Ahead of the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, it was rumored that a Tom Cruise stunt would take place during the event. That ultimately came to pass, as the actor jumped from the top of the Stade du France and into the stadium while attached to a rope. He then proceeded to take the Olympic flag, transport it via motorcycle to a plane headed for Los Angeles (the location of the 2028 games) and skydive into LA. The wild sequence of events made for a true spectacle and, apparently, Cruise had one demand.
Casey Wasserman serves as the LA28 president and chairperson and was instrumental in orchestrating Tom Cruise’s big moment. While speaking at a CNBC x Boardroom: Game Plan Summit, the Olympics official recalled just how the big show came together. Per THR, Wasserman explained that he and his team had to pitch the event to Cruise, who ultimately liked the idea. What the A-lister wasn’t on board for, however, one was one of the original plans that Wasserman and co. had for the stunts:
The best part of the story is we pitched on a Zoom and the original idea was a person in the stadium as a stunt double. We’re like, well, there’s no way we’re getting this. We’re going to get four hours of filming time. We’ll do the thing that the L.A. with the Hollywood sign, he’ll hand the thing off and he’s done. Maybe we’ll get the other stuff and the rest will be just a stunt double. About five minutes into the presentation [Tom Cruise] goes, ‘I’m in. But I’m only doing it if I get to do everything.'
So it would seem that the Edge of Tomorrow star didn’t want a stunt double to be used and requested that he be allowed to do everything. Honestly, this probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise to the planning committee. If there’s anything fans know about the Oscar nominee, it’s that whenever he entertains the masses, he fully commits. This is, after all, the same man who jumped off a cliff with a motorcycle for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. Check out the Olympics stunt below:
I’d argue that Tom Cruise’s commitment to the Olympics gig is a major reason why the stunt worked so well. The sequence was a year in the making and involved the work of an incredibly talented crew of planners. Cruise wasn’t the only draw of the major moment, though. While he thrilled the masses, Grammy-winning singer H.E.R. was on stage performing a wicked guitar solo. Some fans subsequently made the good point that H.E.R. was pivotal to injecting the stunt with the necessary energy that needed to resonate with viewers.
Aside from performing at the closing ceremony, Tom Cruise also soaked in the Olympic festivities. He was photographed hanging out with M:I director Christopher McQuarrie as well as Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig and more. The Today Show’s Hoda Kotb also went viral alongside Cruise after they snapped a photo together. It proved to be a surreal experience for Kotb, who joked that she was so overwhelmed that she “blacked out” when rubbing elbows with Cruise.
Now that Casey Wasserman and his committee have established a working relationship with the Top Gun legend, one has to wonder if they might call upon him again for the 2028 Olympic games in LA. I think there’s certainly a chance but, I’m not sure how the actor would possibly top his stadium drop. We’ll have to wait a few years to see if something else comes to fruition and, if it does, we should probably expect the star to request the ability to do his own stunts.
You can relive the greatest moments from the 2024 Summer Olympics now using a Peacock subscription. Any adrenaline junkies out there who are currently looked for quality scripted content can look over the 2024 TV schedule for some sweet titles.
