Tom Cruise even performed a quick stunt for the crowd outside Leicester Square Gardens in one of his last outings as Ethan Hunt.
Tom Cruise made a dramatic entrance at the global premiere of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning on Thursday night (May 15) to mark what might be the final chapter in the long-running action franchise. The premiere, which was held at Leicester Square Gardens, featured an elaborate display with two vintage biplanes positioned in front of a mountain-style backdrop outside the venue.
The Hollywood star, 62, waved to the crowds from the nose of the red stunt plane while dressed in a black suit that he paired with his signature sunglasses. Just as fans thought he might come back down to earth, Cruise started a new balancing act on a yellow-and-black aircraft.
This was a fittingly over-the-top entrance for Cruise’s eighth and potentially final outing as action hero Ethan Hunt. A-listers turned out in force to celebrate the release of the latest Mission: Impossible film, which is scheduled for release in UK cinemas on May 21.
Sir Rod Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster among the first big names to arrive. They were followed by model Kimberley Garner, presenter and pop star Myleene Klass, and of course, Cruise’s co-stars Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga and Esai Morales.
While in the British capital Tom also received a Fellowship from the British Institute in recognition of the contribution he has made to cinema over the past few decades.
Just yesterday Cruise attended another screening of The Final Reckoning with cast members at the Cannes Film Festival. The ensemble, including Hayley Atwell and Hannah Waddingham, participated in a photo call and walked the red carpet.
Before the Cannes screening Tom smiled and waved at fans gathered along the barriers. One group had been camped outside of the venue for six hours, and a lucky few managed to snag a last-minute entry to the screening.
Earlier this week, he was also spotted scaling the roof of the BFI IMAX to pose for promotional photos. The venue, which houses the UK’s largest cinema screen, had been wrapped in a large advertisement for The Final Reckoning.
Cruise has always insisted on doing his own stunts, but that nearly got him into serious trouble on the set of this film, as Christopher McQuarrie has now revealed he almost passed out while trying to shoot a wing-walking scene.
While on stage with Tom in Cannes, McQuarrie shared: “There was a moment where Tom had pushed himself to the point that he was so physically exhausted, he couldn’t get back up off the wing. He was lying on the wing of the plane, his arms were hanging over the front. We could not tell if he was conscious or not.”
At that point the pilot warned the film crew that he only had three minutes of fuel left in the plane, but he couldn’t land while Tom was outside and lying on one of the wings. McQuarrie added: “We watched Tom as he pulled himself up and stuck his head in the cockpit, so that he could replenish the oxygen in his body and then climb up into the cockpit. No one on earth can do that but Tom.”
