom Cruise left the crew of Mission Impossible in “absolute terror” as he filmed a death-defying stunt for the latest instalment of the franchise, Dead Reckoning Part One.

The action star is known for doing his own ambitious stunts in the popular film series, most memorably scaling the outside of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

In the new film, released in cinemas this month, audiences will see his character Ethan Hunt speed flying, a sport in which participants use a small paraglider wing to rapidly descend great heights, namely mountains.

Cruise spent years training for the sequence, which is described as one of the most dangerous the 61-year-old has ever undertaken.

The Hollywood star shared in a behind-the-scenes featurette: “It’s a very beautiful and delicate sport.

“We’re going to do spirals, and we’re landing at an incredibly high speed, over 80 kilometres an hour.”

In the clip, the film’s director, Christopher McQuarrie, explained that speed gliding is “one of the most dangerous sports in the world”.

The filmmaker, who will have directed four of the franchise’s movies once Dead Reckoning Part Two is released, shared: “While it may look similar, speed-flying is not skydiving. Skydiving is fairly predictable. Speed-flying is very unpredictable.

“Flying close to rocks looks quite beautiful. Behind the scenes, we were all in absolute terror.”

Last month, Cruise said that Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning is the franchise’s “biggest moment”.

The Hollywood star said the two-part film was made with “a culmination of all my skills” and that even those unfamiliar with the series would have an “epic adventure”.

Cruise stars alongside Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, and Ving Rhames in the seventh instalment of the franchise, which is part one of two, as the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) set out to track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity.

Speaking at the film’s London premiere, Cruise said his latest turn as Hunt was the culmination of years of training and learning new skills.

He shared: “It was actually years of training… because I fly jets, I fly helicopters, I fly aeroplanes. I’m a skydiver, I’m a parachuter, race cars, motorcycles.

“(This film) was a culmination of all my skills…. There’s a lot going on there’s a lot happening… (but) the most important part is getting the shot and getting the story across.”

Cruise said that all Mission: Impossible films thus far had “led to this”.

“Each one is different – we give you Mission: Impossible, but the scale and emotion of this film –  it truly is an epic adventure,” he said.

“The whole franchise has led to this and I think it’s our biggest moment. If you haven’t seen a Mission: Impossible (film) then it doesn’t matter, you’re still going to get a great adventure.”