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Tom Cruise’s filmography is chalk-full of action packed, adrenaline-fueled movies like Edge of Tomorrow, both Top Gun movies, and Days of Thunder. Not to mention the Mission Impossible franchise, which is set to wrap up on the 2025 Movie schedule with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning premiering this May. The American actor is a leader in his field, known for doing all his own stunts including hanging off the side of a moving plane and jumping off a cliff on a motorcycle. You may think that this is just his on-screen persona, but a British sports car expert just confirmed what it’s really like to hang out with Tom Cruise, and it is just as fun and surreal as his stunts.
In an interview with The Times, sports car collector Dean Bartle recalls the time he had a surprise visit from Tom Cruise at his showroom. The Jack Reacher actor just dropped by – in his helicopter. Cruise is a trained pilot, something he achieved long ago to be able to do his own stunts. It’s not uncommon to hear about him flying around the UK in his chopper, but Bartle says it was surreal to casually hear about his Top Gun days from the man himself:
He was here for over an hour, talking about cars because he has a collection. Then we went over to the hangar, where I showed him our Harrier jump jet and he talked about his flying days and Top Gun. He was super friendly. We had a beautiful tree in blossom and I joked that it was like a scene from The Last Samurai. We got on so well and, at the end, he jumped into his helicopter and gave me a salute as he was taking off. I saluted back. It was surreal.
If this had happened to me, I would have thought I dreamt it. What do you mean famous Hollywood actor Tom Cruise is just dropping out of the sky for lunches and casual hangs around England? One hour he’s there, the next he’s casually ascending into the clouds.
I can’t say I’m that surprised though. If it had to be anybody, it would be Tom Cruise. Not only has he done his own stunts, but he’s been filming them in Great Britain for years now. He seems to have really taken to the country as a self proclaimed “Anglophile,” and the British have really taken to him. So much so that the BFI is awarding him with their highest honor for having an essential influence in building up the British film industry this century.
The man is always on sidequests, like jumping off the Stade De France at the 2024 Olympics, and it seems he’s chosen our neighbors across the pond as his stomping grounds. I can’t say I blame him, as I spent four months living in London and absolutely fell in love with the city and the UK .
The differences between my experience and the A Few Good Men actor’s are significant. Where he’s tearing up the dance floor at Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday extravaganza, I’m waiting in line to tear up the dance floor of a packed club. Not to mention his elite mode of transportation – although he has admitted to enjoying the occasional incognito Tube ride.
All in all, despite his occasional extravagant demonstrations, Cruise seems like a pretty charismatic, relatively down-to-earth guy. He shows up for his friends at their movie premieres and goes out of his way to help his co-stars land their dream roles. Cruise has always been very true to himself and his ambition, according to his peers like Michael Cain and his new friends like Bartle.
One thing seems for sure though: Tom Cruise will never stop working until the day he dies, and I’ll only believe this is the final Mission Impossible movie when I see it. The man stays on the move, and we never know what we’ll witness next.