Tom Cruise’s 10-Minute Underwater Stunt in ‘Mission: Impossible’

In the upcoming film, Cruise performs a high-risk underwater scene, showcasing his dedication to authentic action sequences.

In the highly anticipated “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” Tom Cruise once again pushes the boundaries of action cinema with a perilous underwater sequence. In a recent interview with Empire, both Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie shed light on this demanding scene, revealing that Cruise was submerged in an 8.5 million-liter water tank for up to ten minutes at a time. This required the crew to meticulously monitor his underwater duration to prevent hypoxia, a condition caused by insufficient oxygen in body tissues.

“I’m breathing in my own carbon dioxide,” Cruise explained. “It accumulates in the body and impacts the muscles. You have to overcome all of that while staying present.”

McQuarrie commended Cruise’s resilience during the “physically punishing” stunt. “He’s inside a rotating structure filled with debris, and we had to design that environment to appear as chaotic and unhinged as possible,” McQuarrie noted. “But it also had to be repeatable, navigable, and survivable for Tom.”

Throughout the “Mission: Impossible” series, Cruise has consistently embraced high-risk stunts, from scaling the Burj Khalifa to clinging to an airborne plane. When discussing his commitment to performing his own stunts at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Cruise likened it to a performer’s dedication to their craft. “No one asks Gene Kelly, ‘Why do you dance?'” he remarked. “If I do a musical, I want to sing and dance. It’s about figuring out not just how to do it, but how it serves the story and engages the audience. It’s always better to go for it, to try, than to hold back.”

“Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” is slated for release on May 23, 2025, promising audiences another thrilling chapter in the franchise.