Movies - TV
John Woo Was Terrified By Tom Cruise’s First Mission: Impossible 2 Stunt
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
“Mission: Impossible 2” was the first film in the franchise to introduce Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) in the middle of a life-threatening stunt, which terrified director John Woo.
In the movie, Ethan mountain climbs in Utah’s Dead Horse Point without wearing ropes or a harness. Cruise was a producer on the film and insisted on climbing real cliff faces.
Cruise's stunt double for the climbing sequences was a professional named Ron Kauk, but he only appeared in certain wide shots where Cruise's face couldn't be seen.
The dangerous fingertip dangling where Cruise's face and body could be seen was actually the actor himself. Woo shared just how anxious he was while filming Cruise in real danger.
Woo told EW, “I was really mad that he wanted to do it, but I tried to stop him and I couldn't. [...] I was so scared I was sweating. I couldn't even watch the monitor.”
Cruise, meanwhile, had a blast. “Mission Impossible 2” camera operator Earl Wiggins told UK Climbing Magazine about the surprising amount of climbing Cruise did
during the filming.
He said, “Tom did all of the climbing except the slip off the overhang [...] [and] Tom was on the cliff parts of five days [...] and never complained which is rare for a big star.”