36 He got injured on the set of The Outsiders.
According to Andrew Morton, author of Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography, the rumble between the Greasers and the Socs in the film adaptation of The Outsiders became so violent—yes, truly violent—that Cruise ended up breaking his thumb. Fellow actors Emilio Estevez and Tom Howell also got roughed up in the fake fight gone wrong.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
37 He actually dangled himself from the side of a plane.
Not only does Cruise hold his breath for an impossible amount of time underwater, but he also took these daredevil tendencies into the stratosphere with this insane stunt for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, in which he dangled himself off the side of a plane in the opening scene. (With a safety harness, of course.) And if you want to get your adrenaline pumping to Cruise levels, check out The Craziest Amusement Park Ride in Every State.
38 And a skyscraper.
In Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, one scene required him to repel 163 stories down the side of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai—the tallest building in the world. As you can see from the behind-the-scenes video, he barely broke a sweat.
39 …and a canyon wall.
If you watch this maneuver through the canyons in Dead Horse, Utah, you’ll have a greater appreciation for Cruise’s fearlessness.
40 He runs in basically every movie.
No matter the film and no matter the storyline, Tom Cruise is always running—either toward or away, doesn’t matter—some evil danger, still managing to precariously balance precariously handsome athleticism and sheer terror. In this video, you can catch a glimpse of every single one of Cruise’s terror-stricken flees. The popularity of that video inspired Cruise to add this to his bio on Instagram: “Tom Cruise: Actor. Producer. Running in movies since 1981.”
