The night before his death-defying stunt for "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation," Tom Cruise stared down the plane that would lift him off the ground while he hung onto the outside of it.
"We went from the studio to the airport and it was a foggy, rainy night and we landed and this thing just looked like a beast!" Cruise told Entertainment Tonight about the plane that would carry him into the air. "It was in the fog and it was lit. It was just sitting there, like, 'Yeah!'"
The 53-year-old actor chose to strap himself to the side of the military aircraft rather that having a trained stunt person do it. Of course, when the plane actually took off with him hanging on for dear life, he had the reaction most people would have.
"Going down that runway I was thinking, 'Holy s--t!'" Cruise said.
The star of the fifth "Mission: Impossible" film worked with the pilot to discuss how the plane would take off and how he wanted to be position on the plane.
"The morning came and I'm strapped onto the side of that airplane and I'll never forget, I kept telling the pilot, I said, 'Listen, man. When you're climbing out you've got to make sure because I want my feet against the fuselage. I want that steep climb,'" Cruise said. "With an airplane, you got to really know the weight, the balance, the numbers -- it's a very powerful, beautiful airplane and I really appreciate they did this."
The film released a behind-the-scenes clip earlier this month that shows Cruise connected to the door, but as the plane takes flight his feet fly up behind him as he holds on. He performed the stunt eight times to get it right.
"If something went wrong, I can't get into the airplane until we land," Cruise said in the video.
"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" will premiere in theaters on July 31.
