Tom Cruise has been honoured with the Grande Medaille of the Aero-Club de France, presented to him by the organisation’s president Catherine Maunoury.
The award was for his “significant contribution to the history of aviation and inspiring future pilots,” according to a press release. The medal is the highest distinction from the institution, which was created in 1898, reported Deadline.
In the videos posted on social media, Cruise was seen shaking hands with officials and being presented with the award.
He will be next seen in ‘Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning’.
He revealed in a recent interview that he passed out several times while filming a particularly intense action sequence for ‘Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning’.
The star, who has built a reputation for pushing physical boundaries, recounted the ordeal in a preview for the upcoming blockbuster during a recent interview, as per Deadline.
One of the standout stunts featured in the film’s teaser trailer shows Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, hanging perilously from the wing of a 1930s Boeing Stearman biplane, racing through the skies over South Africa at 10,000 feet.
The high-speed stunt, where Cruise’s face is exposed to the wind at speeds of over 120 miles per hour, presented a serious challenge for the actor.
“When you stick your face out, going over 120 to 130 miles an hour, you’re not getting oxygen,” Cruise shared as quoted by Deadline, adding, “So I had to train myself how to breathe. There were times I would pass out physically; I was unable to get back into the cockpit.”
The dramatic sequence, which is set to be one of the most thrilling moments of the film, comes as no surprise to fans who have watched Cruise perform daring feats in previous ‘Mission: Impossible films’.
Director Christopher McQuarrie, who has worked with Cruise on several ‘Mission: Impossible’ films, teased that this final chapter would feature even more jaw-dropping stunts, sharing, “There are stunts in the film that will melt your brain.”
McQuarrie also revealed that Cruise went beyond anything he had done before on set, tackling extreme sequences each day.
“We have stunts in the film that will make your jaw drop,” McQuarrie continued, adding, “Tom would go out and do something that topped anything he had ever done before.”
The director also alluded to another unnamed stunt, which he described as “so intense” that it made him feel physically ill just thinking about it.
Cruise’s commitment to performing dangerous stunts has earned him a legendary status in Hollywood, but it has also led to several physical challenges over the years.
From scaling the Burj Khalifa in Dubai to holding his breath for over six minutes underwater, Cruise’s passion for thrilling action sequences has often amazed his fans. His love for extreme feats, particularly those involving aircraft and skydiving, has become a signature element of his ‘Mission: Impossible’ roles.
In the past, Cruise has famously hung off the side of a plane during takeoff, performed hundreds of skydives (even with a broken ankle), and faced supersonic fighter jets in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’.
For ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, the movie star faced fighter jet g-forces, and for several Mission: Impossible instalments, Cruise has conducted hundreds of skydives. Last year, the veteran actor jumped off of the Stade de France to close out the 2024 Paris Olympics, in a surprising feat that blurred the lines between his fictional characters and real life, reported Deadline.
