Tom Cruise stopped Londoners in their tracks at the weekend when they spotted the daredevil actor perched on the roof of the BFI IMAX in Waterloo happily waving down at them on the ground. Cruise, 62, appeared carefree in the clips shared on social media and now the full footage of his latest stunt has been released.
The surprise appearance on top of the IMAX, home to the UK’s largest cinema screen, which is 65 feet high – the equivalent of five double decker buses – and 85 feet wide, was a promotional stunt for his new film Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning. In the video Cruise, who plays US agent Ethan Hunt, is filmed by a drone as he introduces the new movie to fans by saying: “London. UK. The whole world. We cannot wait to share Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning with you all. Now….light the fuse.”
The drone then flies away showing Cruise stood on top of a box on the roof, appearing without any harness or wires. Cruise’s BFI IMAX stunt is the latest of many daredevil exploits the actor has undertaken throughout his career. Last August, the Mission: Impossible lead jumped from the roof of the Stade de France during the Olympic handover ceremony from Paris to Los Angeles.
Speaking to Edith Bowman at an event celebrating his BFI Fellowship on Sunday night (May 11), Cruise admitted he’d enjoyed scaling buildings ever since he was a child – much to the alarm of his neighbours. I was a kid that opened a window and I’d crawl on the roof and look at the stars. I’d wake up and I’d sneak out and I was three years old,” he explained. “The neighbours called and said ‘I think there’s a child.’ Or, I’d climb a tree. Just, everything was an adventure to me. It still is.”
Cruise has been honoured with the British Film Institute’s most prestigious accolade, a BFI fellowship, describing the prize as “absolutely extraordinary”. The Hollywood actor as recognised at the annual BFI Chair’s Dinner in London on Monday (May 12) for his acting career and contribution to the UK film industry, as a producer who has chosen to shoot films in locations across the country.
A host of guests from across the British film industry were at the event, including BFI chairman Jay Hunt and actors Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell and Idris Elba. Speaking at the ceremony, Cruise said: “The beauty of this art form is a collaboration and it tests everything we are as artists, as human beings.
“When we finish a film it’s never goodbye, we’ll see you again soon, so it’s been absolutely extraordinary for me to receive this BFI Fellowship, it’s been an extraordinary evening and I’m very grateful that you are all here. I’ve loved every second, it’s an absolute privilege to be on set – people say why don’t you take a vacation, but why would I take a vacation from something I absolutely love to do? This is the most fun ever.”
He continued: “The thing is we love being in movies, with an audience with popcorn, it’s just magnificent. We know how magical that is. Thank you to the BFI, you’ve worked so hard to support our industry throughout, we are all holding hands together to keep this going, to educate the next generation as best we can and I look forward to all the films they’re going to make.”
Mr Hunt paid tribute to Cruise’s legacy in front of and behind the silver screen. He said: “We are thrilled to honour Tom Cruise tonight with a BFI Fellowship. As an actor and producer he has, for over four decades, pushed the boundaries of cinema and reminded us all why the big screen matters.
“Tom has also been a truly astonishing partner to the UK industry, a filmmaker whose energy lifts every set he walks on, whose imagination fills screens across the world, and whose example shows what can happen when you put story, craft and audience first.”
Previous recipients of the BFI fellowship include Elizabeth Taylor, Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan.
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