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Tom Cruise just performed his most dangerous stunt yet – riding a motorcycle off a cliff and BASE jumping

By Caitlin O'Kane

December 21, 2022 / 10:00 AM EST / CBS News

Tom Cruise has performed another daring stunt for the "Mission: Impossible" film series. 

He called this one the most dangerous thing he's ever attempted. Shot in Norway, the stunt required Cruise to ride a motorcycle off a cliff and BASE jump — something he said he's wanted to do since he was a kid. 

Cruise, 60, is currently working on the two-part "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning" film. He's known for performing his own stunts, but this one took years to plan, he said in a video shared on Twitter. 

So excited to share what we’ve been working on. #MissionImpossible pic.twitter.com/rIyiLzQdMG — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) December 19, 2022

In the video, writer and director Christopher McQuarrie said Cruise put together a "master plan" using experts to help execute the stunt.

He had a year of sky diving training, during which he was doing 30 jumps a day – more than 500 skydives, said Wade Eastwood, the film's stunt coordinator. He also had motocross training, doing over 13,000 motocross jumps. Once he got those skills down, the production team created 3D models to try and predict how Cruise would fly through the air during the stunt so they could film it.

Then, it came time for Cruise to execute the stunt — driving a motorcycle up a long ramp, which lead to a cliff, launching off of it and BASE jumping to the bottom. Cruise first jumped out of a helicopter over the cliff to practice, before attempting the full stunt for the cameras.

"The only things you have to avoid while doing a stunt like this are serious injury or death," BASE jumping coach Miles Daisher said. "You're riding a motorcycle, which is pretty dangerous, on top of a ramp that's elevated off the ground, so if you fall off the ramp, that's pretty bad. You're falling, so if you don't get a clean exit from the bike and you get tangled up with it, or if you don't open your parachute, you're not going to make it."

The behind-the-scenes video show Cruise not only execute the stunt once, but six times in one day. 

"Pretty much the biggest stunt in cinematic history," said BASE jumping coach John DeVore. Viewers can see the final product when part one of the film premieres July 2023. The "Mission: Impossible" series is from Paramount Pictures. (Paramount is also the parent company of CBS.)

Cruise has performed countless hair-raising stunts, including jumping off of scaffolding while filming "Mission: Impossible 6" in —  a stunt that left him injured and limping. 

Cruise has been in Europe filming the seventh and eight "Mission: Impossible" films for several years. The seventh movie was scheduled to premiere in November 2021, but the COVD-19 pandemic shut down production and was pushed to May 27, 2022,  according to Variety . The date was pushed several time after that, and the film will now premier next year. 

While shooting in the U.K. last year, Cruise, who was traveling by helicopter, needed a place to land,  BBC News reports.  He ended up landing in a family's backyard, and then let their kids go for a ride in the helicopter, making headlines.

Caitlin O'Kane is a New York City journalist who works on the CBS News social media team as a senior manager of content and production. She writes about a variety of topics and produces "The Uplift," CBS News' streaming show that focuses on good news.

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EXCLUSIVE: Watch Tom Cruise Speedfly—His Most Dangerous 'Mission: Impossible' Stunt Ever

The action star had to train for 3+ years just to pull this off—and we have the first footage of the “absolute terror.”

Tom Cruise is obscenely famous for so many things, but especially for performing death-defying stunts on the silver screen, each more ludicrous than the last.

To list all of Cruise’s formidable feats in the Mission: Impossible franchise feels like reciting from a fabricated resumé during a job interview for the position of World’s Most Badass Action Star: As indestructible spy Ethan Hunt, Cruise has leapt between buildings, hijacked a helicopter, hung from an Airbus A400M during takeoff, jumped out of a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III from 25,000 feet in the air, and scaled the friggin’ Burj Khalifa, among other perilous pursuits. References available upon request.

No surprise, then, that Cruise is upping the ante for the seventh Mission: Impossible installment, Dead Reckoning Part One , which hits theaters on July 12. “With Tom, there are no limits,” says director Christopher McQuarrie. “So we’ve become a little more adventurous every time.”

In Dead Reckoning , Cruise pulls off an especially complicated “speedflying” stunt, a sport in which you launch by foot with a small, wing-like canopy and glide down mountainsides. Very few people in the world even attempt speedflying, which is a bit like paragliding, only—duh—considerably more dangerous.

“One of the things that is particularly dangerous about speedflying is the close proximity to the ground that you’re flying,” says McQuarrie. “And the other is the risk that the canopy can collapse. It’s very unpredictable.”

Cruise says he wanted to give the audience the feeling of flight, so he trained for over three years in several countries, mastering different techniques, terrains, and weather conditions that could potentially stymie the stunt. The final stunt sees Cruise land at a blistering speed of over 80 kilometers per hour.

But devising the stunt was only one technical challenge, McQuarrie says. The other was developing new tech to actually show Cruise performing it: a gimbal rig with cameras hanging from both sides, operated from a helicopter chasing the hero while in flight. While the result is stunning, the process was stressful, to say the least.

“Flying very close to rocks looks quite beautiful,” says McQuarrie. “Behind the scenes, we were all in absolute terror.”

To see just how Cruise, McQuarrie, and co. perfected the thrilling speedflying stunt, check out this revealing behind-the-scenes feature, which Popular Mechanics is proud to exclusively premiere right here:

🎥 Exclusive: Behind the Scenes of Tom Cruise’s Dangerous Speedflying Stunt

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Tom Cruise did that motorcycle stunt in ‘Mission: Impossible’ on Day 1 — here’s why

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More than half a year before the release of the upcoming movie “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One,” Paramount Pictures made sure audiences got to see Tom Cruise once again risking his life.

Cruise’s mind-blowing stunts have become a signature of “ Mission: Impossible ” films, each one seemingly topping the next. The key stunt in the franchise’s seventh installment involves Cruise driving a motorcycle off the edge of a cliff, dismounting and parachuting into a Norwegian valley. With the drop of its behind-the-scenes footage in December , the studio billed it as “the biggest stunt in cinema history.”

Though the moment has already been watched on YouTube more than 13 million times, and 30 million more times in the film’s trailers, it’s among the film’s most anticipated scenes. After all, we still don’t know how the stunt fits within the plot — What could be so dire that agent Ethan Hunt must jump off a cliff?

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While answers won’t come until the movie’s theatrical release July 12, we now know that the risky stunt was the first thing Cruise did on Day 1 of filming, which began in 2020. And it was all about risk assessment.

In a recent interview with “Entertainment Tonight,” Cruise said they started with the scene, in part, to allow the cast and crew to see whether he would be able to star in the $290-million film. After all, he could either get injured or die — or both.

“Well, we know we’re either going to continue with the film or not,” Cruise said, letting out a laugh. “Let’s know Day 1, what is gonna happen: Do we all continue, or is it a major re-run?”

Cruise added that he wanted to make sure his mind was clear enough to focus solely on the stunt.

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“You have to be razor sharp for something like that; I don’t want to drop that and shoot other things and have my mind somewhere else,” Cruise said. “You don’t want to be waking up in the middle of the night, ‘It’s still, I still, I still,’ and it has that effect.”

Cruise is no stranger to aerial stunts with a high probability of death. The “Top Gun” actor said preparing for the recent stunt “was years of planning,” a culmination of all the training he’s done with motorcycles, cars and aerobatics.

In the franchise’s last film, “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” (2018), Cruise jumped into a helicopter in midflight , taking the controls to chase another helicopter. In the same movie, he parachuted from a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III from 25,000 feet, close to five miles up, becoming “the first actor” to do so in a major motion picture, according to Paramount (most skydiving attempts occur at 10,000 feet).

In 2011 for “ Ghost Protocol ,” the “Jerry McGuire” actor climbed along the exposed walls of the world’s largest building, the Burj Khalifa of Dubai. And in 2015 for “Rogue Nation,” Cruise hung off the side of an Airbus A400M Atlas as it was taking off, a stunt that veteran stunt coordinator and frequent Cruise collaborator Wade Eastwood called “a stressful experience.”

The recent motorcycle stunt, which Cruise had apparently repeated six times, was no exception. Though the film’s computer-generated images make Cruise appear to be jumping off the rocky surface of the cliff, the scene required a large ramp to be built.

While Cruise is seen atop the motorcycle in the behind-the-scenes video, accelerating off the ramp, a helicopter and drone fly overhead to gather footage. The film’s crew, including director Christopher McQuarrie, are huddled in a nearby tent, faces glued to a set of monitors. After he abandons the bike and hangs in the open air, Cruise releases his parachute and the crew erupts in cheers.

“The only thing you have to avoid when doing a stunt like this are serious injury or death,” Eastwood, who has managed stunts for the last three “Mission Impossible” films, said in the BTS video. “You’re falling. If you don’t get a clean exit from the bike and you get tangled up with it, if you don’t open your parachute, you’re not gonna make it.”

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The scene wasn’t the only stressful one to shoot: Cruise said he also worried about a car chase that involved him handcuffed to a small car, steering with one hand while drifting along the cobblestone streets of Rome, with his co-star Hayley Atwell in the passenger seat.

“It’s plenty of challenges,” Cruise said with a wide grin, laughing once again.

“Dead Reckoning” had its world premiere Sunday at the Auditorium Conciliazione in Rome with Cruise and other cast members, including Atwell and Vanessa Kirby , in attendance. “Part Two” is expected to be released in June 2024. Filming wrapped in September for what has been rumored to be Cruise’s final appearance in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise.

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How Tom Cruise’s Death-Defying Stunt at the 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony Came Together

It’s hard to top much of what we’ve seen come out of this summer’s Olympic Games . (The gymnastics friendships! The sweet parent-child moments ! The jewelry! ) Yet Sunday’s spectacular closing ceremony—which featured a one-of-a-kind stunt courtesy of Tom Cruise that took executive producer and creative director Ben Winston of Fulwell 73 Productions over a year to put together—was a definite contender for the most exciting moment of Paris 2024.

Tom Cruise on the roof of the Stade de France during the closing ceremony.

Shortly after a performance of the national anthem by H.E.R. at the Stade de France, Cruise could be seen rappelling from the roof down to the ground; accepting the Olympic flag from Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass; boarding his motocycle, and riding off into the Parisian night. Then, all at once, he was on a plane, jumping out of said plane, and turning the double Os of the Hollywood sign into the Olympic rings. All the while, the Olympic flag was being handed off to a series of athletes including mountain biker Kate Courtney, former sprinter Michael Johnson, and skateboarder Jagger Eaton.

Kate Courtney biking down the steps of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum with the Olympic flag.

A day before the ceremony, Vogue spoke to Winston about the Olympic flag’s journey from Paris to Los Angeles; organizing a live (and secret!) beach concert featuring the likes of Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers; and the mind-bending travel schedule Cruise kept in order to close out the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Vogue : I’d love to hear a little about how this video came about.

Ben Winston: We’ve been planning this for a year and a half, and we had this idea that it would be so beautiful if we could take the flag from the Paris stadium and make it travel all the way to Los Angeles and then go live and do something spectacular here. The thing about Paris is that there are so many iconic elements we saw in the opening ceremony, from the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. One of the things LA is best-known for is its beaches, so we thought, what if we could steal that flag, bring it to LA, and do a massive, amazing concept on the beach with all these amazing LA artists? It’s been incredibly exciting.

The first thing we did was pitch Tom, because there’s nobody better to do an incredible stunt. I pitched him on the idea of a stuntman grabbing the flag, coming down from the roof of the Stade de France, and then taking his mask off and you see it’s Tom Cruise, who then jumps out of a plane and lands in LA. Tom said, “I’m in, but I want to do the whole thing,” so it was this huge undertaking of this live stunt with Tom jumping off the roof. We wanted to keep Tom doing this daredevil jump off the roof a surprise, and then cut to this video we’ve been making where Tom gives the flag to these Olympic athletes, who then take us to a massive live concert on the beach with Billie Eilish, Snoop, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Every element took a lot of work!

How does it feel to be so close to seeing your project come to life?

This story will be going up just after it’s happened, so right now I’m still nervous because we’ve got all these elements lined up and it is live TV. But it’s been an amazing coming-together of wonderful people making it happen. I’m so grateful to Tom and to the artists and athletes taking the flag on its journey from Paris to LA.

Did any part of the planning process take you by surprise?

We really wanted to dream big. Once everyone had signed off on the idea, we were confronted with the reality of: How do you do a stunt with Tom Cruise at the Stade de France and then a massive concert on the beach with some of the most famous artists in Los Angeles? That’s been quite nerve-racking, because we aren’t in the safety of a stadium and the audience doesn’t even know what they’re showing up for. We have fencing at the perimeters of the beach, and hopefully by the time people realize what’s going on it will be over. [ Laughs .] The secrecy was tricky and there were lots of leaks, so it was a lot to live with for a year and a half, but I’m feeling very excited and proud.

Flea, Chad Smith, Anthony Kiedis, and John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers performing during the closing ceremony.

Were there any LA-centric aspects of this production that you particularly loved as an Angeleno?

When you first arrive in LA, you always look for the Hollywood sign, and one of the coolest things about this was the city giving us permission to film on the sign. Tom being up there six or seven months ago with nobody knowing what he was doing was amazing; I’ve been up there a lot with my team, and sitting in the middle of the Os was a pinch-me moment. Working with all this talent was, as well; the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing “Can’t Stop” over the transition of the flag going from Paris to LA is so cool.

Billie Eilish

Is there any other BTS detail you can share with us?

Well, I can tell you that Tom was filming Mission: Impossible in London, then got on a plane, flew 11 hours to LA, got off the plane, shot with us, then got right back on the plane and back to set. The commitment from him and the musical artists to keeping the beach aspect a secret was really amazing.

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg

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Breaking news, how to stream the democratic national convention online, how tom cruise’s olympics stunt was inspired by… conan o’brien.

Producer Ben Winston goes deep on that starry Closing Ceremony flag hand-off, reveals where he had to pivot and talks about how it was all slightly informed by a 15-year-old talk show bit.

By Mikey O'Connell

Mikey O'Connell

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Ben Winston might soon lose count of how many times he’s sent Tom Cruise up in the air.

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The original plan was for a balaclava-clad stunt person to do most of the heavy lifting, but Cruise would have none of it. “I don’t think there’s anybody like him in the world,” says Winston, who served as creative director and executive producer under the Fulwell 73 Productions banner. “There is no better collaborator.”

Speaking the afternoon after the live Paris jump and the starry beachside concert featuring The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, Winston revealed how he and Cruise kept most of their plan under wraps for as long as they did, what changed in the planning and the unlikely roots of the Olympic flag’s pre-taped journey from France to the U.S.

Are you just a glutton for logistics?

It feels a little bit like having a baby. You’re up all night, it’s all really stressful and you’re changing nappies, and they’re sick on you. Then, when they get to three years old, you’re like, “Oh, they’re so cute and lovely. I think I want another one.” You forget what a nightmare it was. I feel like live television might be that. You forget how much you go through.

Plenty has been revealed and speculated about in the wake of this stunt. How long have you actually been working on this? 

My first meeting was January 2022 when I sat down with Casey Wasserman at LA28. I haven’t been working on it since then, but I had the idea more like 20 months ago when they’d told me there’s this tradition of a 12-minute show that the next nation does in the closing ceremony. Within the first five minutes, I was like, “Well, it would be the coolest thing if we snatched the flag, and we could get Tom Cruise to do it.”

I’ve seen lots of handovers where the country that takes over does something in the stadium, and they’ve been great, but I wanted to do something different. I like to be able to control everything. So I was thinking if we did it in Los Angeles, I’d be able to control all the elements a little bit more. I liked the idea of doing the bulk of it in Los Angeles but with an amazing open in Paris. This is such a weird reference, but remember when Conan O’Brien started on The Tonight Show and moved from New York to Los Angeles? He did a really fun sketch going cross country. That has always stuck with me. So I was like, “How do Tom Cruise and all these incredible athletes take that flag from Paris to L.A.?” It’s a weird inspiration. 

No, I remember that. I can see the through-line.

Yeah. Then, I pitched it to Tom. He was the first pitch I had. If he hadn’t gone with it, I can’t really think who else would work. Who else is synonymous with action and an American hero? When we got Tom, I felt like the whole thing would work — so we went from there. But it’s been over a year and a half to achieve that. 

How’d you pitch it to Tom? This is the third time you’ve put him in a plane after the Late Late Show segments with Corden .

Some things leaked , but you filmed the skydive and the Hollywood sign back in March. How’d you keep it secret for as long as you did? 

When we were filming with Tom , he was never actually holding the Olympic flag. He always was holding a white flag. So, whenever we were photographed with him, the press always said we were filming Mission Impossible . Everyone wonders what was faked and what wasn’t. Interestingly, one of the only things that was faked was the flag. I was disappointed that little things leaked over the last couple of weeks. Suddenly, more and more people need to know what you’re doing when you’re rehearsing in the Stade de France and booking venues.

Such a big deal is made about Tom and the lengths he goes to execute a stunt on his own. I understand who insures him in a movie like Mission Impossible , but what about here, is that your purview? You are putting a very famous man in a risky situation. 

I’m not qualified to answer that. ( Laughs .) There will be a team of lawyers on my production team and his team that would know about that. But you’re right. It was definitely a consideration when we were doing the Top Gun stuff for The Late Late Show . It was like, “Well, who does the liability lie with — the show or Tom?” I still don’t know the answer on this one.

It’s funny because I’ve seen reports about what was live and what wasn’t live. Not everybody’s a 100 percent right on everything, and I don’t want to comment either way. It’s not fair on some artists to say some were live and some weren’t or whatever. But I think there was a lot more live-in there than people think. Will Rogers Beach was the plan a year ago — and, due to something out of my control, that had to change. With four weeks to go, we didn’t have a venue. That was a stressful moment. Ultimately we got there and I was so pleased with the concert element of it.

Did you ever attempt to actually redecorate the Hollywood sign? 

I did look at doing the Hollywood sign for real. We had engineers up there quite a long time, working out how we could do it. I decided against it because I wanted it to be a surprise. In the end, I think we could have done it, but then in March, the whole world would have seen pictures of the Hollywood sign covered in the Olympic rings. So we did it with CGI. The Tom bit is real. He was up there. He climbed up the sign.

You booked Snoop Dogg, a national treasure and someone so synonymous with Los Angeles, a long time ago — yet his stock has risen even more in the last two weeks. Were you psyched watching him become one of the stars of the Olympics? 

Well, I hope you get a bit of a break.

No. ( Laughs .) This week we’re filming Ellen DeGeneres’ stand-up show . Really excited about that. And then it’s on to the Paralympics closing. But I did have like 13 hours of sleep last night. I went to bed at 9 o’clock.

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Watch Tom Cruise Break Down His ‘Most Dangerous’ Stunt Ever for New ‘Mission: Impossible’

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Tom Cruise is proving that no mission is too impossible.

The “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part I” star shared a behind-the-scenes video of his stuntwork on the first installment of his farewell to character Ethan Hunt.

“So excited to share what we’ve been working on,” Cruise tweeted.

“Dead Reckoning” is the first half of the conclusion to the 1996 film franchise. Cruise has played undercover CIA agent Ethan Hunt for close to 30 years, with “Mission: Impossible 7” arriving in theaters July 14, 2023, soon followed by “Mission: Impossible 8” out June 28, 2024.

The stunt video shows Cruise training to achieve the  most dangerous stunt of his career, with him riding a motorcycle off a cliff. “This is far and away the most dangerous thing we’ve ever attempted,” Cruise says in the video filmed while in Norway for production in 2020.

Related Stories The Tom Cruise-Headlined Olympics Closing Ceremony Drew 20.8 Million Viewers Tom Cruise to Transition Olympics from Paris to Los Angeles with Stunt During Closing Ceremony — Report

“It all comes down to one thing: the audience,” Cruise adds.

The “Eyes Wide Shut” alum trained in motocross and base jumping for months leading up to the filmed stunt.

“I had about six seconds once I departed the ramp to pull the chute and I don’t want to get tangled in the bike,” Cruise previously told Empire magazine about the jaw-dropping feat. “If I do, that’s not going to end well.”

Of course, that’s not the only cutting-edge stunt Cruise masters for “Mission: Impossible.” A first look at the film during Paramount Pictures’ showcase at CinemaCon earlier this year captured Cruise holding onto a plane while flying over South Africa. Cruise also recently thanked fans for their support in a video of himself jumping out of a plane .

“The ‘MI’ series really does represent the pinnacle of filmmaking excellence,” Paramount president Brian Robbins said earlier this year at CinemaCon. “And we have no doubt that this new picture will set the bar even higher.”

Robbins continued, “After five release dates and a whole bunch of rumors where this movie would end up, we are finally ready to bring this phenomenal movie to where it always belonged, and that is your theaters.”

Director Christopher McQuarrie helms the upcoming film, which will exclusively have a theatrical release due in part to Cruise’s urging. Production for “Dead Reckoning Part I” was repeatedly halted by the COVID-19 pandemic but eventually wrapped in September 2021. The budget reportedly ballooned upwards of $290 million during production, with additional funds allocated to finish post-production on the action epic.

So excited to share what we’ve been working on. #MissionImpossible pic.twitter.com/rIyiLzQdMG — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) December 19, 2022

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Watch Tom Cruise ride a motorcycle off a cliff for dangerous Mission: Impossible stunt

The team behind the upcoming action sequel call it "the biggest stunt in cinema history."

Christian Holub is a writer covering comics and other geeky pop culture. He's still mad about 'Firefly' getting canceled.

Tom Cruise has done it again.

Shortly after jumping out of a plane while thanking fans for supporting Top Gun: Maverick this year, Cruise and the team behind his next Mission: Impossible film have released a new behind-the-scenes clip highlighting one of the action sequel's most impressive stunts. The stunt finds Cruise riding a motorcycle off of a cliff before performing a base jump.

"I've wanted to do it since I was a little kid," Cruise says in the video. "It all comes down to one thing: The audience."

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One writer/director Christopher McQuarrie adds that the stunt required coordination between different disciplines. As such, Cruise put together "a master plan" with input from a variety of specialists so he could practice both motocross and base jumping.

Cruise apparently performed more than 500 sky dives and over 13,000 motocross jumps to prepare for the stunt, and this video features footage of many of them.

Recording such an intricate stunt requires proper technology. McQuarrie says that "even two years ago, the cameras didn't exist" to capture Cruise's feat on film, but now the team has them in hand. The team also relied on computer simulations to determine the right angle to build their ramp.

"How do we involve the audience? I just want to give them that thrill," Cruise says.

"Pretty much the biggest stunt in cinema history," base jumping coach John DeVore says. "Tom Cruise just rode a motorcycle off a cliff six times today."

Watch the epic video above. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One is set to hit theaters in July 2023, with the sequel following in 2024.

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• Tom Cruise wishes fans 'safe and happy holidays' before jumping out of plane on Mission: Impossible set
• Breaking down the trailer for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
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Watch Tom Cruise complete ‘biggest stunt in cinema history’ with death-defying jump

Tom Cruise is soaring to new heights.

The legendary actor appears in a new video from the making of the upcoming “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” that gives fans an “extended behind the scenes look at the biggest stunt in cinema history ,” according to Paramount Pictures’ description of the clip on YouTube.

The video, which runs more than nine minutes long, opens with a breathtaking overhead view of a mountain in Hellesylt, Norway, with Cruise explaining that he will ride a motorcycle off of a cliff that turns into a base jump.

“I’ve wanted to do it since I was a little kid,” he says.

Director Christopher McQuarrie says Cruise helped facilitate the stunt by getting together a team of experts in various fields to make sure it goes off without a hitch.

There are clips of Cruise skydiving and riding a motorcycle on a motorcross track built specifically for the stunt, while viewers learn how different models were constructed to properly gauge the angle Cruise would be diving off the bike. There was even a GPS chip to keep track of all of his jumps and gather a wide range of data, including how the wind would affect each jump.

“I have to get so good at this that there’s just no way that I miss my marks,” he says.

“You train and drill every little aspect over and over and over and over again,” he adds while we see clips of him diving and riding his motorcycle.

And Cruise apparently did just that, performing more than 500 dives and 13,000 jumps on the motorcycle.

Around the 7-minute mark, Cruise takes off on the motorcycle, driving off a ramp and then pulling a parachute to the ground below in a mind-blowing effort.

“This is far and away the most dangerous thing we’ve ever attempted,” McQuarrie says.

You can see for yourself how the stunt looks on the big screen when “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” opens in theaters July 2023.

Drew Weisholtz is a reporter for TODAY Digital, focusing on pop culture, nostalgia and trending stories. He has seen every episode of “Saved by the Bell” at least 50 times, longs to perfect the crane kick from “The Karate Kid” and performs stand-up comedy, while also cheering on the New York Yankees and New York Giants. A graduate of Rutgers University, he is the married father of two kids who believe he is ridiculous.

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• Entertainment

New 'Mission: Impossible' Video Captures Tom Cruise Attempting a Death-Defying Stunt

"The only things you have to avoid in a stunt like this is serious injuries or death," a coach for the stunt tells the camera.

The stunt is one of the more dangerous tricks the Mission: Impossible team has conducted. 

Next year's seventh installment of the Mission: Impossible series brings some stealthy stunts to the big screen. A new behind-the-scenes look for Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part One shows Tom Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff and immediately diving into a BASE jump. "This is far and away the most dangerous thing we've ever attempted," Cruise says in the video released Monday. 

The stunt is years in the making. Cruise practiced over 500 skydives and 13,000 motor cross jumps to finesse the trick for the seventh installment of the spy thriller. The team conducted the stunt in Norway in 2020.

So excited to share what we’ve been working on. #MissionImpossible pic.twitter.com/rIyiLzQdMG — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) December 19, 2022

The actor coordinated a "master plan" with experts in the various disciplines involved, like motorcycling and BASE jumping, according to the movie's writer and director, Christopher McQuarrie. 

"The only things you have to avoid in a stunt like this is serious injuries or death," Miles Daisher, Mission: Impossible's BASE jumping coach, tells the camera. 

Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part One is set to premiere in theaters on July 14, 2023, and stars Cruise as special agent Ethan Hunt, Ving Rhames as Agent Luther Stickell and Simon Pegg as technician Benji Dunn. 

New Movies Coming in 2023 From Marvel, Netflix, DC and More

Watch Tom Cruise Risk Death to Perform ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ Stunt: ‘The Biggest in Cinema History’

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Tom Cruise is choosing to accept a new high-stakes mission in some wild behind-the-scenes footage from “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.” The featurette shows the action star and his team preparing for a stunt years in the making, where he will jump a motorcycle off a cliff and turn it into a BASE jump. Just a normal day at work!

“This is far and away the most dangerous thing we’ve ever attempted,” Cruise says.

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Back in May, a teaser trailer revealed a series of death-defying stunts and action sequences in the film, including a sniper battle during a desert storm, multiple car chases and a tease of this stunt.

“Dead Reckoning Part One” is written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who previously helmed the franchise’s fifth and sixth installments — 2015’s “Rogue Nation” and 2018’s “Fallout.” The film is produced by Cruise, McQuarrie, J.J. Abrams, David Ellison and Jake Meyers, and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is scheduled to premiere in theaters July 14, 2023. Watch the new stunt footage below.

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Tom Cruise's First Scene of New 'Mission: Impossible' Movie Was His Most Dangerous Stunt Ever (Exclusive)

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It's no secret that Tom Cruise is serious about his stunt work, and in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One , he wasted no time taking on a death-defying scene!

Cruise sat down with ET's Nischelle Turner in Rome this week to preview the upcoming action flick, and he shared an interesting fact about the production, revealing that the  most dangerous stunt of his career -- a motorcycle jump off of a cliff into a base jump -- was the first-ever scene filmed for Dead Reckoning Part One .

"Well, we know either we're gonna continue with the film or we're not," Cruise said with a laugh of planning the death-defying stunt. "Let's know day one... Do we all continue, or is it a major rewrite?"

In all seriousness, the actor added, it all came down to focus. "It was years preparing. I mean, I've been riding motorcycles since I was a little kid, raced cars and spent a lot of time just with aerobatics, airplanes, helicopters and parachutes... It all kind of came to that moment."

"You have to be razor sharp when you do something like that, so it was very important as we were prepping the film that that actually was the first thing [to shoot], because I don't want to drop that and go shoot other things and then have my mind somewhere else," he continued. "Everyone was prepped, let's just get it done."

And it wasn't just the one stunt that Cruise was hyper-focused on throughout the film's production. He did his own stunt driving for an intense chase scene throughout the streets of Rome -- while his character was handcuffed to franchise newcomer Hayley Atwel l, no less -- saying the challenges he takes on as a performer are indicative of his devotion to the action-packed franchise.

"Mission: Impossible is the first film I ever produced," he recalled of the impact the films have had on his career, dating back to the 1996 original. "There's certain things that I felt that we could tell with motion, with action and with stories and to be able to travel the world, that I really wanted to- I hoped that I could be able to accomplish with Mission: Impossible."

" I really always wanted to travel the world and be part of that community and then celebrate that community," he added. " Mission: Impossible allows me to do that."

Cruise's legacy as a box-office star is without question, and he hit a new major milestone last year, when Top Gun: Maverick became his first film to bring in over a billion dollars, bringing his career total box office to over $10 billion.

"You know, it was important last summer because of what we went through in [COVID shutdowns]," he noted. "For me, I love movies on the big screen and we have, you know, our families, how it spreads out to the other platforms, I understand that, but the way that I make movies, what I love about films is -- and I've always been someone who's promoted the big screen experience -- I make movies for audiences and to see how much they enjoyed it."

"To see [ Maverick ] open up the way it did, it meant a lot to me in so many ways," Cruise continued. "I mean, for me, when we're in Cannes, I was looking at all of [the cast]. I was like, I want you to have this experience. I wanted them to have that kind of experience, that we all worked hard and we all created this together. It was very special."

And, no surprise, he's not planning to slow down anytime soon. While Cruise and Mission: Impossible writer-director Christopher McQuarrie still have some work to do on Dead Reckoning Part Two --  due out in June 2024 and set to be Cruise's final bow as Ethan Hunt -- the actor said they're already planning for what comes next.

"A few days ago, I turned to McQ like, you know, we've got to start thinking about what we're gonna do next summer when we're done with this," he shared with a laugh. "This is what I do, I make movies... I absolutely love it."

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is in theaters July 12.

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• Mission Impossible

Watch Tom Cruise Rehearse and Perform the 'Biggest Stunt in Cinema History'

Here's how the movie star prepared for his most ambitious action sequence yet in 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning.'

A mini-documentary released on YouTube by Paramount Pictures follows the months of preparation that went into planning and executing a heart-stopping chase scene in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One , in which Cruise's character, secret agent Ethan Hunt, rides a motorcycle off the edge of a cliff and goes into a base jump, free-falling towards the earth before pulling his parachute cord.

"There's a lot going into this stunt," says director Christopher McQuarrie. "So Tom put together this master plan to coordinate all of these experts in each of the particular disciplines involved, to make this whole thing happen.

Prior to the shoot in Hellesylt, Norway in 2020, Cruise undertook a year of training to master motocross, base jumping and advanced skydiving, including working on his strength and stability to ensure he can control his own position mid-air, and manoeuver the parachute canopy in the right way.

"You train and drill every little aspect over and over and over and over again," says Cruise.

When the prep for the shoot was at its most intense, Cruise was doing 30 jumps per day, and he racked up more than 500 skydives and 13,000 motocross jumps over the course of rehearsal. Throughout this entire process, Cruise also wore a GPS chip so that they were able to track his speed and location in three-dimensional space at every stage of the stunt, which then enabled them to plan exactly where the drone cameras needed to be for the shoot.

"The key is me hitting certain speeds and being consistent with that," says Cruise. "There's no speedometer, so I do it by sound and feel of the bike. And then as I depart the bike, I'm using the wind that's hitting me, I'm pumping my chest, that will give me lift."

On the day of the shoot, all conditions have to be perfect for Cruise to pull off the staggering feat, and things are tense behind the camera as the actor shoots off the edge of the precipice and plummets into the valley below... a total of six times.

"We've been working on this for years," says Cruise. "I've wanted to do it since I was a little kid."

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Tom Cruise’s New Way to Nearly Kill Himself: Speed Flying

It’s “one of the most dangerous sports in the world,” according to the “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” star.

Helen Holmes

Culture Reporter

Noted thrill-seeker Tom Cruise has been teasing his insane stunts in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One since last year, when he thanked fans for seeing Top Gun: Maverick in theaters by jumping out of a plane .

With Dead Reckoning Part One ’s July 12 release quickly approaching, Cruise just deployed a new stunt video that might be his wildest yet. “It takes a true team effort to perform and film one of the most dangerous sports in the world—speed flying,” the actor tweeted on Thursday alongside the heart-pounding vid.

The clip opens with footage of Cruise spiraling downward through the air, affixed to a parachute, dangerously close to rocky mountain terrain.

“It’s a very beautiful and delicate sport,” Cruise says of speed flying. “We’re gonna do spirals, and we’re landing at an incredibly high speed, over 80 kilometers an hour.”

The scene was filmed, as Dead Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie explains, via cameras affixed to people parachuting alongside Cruise.

The footage of Cruise running headlong off a cliff, attached only to that aforementioned parachute, is both cinematically stunning and harrowing, but not quite as harrowing as the motorcycle stunt he teased last year. In that already-iconic video, Cruise and the rest of the Mission: Impossible team explained the effort that went into filming the actor safely (we guess?!) driving a motorcycle off a cliff.

Cruise, by the way, shot the death-defying motorcycle stunt on the very first day of filming Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning.

“I was training and I was ready,” Cruise told Entertainment Tonight . “You have to be razor sharp when you’re doing something like that. It was very important as we were prepping the film that it was actually the first thing. I don’t want to drop that and go shoot other things and have my mind somewhere else. Everyone was prepped. Let’s just get it done.”

Spoken like the true savior of cinema .

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• Action Movies

How Tom Cruise Executed His 'Most Dangerous' Stunt in 'Mission: Impossible –Dead Reckoning Part One'

The death-defying moment in the franchise's seventh installment involves Cruise driving a motorbike off a cliff

Collection Christophel/Alamy

Tom Cruise  turned up the action for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning   Part One .

While the film marks the seventh installment in the highly successful franchise, Cruise, 61, made the occasion even more special by challenging himself to perform one of his most dangerous stunts yet.

The death-defying moment involved Cruise driving a motorbike off a cliff, fly off the bike, and parachute to the ground. While fans got a glimpse of the stunt through the film's action-packed trailer in May, Cruise, along with writer-director  Christopher McQuarrie , first teased the big moment in 2021 at CinemaCon.

The pair explained in a special behind-the-scenes video at the event that the stunt took 500 hours of skydiving training and 13,000 motorbike jumps to get it just right. The stunt involved Cruise being attached to a set of wires as he rides a speeding motorcycle off of a large ramp before he throws himself from the bike, backed by the safety wires attached to his back.

Speaking about its execution, McQuarrie, 54, explained in the video that it was "by far the most dangerous stunt we've ever done." The clip then ended with Cruise performing the stunt himself, with a crew member saying, " Tom Cruise  rode a motorcycle off a cliff six times today."

McQuarrie "tried to kill me," joked Cruise at the New York City premiere.

Christian Black/Paramount Pictures

The film's long-awaited release comes after multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic . According to an official synopsis, it finds Cruise's Ethan Hunt as he and his team are tasked with tracking down "a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands."

During its world premiere in June , Cruise gave a speech about his passion for the franchise and filmmaking. He said in part, "It’s something that I grew up with, that made me and inspired me to dream and want to travel the world. My goal since I was little was to make movies and travel. And not just be a tourist but work in that world and understand their culture."

"Through my movies, I’ve been able to have that because everyone here has allowed me to entertain them," he continued. "It’s a privilege that I have never taken for granted."

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Mission: Impossible   - Dead Reckoning Part One is out now.

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Tom Cruise is certainly no stranger to performing risky stunts and has seemingly vowed to never cheat the audience by allowing a double to do a stunt in his stead. On the set of previous Mission: Impossible movies, Cruise has put his life on the line as he scaled the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, clung to the side of an Airbus A400M Atlas, and free-climbed cliffs in Utah. According to Paramount's presentation at CinemaCon, Cruise isn't showing any signs of slowing down in Mission: Impossible 7 .

At CinemaCon, Paramount showed a clip of Cruise on a ramp riding a motorcycle as it races down the side of a cliff and barrels off the edge. Cruise then releases the bike mid-air before his parachute opens. The shot allegedly took at least six different takes, as a crew member reported that, “Tom Cruise just rode a bike off a cliff six times today.”

RELATED: 'Top Gun: Maverick's First 13 Minutes Show Tom Cruise Pushing His Limits for "One Last Ride"

However, there is never a true need to fear for the actor’s well-being. Cruise and the Mission: Impossible team always assure that countless hours of training and preparation are put into each stunt, as well as additional safety measures should something go wrong. For instance, Christopher McQuarrie director of Mission: Impossible - Fallout and the upcoming seventh installment, stated that Cruise was “in training or physio for every waking moment of the production when he was not in front of the camera.” For his newest adrenaline-pumping motorcycle stunt, Cruise trained by skydiving and riding a practice bike over a cycle jumping course.

When asked about the stunt, McQuarrie stated, “The only thing that scares me more is what we’ve got planned for Mission : Impossible 8 .”

Cruise and his daring new stunt can be seen in Mission: Impossible 7 on May 27, 2022.

KEEP READING: Watch 'Mission Impossible 7' Throw a Train Off a Cliff in New Set Video

• Mission: Impossible

Tom Cruise, Billie Eilish lead star-studded handoff at Closing Ceremonies

Cruise dropped into the Stade de France, before Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg performed in L.A.

Star power took over the 2024 Olympic Closing Ceremonies on Sunday evening, which featured Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg performing from Los Angeles, the band Phoenix rocking the Stade de France, and Tom Cruise rappelling down from the top of the 80,000-seat stadium and riding a motorcycle through Paris to close out the Games.

The celebration set the stage for what’s to come for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Cruise embodied the action heroes he plays on screen with the eye-catching stunt. After he landed on the stadium floor, he was swarmed by athletes. He was then handed the Olympic flag by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who was joined by Simone Biles. Cruise then hopped on a motorcycle and appeared to zoom out of the arena.

The Style section

The television broadcast then cut to a previously recorded video of Cruise heading through the streets of Paris to an airplane, where he brought the flag from France to the United States. Then, Cruise sky-dived to the Hollywood sign which had a new look — the Olympic rings were overlaid. Once he landed, Cruise handed the flag to other Olympians as they ran through the city to Venice Beach. America, everybody!

Once at the beach, the prerecorded concert started off with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with Anthony Kiedis in a mesh shirt which he lifted over his head as the band performed their 2002 hit, “Can’t Stop.” Eilish performed a more recent hit, “Birds of a Feather,” from a nearby lifeguard stand, before Snoop Dogg, who dominated this Olympics, was joined by Dr. Dre.

The closing ceremonies kicked off on Sunday afternoon from the Stade de France. French singer Zaho de Sagazan opened the closing ceremonies with a rendition of Édith Piaf’s “Sous le ciel de Paris.”

The ceremony — which took place on an abstract stage shaped like the world map, but was reminiscent of the Aggro Crag from the ’90s Nickelodeon show “Guts” — featured plenty of electronic music, including songs by the French house band Justice and “Midnight City” by M83. Athletes and attendees sang along as Queen’s “We are the Champions” played in the booming stadium.

The bulk of the presentation displayed French artistry, music and choreography, including a segment where acrobatic gray figures helped raise the five Olympic rings to the stadium ceiling. French President Emmanuel Macron watched on as commentators marveled at the “unreal” spectacle. “God, the French are cool,” said one NBC commentator.

Phoenix kicked off their set from France with “Lisztomania” surrounded by hundreds of athletes who had rushed the stage. Announcers in the stadium kindly asked the athletes to leave the stage — repeatedly. The band was later joined at by Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend. The early aughts nostalgia continued throughout the program, as Kavinsky, who performed the song “Nightcall” (the track was featured prominently in “Drive,” starring Ryan Gosling).

Though many, presumably exhausted, Olympic athletes sat as the Closing Ceremonies wore on throughout the three-hour-program, they appeared to go off without much of a hitch. Wrapping up the ceremonies was the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, who put it plainly: “And that’s it!”

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Tom Cruise Jumps Off Stadium Roof to Pass Baton to Los Angeles

Cruise, one of Hollywood’s most well-known movie stars, rappelled down into the Stade de France, and the crowd of Olympians went wild as Paris handed over to the next Summer Games, in Los Angeles.

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By Alissa Wilkinson

• Aug. 11, 2024

No, it wasn’t a scene from “Mission: Impossible.” Tom Cruise, one of Hollywood’s most well-known movie stars, rappelled down into the Stade de France as H.E.R. played guitar, and the crowd of Olympians went wild as Paris handed over to the next Summer Games, in Los Angeles. He accepted the Olympic flag, shook a lot of hands, jumped on a motorcycle, and drove right out of the stadium and into prerecorded footage.

It’s hard to imagine a more apt melding of the Olympics’ awe-inducing athleticism and Hollywood’s showy sensibility than Cruise, who, at 62, still famously loves to perform as many of his own “Mission: Impossible” stunts as feasible in the film series. At the 2022 Cannes Film Festival , ahead of the release of “Top Gun: Maverick,” he was asked about his penchant for death-defying feats, which he might reasonably be expected to delegate to a stunt person. “No one asked Gene Kelly, ‘Why do you dance?’” he quipped.

Cruise’s carefully choreographed acrobatics (and selfies with athletes) were fit for this closing ceremony’s vibes — especially the showmanship behind them. The details of what exactly was going to happen had been kept quiet, although People reported that back in March he had filmed the segment in which he sky-dives to the iconic Hollywood sign. Nobody quite knew until now what he’d do on live television in Paris. But it’s Tom Cruise: He lives, and occasionally defies death, to give us a good time.

Alissa Wilkinson is a Times movie critic. She’s been writing about movies since 2005. More about Alissa Wilkinson

Why is Tom Cruise at the 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremony? Action star will reportedly do 'epic stunt'

The 2024 Paris Olympics will end Sunday with an extravagant exclamation point.

After 17 days of intense, high-stakes competition between the best athletes in the world in their respective sports, the closing ceremony will mark the conclusion of the Games and start the long, occasionally excruciating four-year wait for the Olympics to return.

Unlike the opening ceremony , which took place along the Seine River, the closing ceremony will more closely resemble its predecessors, with many of the nearly 11,000 athletes representing 206 national delegations walking joyously into the Stade de France, where track and field events have taken place over much of the past two weeks.

REQUIRED READING: Follow USA TODAY's coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics

The famous faces inside the 80,000-seat venue won’t be limited to the likes of Simone Biles , LeBron James and Katie Ledecky.

2024 Paris Olympics: Follow USA TODAY’s coverage of the biggest names and stories of the Games.

Among the famous faces there will be Tom Cruise , who will be more than just a spectator as the Olympics draw to a close.

Why, exactly, is he there?

Here’s what you need to know about Cruise’s appearance at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, as well as how to watch the event:

2024 PARIS OLYMPICS: Meet the members of Team USA competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Why is Tom Cruise at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics?

Cruise, of course, was not among those competing in the Olympics. Beyond his age — 62 years old, well past his athletic prime for the overwhelming majority of Olympic sports — the American actor stands at just 5-foot-7 and has famously unorthodox running form .

He has been spotted in the crowd at various Olympic events, including gymnastics and swimming in the first week of the Games and, more recently, the United States women’s soccer team’s 1-0 victory against Brazil in the gold medal match Saturday.

His most notable contribution to the Olympics will come right as they’re ending.

At Sunday’s closing ceremony, Cruise or a stunt double will reportedly rappel down from the top of Stade de France and land on the stadium’s file while carrying the Olympic flag. According to TMZ , NBC’s broadcast of the closing ceremony will then transition to a previously recorded video of the actor flying from Paris to Los Angeles, where he skydives from a plane down to the Hollywood sign.

The skydiving video was filmed in March, according to TMZ, which released photos of Cruise climbing the Hollywood sign. Though he was shown on the iconic sign, there was no photographic or video evidence of Cruise skydiving.

TMZ’s report noted that Cruise had actually approached the International Olympic Committee (IOC) himself and proposed doing a series of stunts during the closing ceremony.

While Cruise’s inclusion in the festivities may seem random, it serves a purpose beyond a gratuitous cameo for a movie star.

Cruise will be at the center of the ceremonial transition from the Paris Games to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. At past closing ceremonies, the Olympic flag has been handed over to members of the delegation from the host city of the next Summer Olympics host. Among those at the closing ceremony from Los Angeles will be the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, who will be presented the flag from Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo. It will mark the first time a Black female mayor has received the flag, Bass’ office told Reuters .

Though there’s the looming possibility a stunt double will go in Cruise’s place, the actor has been famous throughout his career, even in the later stages of it, for performing his own stunts. During the filming of the 2023 movie “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” Cruise rode a motorcycle off a cliff and parachuted down to safety. Years ago, he also learned how to fly a helicopter so he could pilot the aircraft during certain scenes for the “Mission: Impossible” franchise.

This won’t be the first time Cruise has been involved in some form with an Olympic tradition. In 2004, he helped carry the Olympic torch through Los Angeles as the torch made its way across the world en route to its final destination in Athens, the site of that year’s Games.

When is the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics?

• Date : Sunday, August 11
• Time : 3 p.m. ET

The closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics will air live Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. A replay of it will be shown at 7 p.m. ET.

What channel is the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics?

• TV channel : NBC
• Streaming : NBCOlympics.com | NBC Olympics app | Peacock | Fubo (free trial)

The closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics will air on NBC, which will be the network home for both the live broadcast and the replay later that day. Streaming options for the closing ceremony include NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Olympics app, Peacock and Fubo , the last of which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

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Tom cruise lands helicopter in london as katie holmes returns home from dropping daughter suri off at college.

Tom Cruise spent some time cruising the wide-open skies of London while his ex-wife Katie Holmes returned home from dropping their daughter, Suri Cruise, off at college.

After pulling off an epic stunt to help close out the 2024 Paris Olympics , Tom spent a week vacationing around the Mediterranean.

Page Six obtained photos of the actor, 62, landing a helicopter at London Battersea Heliport on Sunday following his getaway.

For the solo arrival, Tom sported a white golf shirt, black jeans and white sneakers, completing his outfit with a black baseball cap and matching sunglasses hung from his collar.

The “Mission: Impossible” star flashed a smile from the cockpit while wearing a headset to land the chopper.

Once on the ground, he was seen walking off the tarmac with a black backpack in tow.

Meanwhile, across the pond, Holmes spent the weekend moving Suri into her dorm at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

The 18-year-old will begin classes next Monday,  according to the school’s website .

We obtained pictures of Holmes, 45, arriving back to her New York City residence on Monday with a large travel tote and a smaller shopping bag in hand.

The new empty nester wore gray sweatpants, a cream-colored sweatshirt, a black baseball cap and matching flats.

While Suri is estranged from her Scientologist father , she is extremely close to her mother.

Though Holmes admittedly will miss her baby girl, she said in an interview last week that she is beaming with pride.

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“Of course, I will miss the close proximity, but I’m really proud of her, and I’m happy,” she told Town & Country.

The actress went on to reflect on her own experience of attending Columbia University and how transformative it was for her, noting that she wishes the same for Suri.

“I remember being this age, this time of beginnings,” she explained. “It’s exciting to learn about yourself, and I loved that time, so it makes me happy to think about it like that.”

The “Dawson’s Creek” alum admitted that she has thrown herself into creative pursuits to keep busy now that her daughter is starting college.

“The members of my book club are going to get annoyed hearing from me,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll be like, ‘Let’s meet once a week.'”

As for Tom, he has missed the majority of his youngest child’s milestones.

In fact, in June, the Golden Globe winner was seen deplaning a helicopter alongside his son, Connor Cruise , 29, in London after  skipping Suri’s graduation from LaGuardia High School in NYC.

Tom shares Connor and daughter Isabella “Bella” Cruise, 31, with his second wife, Nicole Kidman. He was previously married to Mimi Rogers.

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