Tom Cruise’s most dangerous stunts from helicopter crash that broke his ribs to riding a motorbike over a cliff

WE take a look at Tom Cruise’s most dangerous stunts, after he closed the 2024 Olympics with a jaw-dropping Mission Impossible-style stunt.

The 62-year-old actor, who is infamous for doing all his own stunts, left viewers and sports stars gobsmacked as he slid down a rope from the roof of the Stade de France and landed on the pitch.

Tom abseiled off the roof of the Stade de France in Paris as part of the handover during the Olympics closing ceremonyCredit: Rex

He is known for doing all his own stunts with no green screensCredit: Alamy

His death-defying stunts just get bigger and betterCredit: TCD/VP/LMKMEDIA

Tom has done over 30 jumps per day and over 500 skydives in total, but what are his most daring, wildest, and death-defying stunts?

How many times has he put his life on the line for the love of the Mission: Impossible franchise and cinema itself?

We have a look at four of the most dangerous stunts leaving him with broken ribs.

Paris Olympics stadium abseil

He descended the massive distance between the stadium roof and the athletics trackCredit: AFP

As Paris handed the baton to Los Angeles, Tom seemed completely unfazed despite the 115-foot-high drop as he was greeted by the elated athletes.

The Hollywood star then hopped onto a motorcycle to take the Olympic flag on a joyride out of the stadium.

A pre-recorded video then showed Tom riding past classic Parisian landmarks like the Eiffel Tower before arriving at an airport.

After boarding the aircraft, the Top Gun actor could be seen skydiving out of the plane and later landing in Los Angeles.

The iconic movie star then trekked the flag up to the famous Hollywood sign before he passed it on to US cyclist Kate Courtney.

Breaking his ribs in Mission: Impossible II

Tom cracked two ribs filming Mission: Impossible IIICredit: Paramount Pictures

One of the most memorable scenes in Mission: Impossible 3 is the bridge attack.

In the scene, the fighter jets bomb the Chesapeake Bay Bridge while Tom’s character Ethan Hunt is caught in the chaos.

A shot used in almost every trailer for the film shows Tom being thrown into the side of a car on the bridge, with cars exploding behind him.

While trying to nail that shot, Tom got injured again, breaking two ribs when he was launched into the car during the explosion stunt.

Luckily, it’s all been worth it, with Mission: Impossible becoming one of the biggest film franchises ever.

Death-defying HALO jump

A HALO jump, short for High Altitude, Low Opening, involves skydivers leaping from a higher altitude than usual and delaying the opening of their parachute until they are much closer to the ground.

And Tom performed his own HALO jump stunt… with a broken ankle.

He had already fractured it while filming the most highly praised entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Yet he still boarded that plane, ascended to 25,000 feet, and made the jump.

Tom told Wired that he doesn’t mind doing these dangerous stunts: “I’ve always done outrageous physical stunts, even as a kid. My mother had incredible patience.”

Mission: Impossible – Fallout – the broken ankle

Tom slammed into a wall and broke his ankleCredit: Splash News

While filming Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Tom, as Ethan Hunt, had to jump across several high-rise buildings while chasing Henry Cavill’s villainous character, August Walker.

However during one take, while sprinting at full speed from one building to another, Tom slammed into a wall and broke his ankle.

But even with a broken ankle, Tom kept filming, and the movie went on to become the most critically acclaimed Mission: Impossible film to date.

Reflecting on the incident later, Tom said, “I knew instantly my ankle was broken, and I really didn’t want to do it again, so I just got up and carried on with the take.

“I said, ‘It’s broken. That’s a wrap. Take me to the hospital,’ and then everyone got on the phone and made their vacation arrangements.”

Tom pushes the limits of what his body is capable of that not every stunt can go 100% to planCredit: Paramount Pictures

Tom is showing no signs of slowing down as he Tom told The Sydney Morning Herald: “I hope to keep making Mission Impossible films until I’m [Harrison Ford’s] age.”

As of 2024, Tom Cruise is the sixth highest-grossing actor of all time, with his films, including Top Gun: Maverick and the Mission: Impossible franchise, totaling a whopping $12,091,844,410.

In GBP, that’s £9,468,700,142, and puts him ahead of the likes of Vin Diesel, Chris Hemsworth, and Bradley Cooper. On average, his movies have grossed over $250million (£195million) each.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Tom has amassed a fortune of over $600m (£470m), meaning that he’s one of the richest actors in Hollywood.