PARIS — Tom Cruise showcased his remarkable stunt skills during the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, earning him accolades rather than traditional compensation.
According to Casey Wasserman, chairman of the LA2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Cruise enthusiastically agreed to leap from the Stade de France to receive the official Olympic flag from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and celebrated Olympian Simone Biles.
After his jump, the “Mission Impossible” star navigated the streets of Paris on his motorcycle, eventually boarding a plane near the iconic Eiffel Tower. He later made a spectacular appearance, diving from the sky into the vicinity of the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, which was part of a pre-recorded segment for the event.
Wasserman revealed during a recent CNBC X Boardroom panel, reported by The Hollywood Reporter, “The backstory is that we realized we were producing a 15-minute live TV show, and so I hired who I think is the best person in the world to do that.”
Wasserman further stated that Cruise was adamant about performing all the stunts himself.
“There’s no way we’re getting this. We’re going to get four hours of filming time,” Wasserman recounted. “We’ll do the thing that the LA with the Hollywood sign, he’ll hand the thing off and done. Maybe we’ll get the other stuff and the rest will be just a stunt double. About five minutes into the presentation [Tom Cruise] goes ‘I’m in. But I’m only doing it if I get to do everything.’”
Not only did Cruise fulfill this commitment, but Wasserman confirmed the actor provided his services without charge.
“He finished filming ‘Mission Impossible’ at 6 p.m. in London, got right on a plane. He landed in LA at 4 a.m. and filmed the scene where he pulls onto a military plane,” Wasserman recalled. “In LA, he does two jumps out of the thing. He didn’t like the first one, so he did a second jump. Then he helicoptered from Palmdale to the Hollywood sign, filmed from 1 until 5, helicoptered to Burbank Airport, and flew back to London.”
And with that, the mission was accomplished.