What Is Tom Cruise’s Secret to Doing Action Movie Stunts? Thong Underwear

Tom Cruise is, to put it lightly, notable for his odd beliefs. While undeniably electric on screen, the veteran superstar actor projects a strikingly strange image away from the silver screen. It might not be an exaggeration when some refer to him as the weirdest celebrity in Hollywood.
The Top Gun star is often odd in interviews. He comes off as intensely strange and subservient to Scientology top brass, going by reports from his ex-wives about his odd behavior in private. But one of his strangest habits might be his most harmless.
Tom Cruise has spent decades as one of the top action stars in Hollywood
Tom Cruise never phones it in. Best TC movies:
“Eyes Wide Shut”
“Jerry Maguire”
“Collateral”
“Magnolia”
“Minority Report”
“Mission Impossible: Fallout”
“Top Gun”
“Born on the 4th of July”
“Risky Business”
“American Made”
“Edge of Tomorrow”
“Vanilla Sky” pic.twitter.com/RaDk7FGriI — Richard Roeper (@RichardERoeper) February 26, 2023
Cruise isn’t alone in being a bit of an odd duck. Being a great actor seems to be a skillset that attracts people who are a bit out of phase with their fellow man in other contexts. Whatever is going on in Cruise’s head, his ability to both endure and reinvent himself to be immensely compelling on screen is unmatched.
He rose to prominence as a young heartthrob type in ’80s films like Risky Business, as Empire reports. Cruise’s easy charisma and dashing good looks made him an instant star. But he habitually took on projects that tested him in new and interesting directions.
Mega-successful blockbusters like Top Gun and later the Mission: Impossible franchise define him as a pop culture figure. But Cruise took on strange roles like the vampire Lestat in Interview with the Vampire, a strangely romantic horror movie with stylized, stage acting-style dialogue.
He dropped his leading man affability to play the horrifying villain of the pitch-black thriller Collateral. Cruise even went full-on slapstick comedy with an unhinged and hilarious cameo in Tropic Thunder.
But just when it seemed like pandemic-related changes to the economy and the business of film would end the very idea of a movie star as a box office draw, Cruise went back into blockbuster mode. Top Gun: Maverick was delayed until theaters could safely screen it. The move, criticized by some, paid off massively.
Many credit Cruise’s insistence on this new Top Gun as a theater-forward release as the single decision that did the most to save the movie theater business.
Tom Cruise makes one particularly strange demand on movie sets
Cruise has been doing action movies for a while now. And his straightforward nature makes for some funny requests stemming from his experience, BuzzFeed reports.
The need to run, roll, and leap in action blockbusters like Mission: Impossible – Fallout requires flexibility. Better-than-average range of motion. So Cruise insists: if you want him to film action, you need to hook him up with some high-quality thongs.
The elder statesman of blockbuster acting requests around 50 thongs for each action-heavy production he films. These allow the superstar actor to run repeated takes of demanding scenes without, well, chafing. It’s certainly odd to think about, but Cruise is as professional and experienced as they come. So perhaps fellow action stars should take notes.
Cruise’s quirky personality is also his strength as the anchor for so many Hollywood blockbusters
It’s no wonder Cruise is so serious about best practices for filming action movies, no matter how absurd they might come across. His stunt work goes above and beyond what most actors ever attempt. His later Mission: Impossible work rivals the athletic requirements of Olympic athletes at times.
Tom Cruise | The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images
Many of his most impressive stunts come from those Mission: Impossible movies, according to Insider. It goes beyond that series, though. He insisted on doing practical stunts himself in movies like Edge of Tomorrow and The Mummy. Cruise may be an odd duck, but his dedication to both the craft of acting and to the film industry, in general, is commendable.