Tom Cruise, Priyanka Chopra: Hollywood and Bollywood stars who aren’t afraid of some action

‘Maverick’ Tom Cruise is soaring high on the back of his box-office success; ‘Top Gun’ has raked in $86 million over its second weekend. Did you know? Cruise, whose movies include the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise, ‘Minority Report’, ‘War of the Worlds’ and ‘Edge of Tomorrow’, is a real life pilot! The actor, known for his incredible stunt work, got his license back in 1994 and reportedly owns several planes of his own, one of which stars in the new movie.

Global icon Priyanka Chopra is committed to her craft and her dedication is evident when you see her perform her own stunts. In her English language hit TV show ‘Quantico’, the actress did most of her stunts herself. She even got a concussion during its filming, but she lived to tell the tale. Even in ‘Mary Kom’, in which she played a boxer, she learned boxing to look authentic. And those punches landed. In her blockbuster ‘Don’ with Shah Rukh Khan, Chopra outdid herself.

Jason Statham is undoubtedly an action star. Trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing and judo, the ‘Transporter’ actor has proved himself as a force to be reckoned with – so it comes as a surprise that he doesn’t do all his own stunts! Fortunately, there’s a very good reason for this abstinence: Safety. The ‘Crank’ actor once told a media outlet, “I’ve never really been frightened to do anything. It’s always an issue of safety that sort of prevents me from doing everything.”

Katrina Kaif isn’t just an ace dancer, she’s amazing at stunts too. She performed most of her stunts in blockbusters like ‘Dhoom 3’, ‘Ek Tha Tiger, ‘Bang Bang’ & ‘Phantom’. The actress also underwent Basic Combat Training (BCT) for ‘Tiger Zinda Hai‘ and she looks completely in charge in those action scene. Here’s full marks to the star for her action prowess on the big screen.

Keanu Reeves is a cool guy. And a versatile actor. He’s going through a number of genres but the roles that most stick with us are the ‘Matrix’ and ‘John Wick’ series. In the latter series, which is chock full of action-heady sequences, Reeves dominates. The best part? He did it (mostly) himself. “All the actions done in the movies are carried out solely by me. I do 90 per cent of what goes on there. I try to maintain a connection with my audience,” he told a reporter during an interview.

Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron has made her name as an action star with movies such as ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, ‘Atomic Blonde’ and ‘Old Guard’, which will also be getting a sequel. Theron earlier opened up about doing her own stunts, while in an interview with Howard Stern in 2020. She said: “It’s all about having the right team. You don’t need a stunt person to step in and do something. You create it to be something you can do. And that’s what makes it fun.”

Lanky and muscular Hrithik Roshan makes for a great action star; his dance moves and athletic abilities are in sync making the stunts he does breathtaking. Perhaps it's because he thrives in an action-packed environment. Roshan did his own stunts in films such as 'Krrish', 'Dhoom 2' and 'Jodhaa Akbar' - and while he's had some injuries; the sequence in 'Bang Bang' put him in hospital for some time; it looks like he's not about to stop challenging himself any time soon.

When you think of actors doing their own stunts, one person that always comes to mind it the martial arts legend Jackie Chan. The Hong Kong star has broken numerous bones, suffered burns and injured himself multiple times over the years. Talking about doing his own dangerous moves, Chan told the Associated Press in 2003: “I will use stunt doubles if you ask me to ride an F-16 jet fighter, or to jump over a series of hurdles with a crazy horse, or to perform two 720-degree somersaults. But one somersault, I’ll do it myself.”

It is not surprising that Ajay Devgn doesn’t shy away from performing stunts given he is the son of stunt choreographer Veeru Devgn. Devgn was most recently seen in Shivaay doing death defying stunts. However, Devgn is best known for a stunt in his debut movie - a split on top of two motorcycles in Phool aur Kante. Devgn repeated the stunt multiple times given how popular it was at the time.

Akshay Kumar is probably the first name that comes to mind when we think of a Bollywood actor performing his own stunts. The fitness fanatic, who is also a trained martial artist, has always chosen to perform his own stunts in movies, even when a body double could have filled in. The Taekwondo black belt star stood on top of an airplane in Khiladi 420, and chose to perform the stunt himself.

Son of Jackie Shroff, Tiger Shroff has come to be known as an action hero. His dance moves have also gained fame. Shroff is also a trained martial artist and an extremely fit gymnast. He is one actor who always likes to challenge himself with intense stunts. Tiger Shroff performed stunts in Baaghi 2 which left fans impressed.