Tom Cruise has become just as synonymous with his dangerous stunts in his high-octane productions as much as his movie star status. And behind the former is Wade Eastwood.
Wade, 54, has worked with the A-list actor, 63, for over a decade, and has been in the stunt business for 34 years, spanning as far back as films released in 1993.
© Getty ImagesSome of his most notable credits as a stunt coordinator include Mr. & Mrs. Smith, World War Z, the James Bond franchise, Bridesmaids, Inception, The Town, and many more. But his relationship with Tom began in 2013 when they began working on Edge of Tomorrow together.
On January 13, 2026, Wade was honored by the National Board of Review in New York City for his work on Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, for which he also served as the second unit director. And he spoke with us about bringing the film's crazy sequences to life with a star just as game for the challenge as he was.
© Getty Images"I've been working with Tom for about 12 years. And I've been in the business 34 years," he shared with HELLO!. "I don't treat anyone differently. A human's a human. Their bodies hurt the same. So I think I've always had that approach."
"Yes, it's Tom Cruise, but he's still a human being with flesh and bones, so I have to make that human being look as cool as possible, and deliver the action as safely as possible," he continued, elaborating on the famously very different attitude Tom brings to the set as opposed to other actors.
"Normally with actors, they like the idea of doing the stunts, but when they realize how much training goes in, that idea of doing it all fades away. With Tom it excites him. So when I put the training in place or the schedule, he just commits. I mean, beyond commits. Even on our days off, we're both training
He expanded on how "that level of commitment" often leads to work with him being "the best result you could possibly have," to the point that the actor is often over-qualified for the job. "Once Tom's finished, let's say, training on the biplane or training flying or drifting a car, we've got him to such a point, and he's got himself through his training to such a point, that there is no stunt double I could use that would be more competent at that particular skill."
© Getty Images"He's so overtrained in that particular skill, now he wants to concentrate on acting the character and the lighting and the surroundings," Wade shared. "He doesn't want to just be thinking about the stunt itself," calling the possibilities of stunts with Tom truly "endless."
Wade also gushed about greater recognition for stunt artistry in mainstream televised award shows, including the Academy Awards. "There's a lot of great stunt performers around the world putting in a lot of work and those before us that put the work in to make sure that it one day is recognized," he shared with us.
© Getty Images"In an action movie it's all stunts and action, and there is a lot of writing and a lot of designing of the stunts that aren't necessarily in the script. It comes from the stunt team, the stunt coordinator, the secondary director."
He concluded: "To have that all now being acknowledged, the same way that we respect the actors, directors, composers, makeup, hair, special effects, visual effects, we respect every department except stunts and action. It's nice to be acknowledged."
