19 times Tom Cruise left us mind-blown with his own stunts in Hollywood

Modified Feb 03, 2025 13:16 ET

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (Image via Paramount Pictures) — Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (Image via YouTube/Skydance)

3. Climbing the Burj Khalifa – Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

Cruise didn’t just film from a set—he climbed the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. He ran along glass windows, dangled by a single cable, and even leaped between sections of the building, all from 1,700 feet above the ground. Winds at that height are strong enough to throw a person off balance. Even professional stuntmen would have hesitated, but Cruise made sure the sequence was as real as possible. The stunt turned a great action movie into a global spectacle. The image of him clinging to the skyscraper became one of the most iconic shots in modern cinema.