Mission: Impossibleis a long-running action spy franchise revolving around Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt as he takes on threat after threat and conquers the impossible. Based on the TV series of the same name created by Bruce Geller, the film franchise began in 1996 and has spawned a total of six films, with two more on the way. While the franchise is known for its ensemble cast, the one staple character to appear in everyMission: Impossiblefilm is Ethan Hunt, portrayed byTom Cruise.
Update August 04, 2025: This article has been updated with even more great Mission: Impossible stunts in honor of the upcoming release ofMisson: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.
Part of what makes theMission: Impossiblemoviesso fantastic is Cruise’s insistence on performing many of his own stunts. FromMission: ImpossibletoTop Gun, Cruise has been at the helm, performing a number of crazy stunts that many actors would not dare go near. While many ofCruise’s action filmsfeature him performing stunts of varying degrees, his stunts in theMission: Impossiblefranchise are the most daring. These are Tom Cruise’s bestMission: Impossiblestunts in the franchise, ranked.
10Exploding Aquarium —Mission: Impossible
Although the first entry in this franchise is best known for its iconic shot of Tom Cruise suspended above the entrance of an alarmed vault,Mission Impossibleprobably has the least stunts of any in the series. However, Cruise was happy to get physical when requested, including one scene in which Ethan Hunt attempts to escape his enemies in Prague by exploding a restaurant aquarium. According toParade, director Brian De Palma initially used a stuntman, but he didn’t like how the scene looked. Despite a risk of being injured by flying glass or drowning in 16 tons of rushing water, Cruise agreed to do the scene himself.
Related:These Action Movie Stars Do Their Own Stunts (And Some Who Refuse To)
9Knife on the Eye —Mission: Impossible 2
Arguably the most iconic stunt in the whole of theMission: Impossiblefranchise is the knife on the eye seen inMission: Impossible 2. While this stunt could have easily been faked with CGI, the choice to do it for real was a gutsy one that definitely paid off. During the knife fight between Cruise and his co-star Dougray Scott, the knife is lowered through the use of a measuring cable until the sharp point was only a quarter inch away from Cruise’s naked eye. Despite the fact that the overall size of this stunt is rather small compared to many others, that a single flinch or mistake while the stunt was done could have cost Cruise his eye is part of what makes this stunt so amazing.
8The Shanghai Skyscraper Basejump —Mission: Impossible III
One thing is for certain. Ethan Hunt likes to take big leaps of faith, and his biggest was arguably featured in 2006’sMission: Impossible III.To rescue his kidnapped wife, Ethan and his team need to retrieve an item from the 56th floor of a building. As one does, the MI crew decides the best solution is for Ethan to jump from one building to another and slide down the glass windows until he reaches the floor he needs.
Director J.J. Abrams employed a green screen and stage rather than risk his star jumping from a real skyscraper. However,production notesfrom the movie reveal Cruise did a 50-foot free fall from a crane to enhance the scene. “Tom drops, stopping 18 inches above the concrete, and I found myself talking to someone else between takes,” Abrams added. “I realized I had become complacent about having Tom Cruise — who was entirely my responsibility — dangling from a crane, dropping at breakneck speed, stopping just above the ground. I remember thinking: ‘I have to get back to being terrified.'”
Abehind-the-scenes videofromMission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Oneproves Tom Cruise isn’t slowing down on death-defying stunts for theMission: Impossiblefranchise anytime soon. The MI crew filmed Cruise speed flying through mountains in the United Kingdom, explaining that speed flying is one of the most dangerous sports in the world. Similar to paragliding, speed flying employs smaller wings and faster speed, making it more unpredictable. The movie’s scene required Cruise to dodge numerous rocky surfaces as he flew close to the ground and toward the camera. As director Christopher McQuarrie says, “Filming next to rocks looks quite beautiful. Behind the scenes, we were in absolute terror.” The film isn’t even out yet but just the footage in the trailer alone lands it on this spot.
Tom Cruise was 60 when he performed what he calls one of the most dangerous stunts yet in theMission: Impossibleseries’ history — riding a motorcycle off a cliff and base jumping to the bottom. Abehind-the-scenes videofromDead Reckoning Part Onebegins with ominous music and director Christopher McQuarrie’s voice saying, “This is far and away the most dangerous thing we’ve ever attempted.” Shot in Norway, the scene sees Ethan Hunt driving a motorcycle off a cliff, falling, and launching into a base jump. BASE jumping coach John DeVore calls it “pretty much the biggest stunt in cinematic history.”
Related:Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One: Everything We Know So Far
5Helicopter Chase —Mission: Impossible - Fallout
When Ethan Hunt takes control of a helicopter inMission: Impossible - Fallout, he goes on a high-speed helicopter chase, navigating the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Despite Cruise’s experience, this is possibly one of the most dangerous stunts Cruise has ever performed, considering that he had to maintain a great level of focus to fly with precision and speed, all while remaining in character for the film. While this is not Cruise’s first airborne stunt, it is, without a doubt, his most daring one in the air. PerVariety, the shots of the chase were long takes and, in classicMission: Impossiblestyle, it was filmed without any special effects in sight.
4Deep Dive —Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
InRogue Nation,Tom Cruise performed an underwater stunt. During this, Cruise held his breath for a total of six and a half minutes. Experts were brought in to help Cruise train him to be able to slow down his heart rate so that he would require less oxygen. As epic as this stunt is, Cruise admitted that this did not come without its discomforts as the training had conditioned him to breathe far less. When he was still and not performing any physical activity, Cruise would have to actively remind himself to breathe. This stunt ranks fifth on the list because, despite how tame it may seem on-screen, it’s pretty hardcore to train yourself to hold your breath for over six minutes.
3HALO Jump —Mission: Impossible - Fallout
Falloutwas full of stunts that put Cruise’s life at risk, including one that actually caused him to break his ankle during filming. Aside from that injury, Cruise became the first actor in history to film a HALO (High Altitude, Low Open) skydive, which is a high-risk military maneuver. Abehind-the-scenes videoexplains nearly a year of preparation went into the stunt, which required the crew to specially design a helmet that would not only allow Cruise to breathe at 25,000 feet but also show his face. The actor also had to prepare by inhaling pure oxygen for 20 minutes straight to avoid decompression sickness. Then, he jumped out of a C-17 plane for the memorable free fall.
2The Burj Khalifa Climb —Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
What better to add to this stunt-heavy franchise than the tallest building in the world, referred to as the Burj Khalifa. Despite the fact that this extremely dangerous stunt could have been pulled off using CGI, the choice to perform the stunt for real is certainly a risk. Of course, this stunt certainly paid off, and despiteMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol’s challenging shoot, they managed to capture Cruise scaling, running along the side of and smashing through a window of the Burj.
This stunt was particularly challenging, considering that Cruise had no physical assistance and merely had consultations with dozens of stuntmen and professionals before performing one of his greatest stunts of all time. He even sat at the top of the building without any harnesses or wire for a photo to commemorate the moment.
1Hanging From a Plane —Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Topping the list is Cruise’s stunt inRogue Nation,where he hung from the outside of an airbus while it was in flight. While Cruise was strapped onto the plane, the plane was flown for a total of 48 hours and landed eight times before they managed to snag the perfect shot. According to Cruise, a pebble even hit him in the ribs, and at the speed, the plane was going, that tiny pebble could have shattered a rib. If something had gone wrong during this scene, Cruise would not have been able to get inside the plane until after it had landed. This shows Cruise’s pure dedication to giving an authentic, entertaining experience for the audience, keeping them on the edge of their seats.
