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Tom Cruise’s daredevil stunts are now in the history books.
The action star, 62, now has a Guinness World Records title for most burning parachute jumps by an individual, the organization announced Thursday, June 5. Cruise pulled off the feat 16 times while filming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
Spoiler alert: In the eighth installment of the action-packed franchise, Cruise’s super-spy Ethan Hunt has a climactic showdown with nemesis Gabriel (Esai Morales) in the skies. Fighting for possession of a rogue artificial intelligence known as the Entity, the two fly 1940s biplanes above canyons and fields in South Africa’s Drakensberg mountain range.
The sequence ends with Ethan falling from one of the planes as it’s on fire and breaking into pieces in midair; he deploys a parachute only to have it burst into flames and disintegrate, forcing him to deploy the backup parachute as he plummets to the ground.
Paramount Pictures and Skydance
Cruise, a licensed skydiver, “leapt out of a helicopter 16 times while strapped to a parachute pre-soaked in fuel and lit ablaze, before cutting away the charred remnants of the first chute and safely deploying a backup,” per the Guinness World Records website. “No other actor or stuntman has come close to that amount of death-defying drops.”
In some of the takes, Cruise and Mission: Impossible writer-director Christopher McQuarrie outfitted the star with a 50-pound camera rig attached to his body, capturing a close-up of Ethan’s fall.
Paramount Pictures and Skydance
“Tom doesn’t just play action heroes — he is an action hero!” said Craig Glenday, the organization’s editor-in-chief. “A large part of his success can be chalked up to his absolute focus on authenticity and pushing the boundaries of what a leading man can do. It’s an honor to be able to recognize his utter fearlessness with this new Guinness World Records title.”
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Cruise is no stranger to Guinness World Records titles. The Oscar nominee also has the distinction of being the actor with the most consecutive $100-million-grossing movies for his 11 films between 2012’s Jack Reacher and 2025’s Final Reckoning. Glenday called him “the most successful leading action hero at the worldwide box office.”
Following its Cannes Film Festival premiere in May, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is in theaters now. It also stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Pom Klementieff and Angela Bassett. For more on the franchise, including exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes photos, PEOPLE’s special edition is out now.
