Tom Cruise has been awarded the Guinness World Record for “most burning parachute jumps by an individual” for a stunt performed in his latest film, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
During production, the 62-year-old star leapt from a helicopter 16 times while strapped to a parachute pre-soaked in fuel and lit ablaze. Each time, he cut away the charred remnants of the burnt chute before safely deploying a backup parachute.
In a statement, Guinness World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said: “Tom doesn’t just play action heroes – he is an action hero! 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 honor to recognize his utter fearlessness with this new Guinness World Records title.”
The sequence was filmed in Drakensberg, South Africa, where Cruise was dropped from a helicopter at a height of at least 7,500 ft. His first parachute would burn for between 2.5 and 3 seconds before completely disintegrating. During some of the 16 death-defying jumps, Cruise also had a 50 lb Snorri camera rig attached to his body to film close-ups during his fall.
This is not Cruise’s first Guinness World Record; he also holds the record for the actor with the most consecutive $100-million-grossing movies. In total, the Top Gun star has been credited in over 30 films that have broken the $100 million mark at the box office, with the last 11 being consecutive, starting with Jack Reacher in 2012.
