EXCLUSIVE: Tom Cruise Admits He Goes 'Too Far' With Stunts — After We Revealed How 62-Year-Old Is 'Dicing With Death' For 'Mission: Impossible' Pay Checks
Tom Cruise is 'dicing with death.'
May 20 2025, Updated 9:22 a.m. ET
Tom Cruise has acknowledged he "always goes too far" with his action stunts, as the 62-year-old prepares for the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
His admission comes after RadarOnline.com revealed he cannot stop dicing with death for the sake of pay checks on his action franchise.
'Too Far'
He's endured a string of injuries on set.
"I always go too far, but I don't mind it," Cruise confessed. "I always go too far."
The actor, who reprises his role as Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible series' concluding chapter, made other candid admissions about the physical extremes he has endured to deliver high-octane cinematic spectacle.
"Physically, what I had to do to prepare for this thing was quite extreme," he said. "And I can tell you this – whatever people see in the trailer or on TV, it is not even a taste of what they have in store for them when they see this film."
Sources have also told us Cruise has vowed not to slow down when it comes to his money-spinning Mission: Impossible franchise.
And insiders warned he is cashing checks his body can't withstand.
He cracked his leg off a building shooting in Britain.
"I'm always shooting a film, prepping a film, posting a film," the star confirmed while grinning during a recent appearance on Australia's Today show.
He proudly added: "There's numerous other films that we're actively working on right now."
But at 62, the Hollywood star's body is creaking after a series of injuries from stunts that could have killed him.
And despite recently telling Mission: Impossible writer Chris McQuarries he constantly tries to "kill him" by including stunts in the flicks, he is showing no signs of slowing down.
One source raising alarm bells over the extreme physical toll his death-defying stunts are taking told us: "Tom is dicing with death every time he steps on set.
"There's admiration for his efforts, yes, but also real concern.
"At some point, something could go very wrong – it's actually like he has a death wish."
Cruise's appearance on the Today show confirmed RadarOnline.com's story he would continue with the Mission: Impossible flicks even though doing stunts for them could land him in an early grave.
Cruise, who has suffered a string of serious injuries over his four-decade career, is once again pushing the limits as he plans more action-heavy roles, including another Mission: Impossible instalment and a follow-up to Top Gun: Maverick.
In 2017, he shattered his ankle leaping between rooftops for Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and in 2005, tore a shoulder muscle during a knife fight sequence for Mission: Impossible III.
He has also endured cracked ribs, burns, and a torn hamstring – all in the name of doing his own stunts.
The actor confirmed on Today he and his creative team are deep in discussions about the future of the Top Gun franchise.
He said: "Yeah, we're thinking and talking about many different stories and what could we do and what's possible.
"It took me 35 years to figure out Top Gun: Maverick, so all of these things we're working on, we're discussing Days of Thunder and Top Gun: Maverick."
Danger Junkie
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Cruise is addicted to the adrenaline rush.
Cruise also revealed he is currently juggling multiple other projects, including a film with Oscar-winning director Alejandro Iñárritu – his first English-language project since 2015's The Revenant – as well as further collaborations with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie.
He said: "I just finished a film with Alejandro Iñárritu too, who did The Revenant, that was an extraordinary experience and (Christopher McQuarrie) and I are always working on several different films."
Released in 2022, Top Gun: Maverick reignited global fascination with the high-octane world of naval aviation.
Cruise's return as Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell saw him training a new generation of elite pilots, including Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw (Miles Teller, 37), Jake 'Hangman' Seresin (Glen Powell, 35), and Robert 'Bob' Floyd (Lewis Pullman, 32.)
The film also marked the return of Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky, played by Val Kilmer — who died last month at 65 following complications from pneumonia.
Speaking to Sight and Sound, Cruise – who is said to be romancing actress Ana de Armas – reflected on their moving reunion on screen.
He said: "To come back all those years later, and it was amazing being on set for Top Gun: Maverick because it was like time had not passed. We were laughing and it was joyous. And then we started acting and it's just, you see it… he became 'Iceman'.
"The power that this guy has, even not saying anything, to become that character. You see how even the sniff that he gave. He was 'Iceman'."
"It was very special, to say the least, for me personally.
"You take Iceman from the first film and you look at it here, that whole journey, he became 'Iceman'. And he didn't even have to speak. That's what he's able to do. Beautiful, really beautiful. A gift that he had and that he shared with all of us."
