The Paris Olympics spared no expense from start to finish and delivered one of the greatest Olympic games of all time — closing things with perhaps the biggest movie star of all time was a fitting touch.
“Mission Impossible” star Tom Cruise leapt off the roof of the Stade de France on Aug. 11 ina death-defying stunt that saw him drop into the center of the stadium via a cable line, shake hands with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, take the Olympic flag from Paris and drive it out of the stadium on a motorcycle — a thrilling transition to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Tom Cruise jumps off the stadium during the #Olympics Closing Ceremony
Cruise was present at the Paris Olympics for several events, including Team USA women’s soccer defeating Brazil in the Olympic finals along with gymnastics and swimming events.
“Thank you Paris!” Cruise wrote on his official X account. “Now off to LA.”
Rumors of Cruise Doing ‘Epic Stunt’ Filled Internet
There had been rumors circulating Cruise would pull off a stunt at the closing ceremony since the beginning of the Olympics — a report first broken by TMZ on Aug. 1
From TMZ: “Tom Cruise is engineering an epic stunt to close out the Paris Olympics and pass the flag to Los Angeles for the 2028 Games … Sources with direct knowledge tell us … the plan for the upcoming Closing Ceremony involves Tom rappelling down from the top of Stade de France … landing on the stadium field and carrying the official Olympic flag.
“… Tom, we’re told, is the driving force behind all of this … and he’s actually the one who approached the International Olympic Committee about doing a series of stunts to bridge the Paris and L.A. Games.”
This isn’t Cruise’s first connection to the Olympics. He was one of the ceremonial torch bearers when the Olympic torch came through Los Angeles ahead of the 2004 Athen Olympics.
Cruise Has Been Box Office Star Since Early 1980s
If you’re building a prototype for the perfect Olympic ambassador, it might be Cruise, who is one of the few people who would be recognized in any corner of the world.
The 62-year-old New York native shot to fame as a movie star in the early 1980s with “Risky Business” (1983) before becoming one of the most well-known actors in the world with a series of box-office hits and critically-acclaimed films beginning with “Top Gun” (1986), “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), “A Few Good Men” (1992) and the first film in the “Mission Impossible” series in 1996.
Cruise is a four-time Academy Award nominee and his films have grossed over $12 billion at the worldwide box office but his career over the last decade has been defined by franchise movies with over-the-top stunts like “Top Gun: Maverick” in 2022 and the “Mission Impossible” franchise, which now encompasses 7 films.
Cruise’s last film was “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I” in 2023 and his next film is the eight “Mission Impossible” film scheduled for release in 2025. Cruise hasn’t made a movie outside of a franchise film since “American Made” in 2017, which was based on the life of former TWA pilot, CIA contractor, drug smuggler and DEA informant Barry Seal.
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Tom Cruise Stuns Crowd With Stunt at Olympic Closing Ceremony