When you work with Tom Cruise, you are bound to end up with unbelievable stories. From legends of epic stunts and boot camp to the stories about that coconut cake he sends, the tales his colleagues have about him are endlessly entertaining. That proved to be true again, as Simon Pegg recalled a memory from filming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning that involves helicopters and sharks.
You know, it’s not surprising at all that when asked what Tom Cruise story they’d be telling at dinner parties, both Simon Pegg and Pom Klementieff had answers involving helicopters. During an interview with CinemaBlend’s Jeff McCobb, the Benji actor was quick to recall his story, too.
Final Reckoning’s release on the 2025 movie schedule, and a story about filming in South Africa. In his words:
Mission: Impossible movies you’ve worked on.
Continuing his story, the Shaun of the Dead star explained what it was like to watch his co-star fly around them as they walked up this picturesque location, saying:
But, we got to the top and then we get out of the car, jump in a helicopter. Tom would fly us back to number ones so we could do the shot again. And Tom would fly through this canyon, you know, [on] either side of us, showing off, doing kind of aerobatics in this helicopter with me, Hayley and Pom and Tarzan in the back.
This feels on brand for Tom Cruise, and Pom Klementieff proved it. When asked the same question, she said that while they were shooting in London, the Ethan Hunt actor would give them a “ride home” in his helicopter.
However, Pegg’s story doesn’t end with the helicopter. Oh, no. As I promised, this also involves sharks. After that magical movie moment where they watched the Top Gun actor fly by in a helicopter, and finished filming for the day, they all flew to the coast to go swimming with sharks, as the Hot Fuzz actor explained:
We jump out, do it again. We got the shot early in the end, and Tom said, ‘Hey, why don’t we go shark diving?’ So, Hayley and Pom and Tarzan and me were like, ‘Okay, sure. Why not?’ So we get back in the helicopter with Tom. He flew us out to the coast. We had a quick tutorial in how not to get eaten, and then we got in a cage, and we fed sharks for the rest of the afternoon. And that is a Tom Cruise Day.
If this story were about any other actor, the fact that this cast seemingly went shark diving on a whim would be unfathomable. However, because this centers around Tom Cruise, I’m not shocked at all.
The actor is so committed to action and stunts, and clearly loves a good adrenaline rush. He also adores getting his co-stars into activities like this, too – I mean, he literally gifted Glen Powell flight lessons after Top Gun: Maverick.
So, overall, this fun story about Tom Cruise, helicopters and sharks fits right in with the catalog of stories other cast members have told about him. I just wish it somehow could have been committed to film like some of the best stunts in the Mission: Impossible movies, so we could experience it too.