Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
“He’s inside a spinning structure filled with debris, and the challenge was to create a scene that felt truly chaotic and unpredictable…”
Tom Cruise recently shared details about a physically demanding stunt in his upcoming film, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
In an interview with Empire Magazine, the 62-year-old actor revealed that his character, Ethan Hunt, explores the wreckage of a submarine in a high-stakes action sequence. For the scene, Cruise had to endure breathing in his own carbon dioxide.
“I’m breathing in my own carbon dioxide,” he explained. “It builds up in the body and affects the muscles.”
To film the sequence, the Top Gun star wore a specially designed suit and mask, which could only be worn for 10 minutes at a time to prevent hypoxia—a condition caused by a lack of oxygen in body tissues.
“You have to push through all of that while staying focused and present,” Cruise added.
To give fans an immersive experience of Cruise’s underwater scene, the sequence was filmed in an 8.5 million-liter water tank mounted on a gimbal that could rotate on command, according to the outlet.
Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie described the shoot as “really physically punishing” for Cruise.
“He’s inside a rotating structure filled with debris, and we had to create an environment that felt as chaotic and unpredictable as possible,” McQuarrie explained. “But it also needed to be repeatable and something Tom could navigate—and survive.”
The first trailer for the highly anticipated film showcases a variety of intense action scenes, including a high-speed car chase and crash, an underwater battle involving a submarine, and Cruise clinging to the exterior of a biplane as it flies upside down, among other thrilling moments.
Cruise previously discussed the biplane stunt, revealing that he lost consciousness multiple times while filming the sequence.
“When you stick your face out of a plane at speeds over 120 to 130 miles per hour, you’re not getting enough oxygen,” Cruise explained. “I had to train myself to breathe properly. There were moments when I physically passed out and couldn’t make it back into the cockpit.”
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is set to hit theaters on May 23.
