Tom Cruise is basically a real life superhero at this point. The 61-year-old actor still has his fastball, giving his all to filmmaking. He is known for his commitment to making his movies as entertaining as possible by participating in incredibly dangerous on-screen stunts, like riding a motorcycle off of a cliff in Mission: Impossible 7 and flying real life fighter jets in Top Gun: Maverick. After decades in the business, the action star remains one of the most endearing, and this may be due to lack of sleep. The Risky Business star recently was asked about his M:I co-star rarely seeing him unconscious, and Cruise offered an apt response.
On the red carpet for the Italian premiere of Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One, Cruise was asked about his famously questionable sleep schedule. An interviewer from E! questioned the actor about resting, explaining that one of his co-stars revealed that in the 17 years that the Mission: Impossible movies have been produced, that they have only seen Cruise unconscious twice. She said:
One of your cast members told me yesterday that in the 17 years that they have worked with you, that they have only seen you sleep twice, once on a plane to Japan, once in a zero gravity bed.
Cruise was amused by his co-star’s comments, but didn’t deny the fact that he rarely gets shut eye. In terms of if he ever sleeps, he answered:
You know what? I try not to.
This is surprising, because despite the immense lack of sleep, Cruise still is in incredible shape. He is very passionate about his personal health and fitness, so he still can perform the intensely dangerous stunts for action movies. As for why the action star seems to resist a traditional sleep schedule, he said:
I think I don’t sleep, I go unconscious, that's what happens. It’s like, I love [that] my days start early, and they go early.
This is certainly a tough schedule to keep up with, especially with how involved Cruise’s movies tend to be. They often include high-energy stunts, explosions, and lots of running, something the Edge of Tomorrow actor is known for. He must be operating at an incredibly high level of adrenaline to be able to function throughout the day with such little sleep. However, if one thing has been proven over the years is that it would be foolish to underestimate Tom Cruise, as the actor has accomplished physical feats that some actors couldn’t even dream of.
Maybe Cruise doesn’t sleep because he has so much work to do. Along with being the central action star of all of his movies, he has also taken on producing duties in addition to his acting work. His dedication to all aspects of the creative process is well documented, and this hard work must dip into his sleep. He has even said that the ending of Mission: Impossible 7 kept him up at night, which seems to explain why he’s not sleeping well. The Oscar nominee’s future involvement in the Mission: Impossible franchise is unknown following the release of M:I 8, so maybe after that movie is finally wrapped, the Jerry Maguire star will finally get some well-deserved rest.
You can see Tom Cruise’s restless performance in Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One which is still currently playing in theaters nationwide. Fans of the actor can also check out the previous Mission: Impossible franchise installments now with a Paramount+ subscription.
