Who's the daredevil? Not Tom Cruise. Not Ethan Hunt. You believe it, don't you? It was actually a stunt double who turned a page.
Yes, you read that right. The action hero icon, world-renowned for jumping off motorcycles and onto aeroplanes, and performing death-defying Olympic-sized stunts, somehow hit the brakes for a paper cut. Legend has it that in the production of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Cruise made his stunt double do the innocuous task of page-flipping just to prevent getting a papercut.
Back then, on Capital FM's Capital Breakfast show, co-host Siân Welby broke the quirky fact, laughing: "What is one thing Tom Cruise will not risk having chopped? A paper cut. He's got a stunt double to turn the page for him." The story was also featured on Cinema Blend, which pointed out that the actor reportedly outsourced the scene to his double and did not do it himself.
The real reason
The Mirror revealed that Cruise's rationale was more about saving his energy during the exhausting shoot than worrying about getting hurt. The experienced actor, who had been doing almost all Ethan Hunt's backbreaking stunts, required a rare moment of respite in a shoot going at breakneck speed.
Stunt authenticity: A Cruise speciality
Even director Christopher McQuarrie previously explained to CBS News that the creation of a Tom Cruise film is not like most action movies since the obstacle isn't so much concealing stunt doubles but confirming that Cruise is the one performing. That's why the "page-turn stunt" is such a hilarious contrast: the guy who hung under planes and motorcycles reportedly took a backseat for a simple paper flip.
Fact or fiction?
However, never Cruise, McQuarrie, or someone near production confirmed the tale remains an entertaining rumour. Fact or fiction, it has already become one of Hollywood's most enjoyable myths because occasionally, not turning a page is the greatest stunt of all.
