10 Insane Movie Stunts You Won't Believe Tom Cruise Performed

4. Skyscraper Jump - Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Obviously, nobody in their right mind was going to let Tom Cruise legitimately jump off the top of a skyscraper in order to capture Mission: Impossible III's base-jumping sequence. However, the decision to film the scene on soundstage still required the actor to perform his signature death-defying feats, with much less risk of being splattered on the street if things went awry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCRdTWGdngU JJ Abrams has been quoted as saying that he was hesitant to include the scene in the script because Cruise was going to want to do it, so building a section of the skyscraper roof in the studio and filming against a greenscreen sounds like a fair compromise. That being said, the crew must have had their hearts in their mouths as the actor launched himself into the air wearing only a safety harness. As seen in the 'Making Of' feature on the movie, there is a hell of a drop as Cruise flies off the edge of the set.