Tom Cruise is characterized by not using stunt doubles in his films. He is one of the few Hollywood stars who respects his philosophy to the letter. He isn’t stopped by helicopters, airplanes, buildings, mountains or horses. Nothing. The body puts everything.
His stubbornness left consequences in his career. For example, the accident of him during the filming of mission impossible 6 in which he crashed into the wall of a building.
But, even so, things could have been worse on the set of The last samuraifilm it Edward Zwick released in 2003. During the filming of the film, Cruise may have lost his mind. Literally.
A risky take
In The Last Samurai, Cruise plays Nathan Algrenan American soldier who travels to Japan in the mid-19th century to assist the government in its plans to shed its medieval past.
After a fierce battle against the samurai, Algren is separated from his group and left in enemy hands. But, to his surprise, the few remaining samurai do not kill him, but welcome him and teach him their customs.
Now, with this context in mind, let’s go on stage.
As reported by the Daily Mail, on one day of filming Cruise was with his co-star, Hiroyuki Sanada, mounted on a mechanical horse with a sword in hand. The two had to get closer to each other. At one point, Sanada’s horse had to stop for a second before the actor aimed his sword at Cruise’s head.
Already in action, the mechanism of the fake horse failed when the Japanese actor had to swing his weapon: he followed his movement in Cruise’s direction and caused Sanada’s sword to point towards Cruise’s neck. ‘American.
“He was coming towards me and all of a sudden his horse hit me and his sword was right there (pointing to a foot from his own neck),” Cruise explained in an interview. “Luckily Hiro is trained in martial arts. I trust him”.
Sanada also gave his version of events: “Tom’s neck was in front of me and I tried to stop swinging the sword, but it was difficult to control it with one hand.”
The actor managed to stop in time, but it didn’t stop those present from getting scared by the situation: “The film crew watching from the side screamed because they thought Tom’s head was going to fly off.“.
The snap paid off: The Last Samurai was a box office hit, earning over $450 million on a $140 budget.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.