Tom Cruise, ‘Scared Sh!tless,’ Hangs Outside a Plane During ‘Mission: Impossible’ Filming

I have never been a fan of Tom Cruise.  From mediocre acting to control-freak tendencies, he’s never really left much for met to get excited about.  Until now…

In the upcoming installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, which hits theaters at the end of the month, Tom gave his stunt double the proverbial finger and decided to risk his own life to accurately play his character.

In one scene, the lead character Ethan Hunt (played by Cruise) attempts to gain access to an Airbus A400M military cargo plane as it is taking off but is, instead, left clinging to the outside as the craft goes airborne.  Most actors would gladly leave this scene to a stunt double or render it in an effects lab, but Cruise said “phooey” on all that and insisted that he actually film the shots himself. So, they strapped him into a harness on the side of the plane, taxied, and took off.

“If something went wrong, I can’t get into the airplane until we land,” remarks Cruise in the BTS footage. “I’m feeling the force of the wind hit me. I’m actually scared sh!tless.”

For a guy who chronically suffers from Napoleon Syndrome, he’s got some giant balls.

Yet, while this is all grand and glorious, I’m a little disturbed by the words of Wade Eastwood, the stunt coordinator for the film: “You can’t hang a multimillion-dollar star on the outside of an airplane and fly around in the normal world…”  Why?  Why is one man’s life so significantly more valuable than another’s?  Statistically speaking, when one actor dies, there’s thousands more vying for the position, so that clearly can’t be it.

Either way, you have to admire a guy who’s willing to put his neck on the line for the sake of authenticity, especially when he has every option not to.

How far are you willing to go for authenticity in your own work?

[via Hollywood Reporter]