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1980s icon Sean Penn calls Tom Cruise "the best stuntman in the movie world" in what is either a show of respect or the most hyperbolic marketing for Mission Impossible ever
We know Tom Cruise will not be happy until he has laughed in the face of death in every Mission Impossible movie, but calling him the best stuntperson in Hollywood feels a bit over the top, even for Sean Penn.
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It is no secret that Tom Cruise will not be satisfied until he has flung himself off of every building in the world while filming the next Mission Impossible film. The iconic actor’s penchant for performing his own stunts has helped him become one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood history, but, if you ask fellow actor Sean Penn, Tom Cruise is also one of the greatest stuntmen in the business.
That is a bold statement, especially given the chronic lack of recognition for stunt people in Hollywood, but Sean Penn has always been nothing if not controversial. On The Louis Theroux Podcast, Penn picked Tom Cruise as the actor he considers his peer. “Tom Cruise… he is a guy who pursues excellence on a very high level… Now, I understand certain kinds of movies people appreciate more than other kinds of movies, but this is a very good actor who’s also an extraordinarily committed craftsman.”
Addressing Cruise’s longevity – and the fact that he’s been in some of the most successful franchises in Hollywood history – Penn said, “Those movies don’t get made on that level – whether you love ‘em or they’re not your cup of tea – they don’t get made on that level without somebody extraordinary behind it, and he’s the common link between two many of them for it to not be him. It’s no accident.”
“He’s probably the best stuntman in the movie world, when it comes to the amount of skill he has and what he can do with them,” Penn added, in a comment that is sure to raise eyebrows from the many underappreciated stuntpeople in Hollywood, but it does echo what we’ve heard about how Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning has been received in early screenings. The film, and the mammoth stunt sequence at the end of it, reportedly got a five-minute standing ovation at Cannes.
Again, we know that Tom Cruise is happiest when he is throwing himself to his death on camera, but this feels a bit like hyperbolic marketing for the new Mission Impossible movie. Cruise is only able to do what he does because of the team around him making sure that his incredibly valuable face doesn’t hit the ground at terminal velocity, so we’d love to see a bit more respect shown to stunt people in Hollywood.
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