Risking his life to pull off life-threatening stunts in order to entertain fans is not an uncommon occurrence in Tom Cruise’s life. From jumping off buildings and cliffs to climbing Burj Khalifa, Cruise’s life is no stranger to thrill, however, none of his most talked about stunts were as fatal as one particular scene in Mission: Impossible 2.
The Mission: Impossible franchise has cemented itself as one if not the greatest action franchise, which has witnessed the Top Gun star pulling off death-defying stunts in almost every single entry. But during the second entry in the franchise, the actor risked losing his entire career, just to craft the best possible product for fans to enjoy.
Tom Cruise Risked Going Blind for Mission: Impossible 2
Mission: Impossible 2, directed by John Woo, might not hold a candle to the greatness of the other entries in the franchise, but it did cement the MI IP as a director-driven franchise moving forward. But despite its contrasting nature to the other movies in the series, the film did witness Tom Cruise pulling off a fatal stunt, which might not be as flashy as jumping off a cliff.
Although Dougray Scott’s Sean Ambrose isn’t the best villain the franchise has to offer, the character did have some weight behind him and was ready to play dirty to get the upper hand against Ethan Hunt. This ideology of Ambrose was reflected in the brawl sequence between the two, where Ambrose almost blinded Ethan Hunt by attempting to stab one of Hunt’s eyes. And unsurprisingly, Tom Cruise wanted the scene, where Scott holds the knife right around Cruise’s eye, to be filmed manually.
“Now, we had a real knife that was really sharp and really pointy. There was no faking that. What we did do was we had a cable attached to it in the knife which was hooked to an overhead bar that, so the knife could only go so far.” Stunt coordinator Brian Smrz revealed.
However, John Woo wasn’t too thrilled by the idea of the world’s biggest star risking one of his eyes for this single shot, but Tom Cruise’s commitment to the craft wasn’t going to be hampered by anyone.
Tom Cruise Was Untouched by It
Although the thought of facing a knife that is a quarter inch away from our eye might send chills down the spines for most, Tom Cruise had no problem staring at the knife without flinching. And following Cruise’s unreal determination to craft the best possible movie, John Woo had nothing but admiration for the Top Gun star.
“It was pretty scary. And I’m so glad the scene had such a greater impact because Tom was really risking his life for the shot.” Woo said.
Even after 2-decades since MI 2 hit the screens, Cruise is still risking his life to ensure the ultimate final product for moviegoers to enjoy.
