Tom Cruise pushed himself to the physical limit for the stunts in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.”
In a recent appearance on “The Tonight Show,” Cruise broke down an extended diving sequence in “Final Reckoning,” in which Ethan Hunt must infiltrate a submarine. Cruise said during the scene, he “can’t see” because of the underwater lights. Not only did he do the scene blind, but he had to do it while wearing a diving suit that weighed over 100 pounds.
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“A lot of times I cannot see because of the reflection of the light,” Cruise explained. “So, I would go in, kind of blind, spend a lot of time on the set figuring out [the movement] as we’re figuring out the shots. Then, when I’m doing it, I have a hard time. Plus the suit, when it’s wet, increases in weight by about 125 pounds. So, the kind of workouts and things that I have to do just to prepare for these things, it’s years of development. And yeah, and I’m producing it, so it’s also that kind of thing.”
This isn’t the first time Cruise spoke about the underwater stunt. The four-time Oscar nominee previously said he was forced to breathe his own carbon dioxide while filming the submarine sequence because of the limitations of his diving gear.
“I’m breathing in my own carbon dioxide,” Cruise said. “It builds up in the body and affects the muscles. You have to overcome all of that while you’re doing it, and be present.”
Watch the entire conversation below.
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