CRUISE CONTROL

MOST HUMAN BEINGS WOULD FIND THE FRANCHISE’S REAL-LIFE MISSIONS IMPOSSIBLE. BUT TOM CRUISE ISN’T MOST HUMAN BEINGS. HE TELLS US HOW HE PULLED OFF THE MOST DEATH-DEFYING SEQUENCES

WORDS CHRIS HEWITT

Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt enters CIA headquarters like a ninja in the first Mission: Impossible; Mission:

THE LANGLEY HEIST

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

(Brian De Palma.......... 1996)

For some, it’s still the signature sequence of the Mission: Impossible series, even though it doesn’t involve a lifethreatening stunt. Ethan Hunt infiltrates the CIA headquarters at Langley, to retrieve vital information from a high-tech, temperaturecontrolled computer vault that is seemingly impossible to access. Enter Ethan, gliding down from the ceiling in complete silence, showing perfect balance and poise before making off with the info…

“I was in Japan promoting a film, and De Palma called me and pitched me this. It was Rififi, but how do we do it? I knew this rig and I came back and showed him the rig that I wanted to wear. I was showing him different kinds of equipment and movement, and I would find out, ‘What could I do? How could I move through this space? What looks elegant?’ I would practise to make it look elegant. And we were testing different metals (to hold Cruise in place).

“The first metal I tested was soft, and it broke. If I’m up high and it breaks, that’s a problem. I’ll never forget that day, because when I go from the computer down to the floor, it was very challenging, physically. We wanted it all to be in one shot. And my face kept hitting the ground as I went down. So I went to the crew guys and said, ‘Empty your pockets,’ and put British [ bank] notes in my toes, and balanced myself. And I went from the computer down, and didn’t hit the ground. I’m holding, I’m holding, I’m holding it, and I was sweating. Everyone’s holding their breath, and then I could hear Brian start laughing. He goes, ‘Alright! Cut!’ And we both laughed and hugged each other.”