Hayley Atwell Couldn't Believe Tom Cruise's Ease With Major Mission: Impossible Stunts

In what might be his toughest mission yet, Tom Cruise is looking to save the 2023 box office with "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One." At a time when blockbusters seem to be struggling and as mighty a hero as "Indiana Jones" can't get the job done at the box office, Cruise is hoping his frankly insane stunt work in "Dead Reckoning" is enough to bring audiences out to the multiplex.

In truth, the veteran star shouldn't have too big a problem accomplishing his mission. Cruise has always been a box office draw, but it's only in the last decade or so that he's managed to cultivate this reputation as a kind of real-life action hero/daredevil. That's obviously not to say that he hasn't starred in action movies his whole career, maintaining a reputation for doing his own stunts throughout. But there was a moment during the "Eyes Wide Shut"/"Vanilla Sky" days when the star decided he really wanted to be taken seriously as an actor. And since then, he's actually found most of his success with action blockbusters that are basically showcases for Cruise's daredevil antics and the ways in which he tries to top himself each time.

Just look at the marketing for "Dead Reckoning Part One," a large part of which has revolved around Cruise reportedly performing the most dangerous stunt of his career by riding a motorbike off a real cliff and freefalling into a valley — six times. And while it remains to be seen whether that's enough to sell tickets, it's been enough to dazzle his co-stars, who often worry that whatever outrageous feat their leading man attempts next could be his last.

Tom Cruise insists upon doing his own stunts and it's been that way for some time. The fast-paced thrill ride that is "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One," saw him stay true to form and push himself beyond where he's gone before — the aforementioned motorbike stunt being just one example. But there are plenty of other examples of the actor and even his co-stars braving some pretty formidable physical challenges. Still, none of them could hope to match the leading man's dedication, which seems to have particularly inspired co-star Hayley Atwell.

Atwell, who plays Grace, an ally to Cruise's Ethan Hunt in "Dead Reckoning," spoke to the Radio Times about how surprised she was at "how easy [Cruise] wears it all," referring to his apparent insouciance in the face of having to perform death-defying feats on the regular. She recalled one story in particular:

"I remember we went over for dinner at his and he comes out and he's like, 'Hey, guys, how you doing?' Sits down, we're chatting about the film, chatting about our day, what we've been up to. And we were like, well you know, how was your day? And he's like 'yeah, it was good, it was really nice actually, I had a lovely time. I did like 29 skydives I think today.' "And the ease with which he said that! And also I'm sat there going, you look like a man that's had a lovely day at the beach, you are so relaxed and comfortable in your own skin. And you've just done that."

Atwell puts the star's calm demeanor down to the fact that he's "so disciplined in what he knows that he has to do in order to accomplish these stunts," adding that she finds his fearlessness inspiring.

It wasn't just Hayley Atwell that was impressed by Tom Cruise while shooting "Mission: Impossible 7." If you watch the behind-the-scenes featurette on the film's big motorbike stunt you'll see numerous crew members extolling the actor's physical abilities, including base jumping coach Miles Daisher, who said Cruise is, "an amazing individual," adding, "You tell him something and he just locks it in. His sense of spatial awareness, he's the most aware person I've ever met."

And there's plenty more action involving the man himself. Of course Cruise also fights on top of a real train going 60 mph in the movie, as well as driving himself and Atwell around Rome for a chase scene using a stunt car that had been souped up to give it maximum power — a task he once again handled with ease.

These are all, obviously, incredible physical achievements, and Cruise very much seems to not only take it all in stride, but live for this kind of thing. He's said he hopes to emulate Harrison Ford's success by making "Mission: Impossible" movies until he's 80, suggesting his perilous stunt work on "Dead Reckoning" hasn't put him off from his mission of outdoing himself with each successive "Mission: Impossible" movie. Will he also manage to once again save the movie theater business when the film arrives on July 12, 2023? Well, he's done it before ...