Tom Cruise has become a household name with an outstanding career spawning for over four decades. Kicking off his career in the early 1980s, he made his breakthrough with leading roles in Risky Business (1983) and Top Gun (1986). Diversifying his portfolio with a variety of genres in the beginning, he found his specialization in the action genre which led him to become one of the highest-grossing box-office stars of all time.
His action-star persona has continued to surprise fans as he often challenges himself with risky stunts which is one of the many reasons why he is at the top of the entertainment world. However, this trait is not just limited to his on-screen roles as he has shown his daring side off-screen as well. The actor once convinced James Corden to fly in a fighter plane alongside him for a segment on The Late Late Show. While the moment eventually ended up happening, becoming one of the iconic segments for both personalities, Corden was initially not ready for the ride.
James Corden Panicked to Fly With Tom Cruise in a Fighter Jet
At the Royal Television Society conference in the UK, James Corden shared his insight on his experiences of presenting The Late Late Show. In one such segment, he addressed one of the show’s iconic moments when he flew a fighter jet with Tom Cruise when the latter was doing promotions for his 2022 hit movie, Top Gun: Maverick.
He was quite worried about the entire segment, as per Variety,
“A few days before [the flight] I had a genuine worry.”
Corden was unsure about that stunt since the Mission: Impossible actor was not a pilot, leading him to not take risks for what he did.
“I ended up going, like, ‘He’s an actor, he’s NOT a pilot.’ Like, respectfully, it’s just the two of us in an airplane. If something happens then we die.”
He even ended up considering the worst scenario sharing,
“And worse than that, worse than my own death, is my children growing up in places and people going ‘You know who they are? Their dad killed Tom Cruise”.
The Gavin and Stacey actor had major concerns about what possibly could happen with both of them. Since Cruise was an action superstar, the English actor was extremely troubled. However, the Jack Reacher actor made sure to calm his nerves down.
Tom Cruise Persuaded James Corden for Fighter Jet Segment for The Late Late Show Sketch
As his worries continued to chew his peace, the Vanilla Sky actor stepped in to put him at peace with his decision. Cruise made sure to calm him down by assuring him that he would never be in any danger. On winning his trust, Corden eventually agreed to get the show sketch done.
According to Variety, Cruise said,
“James, your life is more valuable than mine… you are never in any danger. I would never do this if I wasn’t flying every day. I am flying every single day… You don’t have to worry. You have to just trust me. I’m so ready and I wouldn’t do this going in cold.”
It certainly got added to his most enthralling experience with the Top Gun actor which went down as one of the special moments on his show. Having been hosting the show for nine seasons, Corden has finally parted ways with the popular series. Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures’ 2022 film was immensely successful and ended up being nominated for 6 Oscars winning the Best Sound award. Grossing over $1.4 billion worldwide, it became Cruise’s highest-grossing movie in his acting career.
Top Gun: Maverick is now streaming on Paramount+.
Source: Variety
