Tom Cruise earns Guinness World Record for THIS stunt in Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning

Hollywood star and four-time Oscar nominee Tom Cruise’s performance in his latest film, “Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning”, has earned him a Guinness World Record.

The actor has set the record for most burning parachute jumps by an individual after jumping out of a helicopter 16 times with a fuel-soaked chute set ablaze in a stunt for the final instalment in the action franchise, reports deadline.com. “Tom doesn’t just play action heroes – he is an action hero!” said Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records editor-in-chief, in a statement.

Glenday added: “A large part of his success can be chalked up to his absolute focus on authenticity and pushing the boundaries of what a leading man can do. It’s an honour to be able to recognise his utter fearlessness with this new Guinness World Records title.”

Cruise and the stunt team prepared for weeks before ascending more than 75,000 feet in the helicopter, from which the star jumped with the flaming parachute before cutting himself free and deploying a backup parachute. It was being shot in Drakensberg, South Africa.

For several of the takes, Cruise had over 22 Kgs (50 lb) of snorri camera rig attached to his body for a closer shot of the fiery stunt. A behind-the-scenes moment of the scene showed all 16 takes after the actor walked through the stunt with the crew. “We’re gonna be real smart. I’m not saying be risky. We don’t take risks… obviously,” Cruise had said.

“Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning” follows Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and is the eighth instalment in the Mission: Impossible film series.

The film is directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Cruise reprises his role as Ethan Hunt, alongside Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, and Angela Bassett.

In the film, Hunt and his Impossible Mission Force team work to prevent the Entity, a rogue AI, from unleashing global destruction against humanity. The filming locations included England, Malta, South Africa and Norway. It is nominally one of the 20 most expensive films ever made.

(Except for the headline, the copy is not edited by DNA staff, and is published from IANS)