It’s time we truly appreciate the iconic actor Tom Cruise for his impressive acting skills and for doing his own risky stunts before it’s too late, and Cruise inevitably retires…
Tom Cruise may be turning sixty this year but the Oscar-nominated actor is showing no signs of slowing down. The Top Gun sequel, Top Gun: Maverick is getting released in just a few days and Cruise is also set to star in two upcoming Mission Impossible films.
What makes Cruise such a great actor is he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make his performance top tier; including almost always doing his own stunts. For example, Cruise was the first actor to ever do a HALO jump – a high altitude low open jump from a plane – which he did for the 2018 film, Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
Cruise has also literally dangled from a plane as it took off (for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation), learnt how to hold his breath for six minutes (so he could perform an underwater stunt, also for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation), and is able to pilot several different aircraft (thanks to Top Gun: Maverick).
It’s incredibly impressive that Cruise is so committed to his craft that he’s willing to take on extremely dangerous stunts, and when recently asked by The Hollywood Reporter why he’s so determined to perform his own stunts, even in his late fifties, Cruise simply responded,
“No one asked Gene Kelly, ‘Why do you dance? Why do you do your own dancing?’”
Tom Cruise
However, no one is immune to time, and sadly, Cruise will, at some point, be unable to continue doing his own stunts as well as acting in films in general. Just look at action star and veteran actor Bruce Willis – who shocked fans around the world when it was announced earlier this year that he’d be stepping away from acting due to an aphasia diagnosis.
Willis is only seven years older than Cruise. We are by no means wishing that Cruise becomes ill but you can’t deny that the actor is going to inevitably get old and frail – an unavoidable fate for all of us.
This is why we need to appreciate Cruise and his films while we can. Despite being the right age and having more than enough money to do so, Cruise hasn’t retired yet.
The actor is still enjoying starring in films – unlike most other actors his age, who have either retired or only take on supporting roles – and is still willing to risk his health to do stunts just so we can have incredible and thrilling action sequences in blockbuster films.
In all honesty, we applaud the legend that is Tom Cruise and can’t wait to watch his upcoming projects.
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