When the trailer for Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation debuted in March, the standout scene was undoubtedly the one in which Tom Cruise, reprising his role as IMF agent Ethan Hunt for the fifth time, clings to the outside of a plane as it takes off. In a new behind-the-scenes video, stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood reveals the secret behind achieving the shot: They strapped Tom Cruise to the side of a plane. Eight times.
Cruise is no stranger to doing his own stunts—he famously scaled the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, for the last Mission: Impossible—but the breathtaking wind speeds and dizzying heights involved in this one are extreme, even for him. The result, however, is impressive, even before the harness keeping him from flying away has been digitally removed in post-production.
