Tom Cruise 'almost broke his back' during a dangerous stunt in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Tom Cruise “almost broke [his] back” during a dangerous stunt in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.

The 63-year-old actor returned as IMF agent Ethan Hunt for the last time in the 2025 action blockbuster, and Cruise has now recalled the one stunt that nearly went too far.

Watching the biplane battle between Ethan and the evil Gabriel (Esai Morales) with Entertainment Weekly, the Top Gun: Maverick star said: “Oh, this almost broke my back!”

In the sequence, Ethan has jumped from his plane onto Gabriel’s, and is barely hanging on as the villain does all he can to knock the IMF agent off.

Director Christopher McQuarrie added: “You’re talking about a lot of pain here.”

The danger in the biplane scene didn’t end there, as Cruise - who completed all of his stunts himself for Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning - had also seriously damaged his hands in the sequence.

Later in the scene, Ethan clings onto the seatbelt of Gabriel’s biplane for dear life as he hangs upside down.

McQuarrie said: “Now watch this: The thing we haven't talked about, holding on to this belt.

“This separated the joints in Tom's fingers from the force, so by the time we finished this sequence, your hands were absolutely swollen - oh my God, it was so painful to watch.”