Is Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning actor Tom Cruise the greatest movie star?

As part of a dying breed of Hollywood actors from the golden era of cinema, is Cruise the quintessential movie star?

Whether he’s leaping between skyscrapers or jumping on Oprah Winfrey’s couch, Tom Cruise has not let age (or gravity) slow him down. Even when those very same actions have had unpleasant consequences – Cruise breaking his ankle shooting on London rooftops for Mission: Impossible – Fallout and becoming the subject of global mockery for his exuberant declaration of love for former wife Katie Holmes to Winfrey in 2005 – he continues to throw himself into every activity with impressive zeal.

“I just try to do everything I can, to use every tool that I can, to entertain the audience,” Cruise explained to Jimmy Kimmel of leaping out of planes, abseiling down sheer rock faces and riding a motorbike off a clifftop. “Even as a little kid I used to steal lumber out of a junkyard, and then I would ride down the hill as fast as I could and hit the ramp to get over garbage cans. It didn’t work. I spent the next few days in hospital. But I knew this is what I want to do.”

Tom Cruise attends the Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning red carpet. Picture: Getty.

Yep, it’s a risky business being Cruise.

And so, almost 30 years after his first appearance as Impossible Mission Force agent Ethan Hunt in the first cinematic adaptation of the 1960s TV series Mission: Impossible, Cruise, 62, is still proudly performing all his own stunts in the franchise’s eighth film, The Final Reckoning. And he urges his co-stars to do the same to give the films greater authenticity.

“I didn’t really know what I was agreeing to,” Rebecca Ferguson – who has starred in three of the Mission: Impossible movies – told Graham Norton of working with Cruise. “And then the first day of shooting, what did we do? Jump off a building. And when we finished, he looked at me, in that Tom Cruise way, and said: ‘Welcome to Mission!’”

When he made the long-awaited sequel to Top Gun, Cruise resisted pressure to air the film on streaming services during the pandemic, and held firm for a cinematic release.

Top Gun: Maverick went on to take just shy of US$1.5 billion at the box office, prompting Steven Spielberg to credit Cruise with “saving Hollywood’s ass”. That’s what makes Cruise unique. Love him or hate him, you cannot fault the actor’s commitment to movie making. He’s such a big star that even other celebrities get excited to see him, with actors such as Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis clamouring to take selfies with him at an Oscars lunch.

You can watch Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise their 2010 classic thriller Knight and Day. Picture: Supplied.

Also talking to Graham Norton, Rosamund Pike gushed that she could barely wipe the starstruck look from her face while working on 2012’s Jack Reacher and its sequel. “You’re like: ‘Oh my God, it’s Tom Cruise. And he looks just the same!’” she laughed of swooning over her co-star. Instantly recognisable thanks to his roles in classic movies including A Few Good Men, Top Gun and Jerry Maguire, Cruise understandably gets mobbed by fans wherever in the world he goes. But he always takes the time to chat and parrot one of his many iconic film lines upon request.

Tom Cruise doing his own stunts in Mission impossible The Final Reckoning.

He also goes the extra mile for his peers, famously dispatching decadent coconut cakes around the globe to all those in his orbit. In a recent interview with News Corp, Cruise’s Mission: Impossible co-star Simon Pegg recounted how the actor organised for a cake to be delivered to him atop a mountain while he was on a snowboarding holiday.

“He’s incredibly thoughtful like that. He’s always very generous and I am always touched when the cake arrives,” Pegg laughed of his French Alps delivery. “And it’s always still a bit of a thrill when he walks into the room, just because of the historical mythology that surrounds him.”

Before the latest Mission: Impossible film hits cinemas on May 17, why not enjoy some of the thrills and spills of Cruise and his loyal Mission: Impossible sidekick, Pegg on Tubi. Knight And Day: When June (Cameron Diaz) meets a secret agent named Roy (Cruise), she gets caught up in his death-defying job. Tom Cruise: Lights Camera Action: Released to mark Cruise’s 60th birthday, this documentary traces the actor’s impressive career on screen from his 1981 debut in Endless Love to today. Spaced: Co-created by Cruise’s pal and Mission: Impossible co-star Pegg, this British sitcom follows the adventures of a pair of Londoners who decide to house-share.

Now streaming on Tubi.

Originally published as Is Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning actor Tom Cruise the greatest movie star?