tom cruise burj khalifa cascade

Did Tom Cruise Sit Atop the Burj Khalifa Without a Harness?

The skyscraper is more than a half-mile tall., published june 10, 2021.

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This is a genuine photograph of Tom Cruise sitting on top of the Burj Khalifa, but he is almost certainly wearing a harness.

A practically unbelievable photograph of actor Tom Cruise sitting on top of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building at a height of more than a half mile, is frequently shared online along with the claim that the actor wasn't wearing a harness during the stunt:

This photograph was taken in 2011, during the filming of the fourth installment in the "Mission Impossible" series. Cruise did a number of stunts in that movie that took place inside (and outside) the building. Here's a behind-the-scenes clip showing some of these stunts:

At one point during filming, Cruise and the stunt team decided to take a helicopter to the top of the building to get a few photographs. Cruise talked about this experience during an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show."

While the picture is real, there's plenty of reasons to doubt the claim that Cruise was without a harness during this stunt. For one, when Cruise filmed these stunts (as seen in the behind-the-scenes clip above) he is wearing a harness. In fact, Tom Peitzman, the visual effects producer for the movie, said in 2011 that everyone involved in filming these stunts (even those who were inside while Cruise was hanging on the outside of the building) were also wearing a harnesses.

"Special mounts had to be made for the 65-millmeter Imax cameras, special safety had to be put in place, because in a building that's 800 meteres tall [it's 2,723 feet] you couldn't run the risk of anything falling. Even all of us who are working inside the building, we all had to harness ourselves because the window was open." 

With all of the safety precautions that went into filming these stunts, it seems highly improbable that Cruise would be allowed to sit on the top of this building without a harness. 

It should also be noted that while there are pictures of Cruise sitting on the Burj Khalifa and of the helicopter near the Burj Khalifa, there are no photographs of Cruise getting in or out of the helicopter. While it seems likely Cruise simply hopped out of the helicopter for a quick pic, there was likely a little more involved (such as hooking up some sort of security cable.)

It's also worth noting that helicopter is not the only way to access the top of this spire. This column is actually hollow and can be accessed via an internal ladder. This is how maintenance crews would access this area. In 2013, photographer Joe McNally was allowed to access this area to take some images.

It seems likely that someone was waiting for Cruise as he transitioned from the helicopter to the spire, and then helped him attach a safety harness. 

Correction [June 14, 2021]: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to photographer Joe McNally as John McNally.

By Dan Evon

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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How tom cruise pulled off the burj khalifa stunt in ‘ghost protocol’.

When moviegoers think of the unforgettable action scenes from the Mission Impossible movies, the Burj Khalifa stunt from Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol inevitably comes to mind. The incredible stunt features actor Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt) scaling the world’s tallest building in Dubai. We take a behind-the-scenes look at what went into filming the stunt, one of the craziest scenes in Mission Impossible history.

Setting the Scene: Burj Khalifa in Dubai

Burj Khalifa , the 2,722-foot skyscraper and engineering marvel in Dubai, boasts 163 floors, including the 130th floor where the shoot for this jaw-dropping scene occurred. Not only is the Burj Khalifa an architectural landmark, but it’s also the backdrop for the fourth installment of Mission Impossible .

Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is on the prowl for Kurt Hendricks, played by Michael Nyqvist , in search of some nuclear launch codes. This will prevent a devastating weapon from falling into the wrong hands.

The Planning Phase

Creating the stunt began with an initial concept from director Brad Bird , who directed both Ratatouille and The Incredibles . Ghost Protocol was Bird’s directorial debut in live-action cinema, and his vision for the Burj Khalifa sequence was ambitious: Tom Cruise had to climb the exterior of the skyscraper. As a filmmaker, Bird wanted to film the scene in real time, with IMAX cameras capturing every jolt of every slipped hand for maximum viewer impact.

Cruise insisted on performing his own stunts, a hallmark of his work across the Mission Impossible franchise, so he took on the challenging Burj Khalifa stunt, forgoing the easy route of using a dedicated stuntman or doubles. As one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Cruise has performed a growing list of extremely dangerous stunts for the majority of his career, often pushing the limits of what an actor will do, from free climbing to a high-speed helicopter chase in Fallout .

Given the height and potential safety concerns involved, the safety of the shoot was extremely important. To ensure the scene could be filmed without a hitch, a comprehensive and coordinated effort was needed from the production team. Dubai Studio City , the city’s official film authority, helmed by Jamal Al Sharif , worked closely with the studio to manage a myriad of logistics. This process involved obtaining special permits, coordinating with the architects and full-time engineers of Burj Khalifa, ensuring that all safety codes were met.

The logistics of shooting on the Burj Khalifa’s exterior required innovative expertise. To begin, the production team had to build a glass wall around the area of the building where the shot would be taken. Professional climbers were employed to identify strategic points on the building where the rigging could be attached. To protect the Burj Khalifa’s facade, they had to find a way to break windows for rigging, without causing damage to other parts of the building.

Once the areas of the building were identified and the glass wall was erected, the team faced the next obstacle: rigging up the harnesses and cables that would keep Cruise safe. The actor was attached to a safety harness, which was then fastened to the side of the building itself. A variety of tools were used in the process, including a thin wire, a piece of cable, and a pair of suction gloves. Every component of the setup was meticulously brake-tested and inspected for any potential faults before Cruise was attached.

Beyond the physical setup, the shot required careful planning and coordination. This required a multitude of repetitions to make the stunt appear as smooth and natural as possible on the big screen. It required substantial training and preparation, even for a Hollywood star like Tom Cruise.

Training and Preparation

Before the shot was taken, Cruise underwent extensive training with stuntman, Gregg Smrz . This training involved Cruise learning how to perform an Australian rappel , a descent technique used by climbers, and learning how to maintain his grip on the glass finger holds.

In terms of mental preparation, Cruise employed a sort of Zen mindset, focusing on the task at hand, making sure his mind remained clear during the stunt. The ultimate goal was to allow Cruise to remain calm under pressure. Given the stakes, any minor mistake could have resulted in a grim call, so the stunt required his unwavering focus.

Shooting the Scene

The day of shooting brought with it the tension relief that the scene was finally underway. All the careful planning and rigorous training was about to be put to the test. Director Brad Bird and his crew were faced with numerous challenges during the shoot. One was to ensure that the live-action scene felt authentic. To do this, they employed real-time filming, using IMAX cameras to capture the action as it unfolded.

The scene, captured by the legendary cinematographer Robert Elswit , shows Cruise using a pair of special suction gloves to climb the building, holding on for dear life as he fights crosswinds and the relentless sun. Every frame of the sequence, from the wide shots showing the real dimensions of Burj Khalifa, to the close-ups that reveal the strain on Cruise’s face, adds to the impact of the scene.

One of the difficulties that arose during the shoot was the potential threat of a sandstorm. Given Dubai’s desert climate, a sandstorm could have disrupted the shooting schedule. Worse, it could pose a risk to Cruise and the rest of the crew working on the 130th floor of the skyscraper. However, with careful monitoring of weather conditions, they managed to work around this challenge and shoot the scene successfully.

Incorporating humor into this intense scene provided a touch of tension relief. Simon Pegg , who plays Benji Dunn in the movie, delivers a really funny line just before Cruise takes his jump of faith. This juxtaposition of humor and high-stakes action is a signature part of the Mission Impossible franchise.

Post-Production

After the scene was shot, the production team had to replace the windows that were broken during the shoot, making sure the Burj Khalifa returned to its original state. In the end, the sequence required the breaking and subsequent replacement of several windows. This was carefully managed to prevent any lasting damage to the architectural landmark.

Once the film was in post-production, the beauty of Dubai as a shooting location was enhanced through the use of high-quality sound and editing. The inclusion of the Burj Khalifa sequence in Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol not only boosted the film’s advertisement but also highlighted the city of Dubai and the skyscraper itself.

The Impact and Legacy of the Tom Cruise Burj Khalifa Stunt

In the end, the shoot was beneficial for Dubai, putting the city and the Burj Khalifa on the map for many international viewers. With its pivotal role in Ghost Protocol , the skyscraper has become an iconic part of cinematic history.

Lastly, Tom Cruise’s commitment to performing his own stunts, combined with the willingness of the Mission Impossible team to push boundaries, resulted in an action sequence that is unforgettable, even now. The Burj Khalifa stunt is definitely one of Cruise’s most famous feats.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like Behind Tom Cruise’s Insane Rogue Nation Airplane Stunt.

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"Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol" was not the film that turned the "Mission: Impossible" film franchise into the "Tom Cruise Stares Death in the Face" show. No, that honor belongs to "Mission: Impossible II," which opens with Cruise's Ethan Hunt free solo rock climbing in Moab, Utah (which Cruise did for real wearing a harness ... because of course he did). "Ghost Protocol" was, however, a pivotal turning point in the series in terms of both its storytelling and technical elements.

Where director John Woo tried to turn Ethan into an American James Bond with "Mission: Impossible II," director Brad Bird brought the character down to Earth a little in "Ghost Protocol," making him the sort of plucky hero with a knack for evading disaster by the skin of his teeth. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the film's crown jewel — the sequence in which Ethan scales the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which Cruise did for real wearing cables that were erased digitally in post-production (much like his harness was in "Mission: Impossible II"). This is also arguably the scene that completed Ethan's evolution into a dyed-in-the-wool Buster Keaton-type, as well as the point where the franchise began fully prioritizing huge set pieces and "vibes" over narrative logic .

Not so coincidentally, "Ghost Protocol" received uncredited rewrites by Christopher McQuarrie, who has shepherded the franchise and only doubled down on this approach since then.

Strange as it might sound, Cruise swinging around the outside of a towering skyscraper was, in some ways, less risky than Bird's decision to shoot the sequence with IMAX cameras. In a behind-the-scenes featurette, the film's crew explained just how sensitive the IMAX film stock was and how it easily could've been destroyed while being shipped to the editing room.

'If it gets opened or x-rayed at any point, poof, it's gone'

"We're shooting 65 millimeter, 15 perf," said the film's associate producer , Ben Rosenblatt. "Which is about [holding up hands] that big, each frame. The exposed negative, until it's developed, isn't anything. It's just a chemical reaction. If it gets opened or x-rayed at any point, poof, it's gone."

Transportation was another major concern, as the Burj Khalifa footage couldn't be developed in Dubai. "The whole process of 65 film and shooting IMAX in large format is there's pretty much one place that develops it, and that's in Los Angeles," said production manager/co-producer Tommy Harper. "So we would shoot on Monday in Dubai, we'd wrap the film on Monday night, can it up, put it on a flight Tuesday morning, it'd get to LA on Wednesday, and on Thursday we would have a neg check. So there would be about a four-day lag [from] the moment you shot your film to the moment that you knew your footage was okay."

That risk paid off handsomely. As I can personally attend, this sequence is pretty astonishing looking in a theater, IMAX or otherwise. You actually feel like you're up there with Cruise as he climbs the world's highest skyscraper in "Ghost Protocol," which only adds to the nail-biting tension when complications inevitably arise (especially if, like me, you're not exactly wild about heights in general). Commercially, the outcome was just as rewarding. This sequence made "Ghost Protocol" a must-watch on the largest screen available, with IMAX sales making up nearly a quarter of the film's total opening sales at the box office.

And to think: all of Cruise's death-defying antics might've been undone by nothing more innocuous than someone accidentally opening up the exposed negative on its way around the world.

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Behind the scenes of Tom Cruise's Burj Khalifa stunt

Incredible footage of Cruise jumping out of windows of the 828 metre Burj Khalifa

Dubai: Take a look at this incredible behind-the-scenes video showing just how Tom Cruise did his stunts on the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, for his upcoming film Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol . Cruise shocked the world last October when he performed stunt after crazy stunt on the outside of the building, and here the film's director Brad Bird takes viewers inside the shooting with some incredible footage of Cruise jumping out of windows of the 828 metre skyscraper, swinging around the side of the building -- and even running down it. You won't believe your eyes.

The film releases in the UAE at Imax and standard cinemas on December 17.

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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

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Tom Cruise’s 10 best movie stunts: from six minutes underwater to scaling Burj Khalifa

Ahead of the release of mission impossible – dead reckoning: part one, we reveal the hollywood star’s most impressive stunts.

Tom Cruise is one of the few Hollywood actors who performs his own death-defying stunts. Photos: AP

It’s enough to give any movie insurer a heart attack to see their million-dollar leading man dangling off skyscrapers and hanging off the wings of planes.

But that’s exactly what Tom Cruise has spent his five decades-long career doing.

On Sunday, he shared a video promoting Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning , parts one and two, which he is filming in South Africa, and to thank fans for watching Top Gun: Maverick in cinemas.

In the first part of the video, he sits on the side of an aircraft with director Christopher McQuarrie before jumping out of the plane solo and continuing to share his message:

“As always, thank you for allowing us to entertain you. It truly is the honour of a lifetime. I’m running out of altitude, so I’ve got to get back to work. We’ve got to get this shot. You have a very safe and happy holiday. We’ll see you at the movies."

Even at the age of 60, Cruise still does most of his own stunts.

“I feel that [when acting] you're bringing everything, you know, physically and emotionally, to a character in a story,” he told Graham Norton on his UK talk show. “I’ve trained for 30 years doing [stunts] and it allows us to put cameras where you are normally not able to.”

With Top Gun: Maverick one of the year’s biggest hits, and the seventh instalment in the Mission Impossible franchise out next year, we take a look back at 10 of Cruise’s most spectacular stunts …

10. Mission: Impossible — Fallout, 2018

Cruise trained for 16 hours a day to master not only flying a helicopter in the sixth instalment of the action franchise, but also to pull off a spinning dive in it.

In the scene Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt goes into a 360° corkscrew dive in a H125 helicopter, a move which trained pilots spend months learning about in the classroom before moving to a simulator and then the real thing.

“Cruise put in about three months of solid days in the classroom and in the air to gain the skills that he needed,” said Wired .

9. Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, 2015

To retrieve a computer chip that will help him track down the baddy Soloman Lane (Sean Harris), Ethan Hunt has to dive into an underwater safe, while evading a fast-swinging crane circling around.

After jumping off a 36.6m ledge into a 6m-deep water tank, Cruise held his breath for six and a half minutes to pull off the stunt in one take.

8. Top Gun: Maverick, 2022

Cruise got back in the pilot seat to reprise his role as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in this year’s blockbuster.

And in true Cruise form, he did most of the aerial stunts himself, enduring eight g-force in the F/A-18 jets which the US Department of Defence lent to the movie for $11,000 per hour.

“Every time we went up there you have to mentally brace for a fight. You get on the ground and you’re exhausted,” Glenn Powell who played Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin told The Ringer. “That’s what’s impressive about Tom. He’s flying more than anyone in the movie — he would fly three times a day.”

7. Mission: Impossible — Fallout, 2018

Cruise’s stunt work in the most recent M:I instalment made headlines when it was revealed he had broken his ankle during a particularly daring stunt.

Pictures of the actor’s foot bent back the wrong way emerged after he hit a building leaping from one roof to another, causing production to be halted for six weeks.

“I knew instantly my ankle was broken and I really didn’t want to do it again so just got up and carried on with the take,” he told Norton. “I said, ‘It’s broken. That’s a wrap. Take me to hospital’ and then everyone got on the phone and made their vacation arrangements.”

6. Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning: Part One, 2023

According to the Hollywood rumour mill, Cruise practised riding a bike off a Norwegian cliff a whopping 13,000 times to perfect the stunt that will appear in the upcoming movie.

He also tried the skydiving scene 500 times to nail the shot which appears at the end of the trailer.

5. The Mummy, 2017

“There was a lot of barfing,” said Alex Kurtzman, the film’s writer and director of the 64 takes Tom Cruise did to nail the cargo plane's crash scene in the movie. He said it was the crew — not Cruise — who suffered.

The actor did the stunt inside a Nasa plane which is used to train astronauts for zero gravity. The plane goes up for 25,000 feet before plummeting in free fall for 22 seconds.

Despite being offered the chance to create the scene on a studio soundstage the actor opted for the plane for more realism.

4. Mission: Impossible 2, 2000

As far as opening scenes go, the sight of Cruise free climbing up a 609.6m cliff in the second film in the franchise is pretty impressive.

It took seven takes to catch Cruise dangling off the cliff in Utah, and also performing a 4.6m jump from one cliff to another attached by one safety rope.

“I was really mad that he wanted to do it, but I tried to stop him and I couldn’t,” director John Woo told EW . “I was so scared I was sweating. I couldn’t even watch the monitor when we shot it.”

3. Mission: Impossible — Fallout, 2018

The scene in which Ethan Hunt and CIA operative August Walker (Henry Cavill) have to do a Halo (high-altitude, low open) jump involves waiting until the very last minute to open the parachute.

Cruise did 106 skydives with the broken ankle he sustained in a previous stunt to nail the free fall scene, jumping out of a C-17 plane alongside a stuntman standing in for Cavill.

2. Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, 2011

It’s one of the most famous images in moviemaking history, Tom Cruise sitting on top of Burj Khalifa after filming the fourth film in the series in Dubai.

Ethan Hunt uses a pair of special suction gloves to reach the 130th floor of the world’s tallest building, in scenes which saw a harness-wearing Cruise shooting 518m in the air.

1. Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, 2015

For one of cinema’s most impressive feats, Cruise held on to the side of an Airbus A400M as it took off and climbed to 1,000 feet.

Shot at RAF Wittering airbase in the UK, Cruise faced speeds of 1,000 knots and wore a special harness and contact lenses to protect his eyes.

“When he wants to do something, he’ll figure out a way to do it,” the film’s director of photography, Robert Elswit, told The Hollywood Reporter . “If it couldn’t actually be Tom on the plane, I think he wouldn’t want the sequence in the movie.”

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Tom Cruise Scales World's Tallest Building For 'Mission: Impossible' Sequel

Tom Cruise is many things. Afraid of heights is not one of them.

The 48-year-old actor has long insisted on performing his own stunts for his high-octane action movies, famously scaling the face of a mountain in Sydney, Australia, for the opening sequence of "Mission: Impossible II." But that dangerous stunt has nothing on Cruise's latest feat in "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol," the fourth entry in the espionage series. In round four, Cruise is trading in a mountain for the tallest skyscraper in the world.

Photos have surfaced of Cruise hanging on the side of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, which stands as the world's tallest building at 2,717 feet. Cruise, reprising his famous role as super-spy extraordinaire Ethan Hunt, filmed his scenes along with another unidentified actor, reportedly leaping over the man during a chase sequence that involves a helicopter hovering a mere ten feet from Burj Khalifa.

Cruise's deadly stunt was surprising, to say the least -- one can only imagine what onlookers must have been thinking watching the actor run along the top of the impossibly tall building -- but it's not as if he didn't warn anybody about it. At a press conference last week, Cruise informed attendees that he would be "spending many days [and] many hours on the side of this building. I can't give details, but I will be up there."

The actor's spokeswoman added: "Tom has been preparing for the stunt for some time. He believes if he performs the stunts himself, the audience believes more in his character."

Well, if nothing else, Cruise's latest stunt just proves that no mission is truly impossible.

Check out everything we've got on

href="/movies/movie/448785/moviemain.jhtml">"Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more -- updated around the clock -- visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .

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The Hilarious Story Behind Tom Cruise’s Iconic ‘Mission Impossible’ Stunt

"Only Tom!"

Image Credit: Paramount Pictures

Apparently, Tom Cruise was not pleased when told a Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol stunt was going to be created digitally and he had an unintentionally funny response…

Tom Cruise is one of Hollywood’s most successful actors. The 59-year-old is renowned for his many acting accolades, starring in the iconic film Top Gun , and for performing all of his own stunts .

And the stunt that Cruise is most famous for has a rather funny story behind it. We’re, of course, talking about the Burj Khalifa stunt Cruise pulled off for the film Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol , which was released in 2011.

If you’re unfamiliar, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest tower in the world and in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol , Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt must scale the outside of the building to the 130th floor, retrieve nuclear codes and then repel down it. And Cruise insisted on performing the dangerous stunt himself.

But according to Joseph Kahn, the filmmaker best known for directing numerous Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, and Eminem music videos, the original plan for the Burj Khalifa stunt was to CGI Cruise in. Taking to Twitter , Kahn wrote:

“Heard a great Tom Cruise story. On Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol they did an animatic of the Burj Khalifa sequence, explaining how there was going to be a digital Tom to do the stunts. Tom then angrily said “THERE IS NO DIGITAL TOM! JUST TOM!” So they shot it for real.” Joseph Kahn

Kahn went on to say that Robert Elswit, who was the director of photography for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol , told him this hilarious story about Cruise.

This alleged (and funny) response from Cruise does seem legitimate; especially when you consider that Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol ’s insurance company refused to insure the film if Cruise performed the Burj Khalifa stunt, so Cruise fired them and went and found an insurance company that would let him do the stunt.

In any case, whether Cruise actually said it or not, the line “There is no digital Tom! Only Tom!” is iconic.

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Why Is Tom Cruise Sitting On Top of the World's Tallest Building?

We got photographs and video of Tom Cruise jumping off the mid-section of the tallest skyscraper in the world . But this is him on the very top of the Burj Khalifa , filmed by an helicopter, taken around 1AM New York time.

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The photographer—Gerald Donovan—told us all the details:

He was up there for about an hour. Chopper circled several times very close. He's the only one that you can see, but on a video I have, you can see that there were other people up there but hiding down the spire. Lots and lots of filming was happening—both from the chopper and from below (check out the guy in the cradle hanging lower down the Burj on the left hand side). They were filming a 360 degree pan of him. My guess is that it's for promo, and maybe not for the film itself (in all the swinging shots he's wearing 3/4 length trousers. Here he's wearing jeans I think).

How did he get there?

1. He first took elevator BS1: Concourse (4.0 m.) to level 138 (508.2 m.) 2. Then got into elevator BS3: Level 138 to level 160 (621.3 m.) 3. From there, he got elevator BS4: Level 160 to section 18B (646.9 m.) You can also take the steep stairs/landings from 160 to 18B. 4. After that, he climbed the ladder from section 18B to section 19 (653.3 m.) 5. Went from section 19 to section 21 (691.7 m.) taking the steep stairs/landings. 6. Climbed the ladder inside the pinnacle pipe: Section 21 to top platform (826.6 m.)

Yes, that's 443 feet climbing up a ladder at the end. Seems like quite a trip. Cruise has been filming Mission Impossible 4 in Dubai during the last few weeks.

Image Copyright by Gerald Donovan. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. You can see the whole gigapan at Posterous .

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