"Wanted To Do This Since I Was A Kid": Tom Cruise, 59, Unveils The "Most Dangerous" Stunt In Mission: Impossible 7

"We've been working on this for years," said Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise sealed his reputation for performing his own dangerous stunts as Mission Impossible footage of him riding a motorbike off a treacherous cliff stunned movie theater bosses at their annual convention Thursday. Paramount used its slot on the final day of CinemaCon trade show in Las Vegas to present clips from its upcoming features Mission: Impossible 7 and Top Gun: Maverick, with the two films' star Tom Cruise appearing remotely via video. "This is far and away the most dangerous thing we've ever attempted," said Tom Cruise, introducing the stunt. "We've been working on this for years. We're going to shoot it in Norway and it will be a motorcycle jump off a cliff into a base jump. I've wanted to do this since I was a little kid." Behind-the-scenes footage showed Tom Cruise preparing by performing more than 500 skydives and 13,000 motocross jumps before traveling to an elaborate ramp constructed on a remote Norwegian cliff to shoot the stunt itself. The film's director, Christopher McQuarrie, nervously watched through his hands as Tom Cruise successfully opened his parachute and landed safely before proclaiming: "I think I can hold onto the bike a little longer."