Tom Cruise Recounts His “Intense” Rogue Nation Airplane Stunt

Tom Cruise made quite an entrance at the 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony.

The actor, known for his death-defying stunts, created an instantly-iconic moment when he repelled from the top of the Stade de France to grab the flag from Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Cruise then climbed onto the back of a motorcycle and sped through the streets of Paris, straight to a runway where he boarded a giant plane headed to L.A. — the host city for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Once the plane made it to the U.S., Cruise parachuted out of it to land in the hills above L.A. He then transformed the iconic Hollywood sign to include the Olympic rings — intiating the official Summer Games handoff from the City of Lights to the City of Angels.

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Tom Cruise told Jimmy Fallon about filming the (real) Rogue Nation airplane stunt

Anyone who’s seen a Mission: Impossible movie knows Cruise loves to wow audiences with a stunt spectacle.

When the actor who plays spy Ethan Hunt in the long-running franchise appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in July 2015, Jimmy Fallon — who happened to co-host the 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony — asked him about a stunt from the Rogue Nation installment that had him hanging off the side of an airplane. And yes, he really did that.

“If you don’t know the story, there’s a giant cargo plane… major plane. First, I’m afraid of the plane. I wouldn’t even go on the plane. You’re hanging off the side of it… and it takes off,” Fallon continued, as he set up the stunt for the audience.

“They strap me on the side of the plane beforehand, and then they start the engines. Then we taxi and then I go down the runway,” recalled Cruise, who said he told the plane’s pilot that for the angle of attack he wanted to make sure his legs were hitting the fuselage. 

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“He was just kind of smiling at me the whole time. He said that won’t be a problem,” Cruise told Fallon. “Then the first take, we’re going down the runway and it was everything to keep my feet onto the steps because I was almost slapped against the fusilage, going down the runway we were going so fast,” explained Cruise.

“It was a little intense,” Cruise continued. “There’s that moment I’m there going, ‘Oh, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. It’s too late now! I can’t tell everyone, I have the whole crew on the plane.’”

“You don’t have to do that,” Fallon informed Cruise during their chat. “You can put a dummy on, like a mannequin, and then you just have a wide shot!”

“I’m so happy I’m a late night TV talk show host. I’m so happy. I love my desk, I love my job so much,” Fallon joked, as he kissed his desk and microphone.

“I just want to entertain y’all,” Cruise told the audience. And he certainly did at the Closing Ceremony.