EXCLUSIVE: Tom Cruise's 'Death Wish' — How Injury-Addled Adrenaline Junkie Is Risking His Life Aged 62 By Planning Even More Deadly 'Mission: Impossible' Stunts
Tom Cruise is still constantly putting him through death-defying stunts.
May 19 2025, Published 9:00 a.m. ET
Tom Cruise has vowed not to slow down when it comes to his money-spinning Mission: Impossible franchise – but sources tell RadarOnline.com he is cashing checks his body can't withstand.
"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 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.
Injury Prone
Cruise has recently endured a string of injuries while making his movies.
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 smashed his leg leaping off a building for the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise.
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."
And his injury could have crippled him and stalled filming.
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.
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Cruise is said to be wooing the much younger Ana de Armas.
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."
Kilmer's casting in the original Top Gun wasn't straightforward.
Cruise recalled: "Originally, he just didn't want to make the movie, 'I don't want to be a supporting, I want to star in films.'
"I was calling his agent, and Tony Scott was hunting him down and meeting in an elevator with Val, and he was like, 'Please, Val, please.' You just see what a great actor, charismatic guy he was.
"And in that scene, what I love about what he did and how he played it, he just knew that tone to hit."
