Tom Cruise is a man of many contrasts.
While he’s known for his acting talent and penchant for doing his own film stunts, he’s also made headlines for his ties to Scientology and occasional outbursts. It was in the not-so-distant past that during the production of “Mission: Impossible 7” a recording of him lashing out at crew members for breaching COVID-19 protocols seemed like it circulated around the world.
Yet, the latest story about Mr. Cruise, 61, whose film “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is currently in theaters, is about the generous gifts he bestows his cast mates—gifts which seem as over-the-top as the stunts he manages to pull off on his own.
Sky-diving and Shark-chasing
For “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Pom Klementieff, besides the coconut cakes he’s known for giving out, it was the sky-diving lessons that Mr. Cruise gave her when they wrapped the film that really stood out.
“Another beautiful gift that was so thoughtful is that I wanted to skydive with him and also the stunt team, but they said I needed to get my license,” said Klementieff, according to People Magazine. “He found a teacher for me and I learned how to skydive, and I got my license, and we even did jumps together. And now I’m addicted, so that’s my new thing now!”
Likewise, co-star Simon Pegg shared the time Mr. Cruise took the film team shark-diving during a break from filming near some coastal waters.
“It’s such a Tom Cruise thing. We’ve been filming in a helicopter and he flew us in the helicopter to this place where you could go into a cage and feed sharks,” noting Mr. Cruise has always been very keen to show his appreciation to those he works with. “It was one of those days that we got to the end of the day and we were like, ‘That was a real Tom Cruise kind of day.’ ”
Like Klementieff, Mr. Cruise’s MI7 co-star Hayley Atwell has appreciated the Christmas coconut cakes but she told the outlet that the “beautiful” amphora he gave her for her birthday stands out to her.
“I’m like, ‘It’s a water jug. Nice,’” Ms. Atwell said. “And then you taste it and you compare it to normal filtered water or tap water, and it’s really light and kind of crazy. It’s just a different level of clarity. It’s beautiful.”
The seventh installment of the Mission Impossible franchise, which besides Mr. Cruise, Ms. Atwell, and Mr. Pegg also stars Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Esai Morales, was released in theaters July 12. It took in $80 million over an extended five-day opening.
Cruise Shares His Stunts and Creates Antics for Cast Members
Long considered one of Hollywood’s A-listers, Mr. Cruise’s previous film credits include 1986’s “Top Gun,” 1994’s “Interview With the Vampire,” 1996’s “Jerry Maguire,” and 2003’s “The Last Samurai.” It was just last summer that he ruled the box office with “Top Gun: Maverick,” which took in a whopping $1.5 billion worldwide.
In terms of generosity, Mr. Cruise has also been open-handed when it comes to sharing “behind the scenes” footage from his films, most of which involves him engaged in harrowing stunts.
A video shared on Paramount Pictures’ YouTube channel shows Mr. Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff and free-falling before releasing a parachute. The video notes the numerous times he attempted the move, eventually doing 13,000 motorcycle jumps and 500 skydives.
Other stunts include scaling the world’s highest building and free-climbing a cliff without a safety net.
“I think he’s so used to being the focus of attention, it’s naturally his instinct to kind of reflect everything back,” said Mr. Pegg, reflecting back on Mr. Cruise’s gift-giving. “And he’s always incredibly sort of generous in terms of his gratitude to us and how he thanks us and how he lets us know that we’re valued.”
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