Tom Cruise says he had “six seconds to open the parachute,” during his death-defying bike stunt in Mission Impossible 7

Tom Cruise is talking behind the scenes about his death-defying bike stunt in Mission: Impossible 7 where he performs a motorcycle jump off a mountainside ramp. The stunt expert, who was recently complimented by renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg at the Oscar nominees’ luncheon for saving the theatrical industry with Top Gun: Maverick, explained how he and his Dead Reckoning's crew pulled off the motorcycle jump off stunt that leads him to opening a parachute in freefall.

"That was the first time I did it," he shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as reported by Collider. "When I let go, you have to make sure that I'm not attached to the bike in any way. Even my shoelaces are taped, and you let go and you start flying, and I have about six seconds to open that parachute before I hit the ground."

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Cruise also showed a footage on the show in which he does warmup before jumping out of a helicopter eight times. He also went on to share why he enjoys performing such jaw-dropping and death-defying stunts in Mission Impossible franchise. "I just try to do everything I can, use every tool that I have, to entertain the audience," he continued.

"So, even as a little kid, like, I used to steal lumber from, uh, junkyard, or you know, and then I'd ride down the hill as fast as I could and hit the ramp and go over garbage cans," he added. “I didn’t work… I went through it, split the wood in half and went through the garbage cans, and spent the next few days in the hospital.”

Paramount Studio released the footage of the Dead Reckoning motorcycle stunt's shoot in December, featuring commentary from Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie. Mission: Impossible 7 also stars Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Cary Elwes and Esai Morales in pivotal roles.

The film is slated to premiere on July 14, 2023. Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible 8 will arrive on June 28, 2024. Watch Cruise’s full conversation with Kimmel below!