Tom Cruise sets Guinness World Record with fiery parachute stunt

Tom Cruise has secured a Guinness World Record for executing the most burning parachute jumps by an individual, completing 16 such jumps during the filming of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. In this daring sequence, Cruise, a licensed skydiver, leapt from a helicopter 16 times while strapped to a parachute soaked in fuel and set aflame. After each jump, he cut away the burning parachute and deployed a backup to land safely. The scene features Cruise's character, Ethan Hunt, battling antagonist Gabriel (Esai Morales) over an AI entity aboard 1940s biplanes above South Africa's Drakensberg mountains. Some takes were filmed with a 50-pound camera rig attached to Cruise for close-up shots during freefall.

Guinness World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glenday praised Cruise's commitment to realism and called him the most successful leading action hero at the box office. This record joins Cruise's previous titles, including having the most consecutive $100-million-grossing films from 2012's Jack Reacher through 2025's Final Reckoning. The film also stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Pom Klementieff, and Angela Bassett and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

Cruise's dedication to performing his stunts has become legendary, with previous feats including scaling the Burj Khalifa in Dubai for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and performing a HALO (High Altitude, Low Opening) jump for Mission: Impossible – Fallout. His latest record-breaking stunt further solidifies his status as one of Hollywood's most fearless action stars.