Tom Cruise Reportedly Saved Co-Star’s Life From Scary Helicopter Accident While on Set

Tom Cruise has rescued countless lives on the big screen, but now the actor is said to have once saved a co-star’s life on-set, after a scary helicopter accident. Over the weekend, it was reported that Cruise saved a cameraman who fell while shooting a Mission: Impossible 7 actions sequence on top of a train. As if that isn’t impressive enough, it reminded aerial camera operator Bill Bennett of an incident that took place on the set of the 1988 romantic dramedy Cocktail — which Cruise starred in with Elisabeth Shue — and he took to Facebook to share it with his followers.

“We were filming the scene from a helicopter, where Tom and Elisabeth are riding horses along the beach,” Bennett wrote, as shared by IndieWire. “After a couple takes, the pilot would land the helicopter on the beach, and Tom and Elisabeth would come over to watch the shot recordings and get notes from the director. The only monitor was at my operating position in the left front seat of the helicopter.” Bennett went on to explain that the tail rotor — which is located at the back of the helicopter — is not visible while it’s spinning, adding, “If you walk into it, it will kill you instantly.”

Cruise and Shue watched a playback of a scene on Bennett’s monitor, and then Shue “took off suddenly, running towards the back of the helicopter.” In the midst of that very scary situation, Bennett says Cruise thought quickly and leaped into action. “Tom is a pilot, rated in both airplanes and helicopters, and instantly saw the danger. He lunged after her, but only was able to grab her legs, tackling her to the ground.”

Bennett continued, “At that point, she turned white, and he pulled her back towards the front of the helicopter and they walked away. All of us in the helicopter were quite shaken up by the close call, but there was nothing to be said. Tom had, in that instant, truly saved her life.”

As for Mission: Impossible 7, it is currently filming and scheduled for a May 27, 2022 release. In addition to Cruise, it will also feature returning franchise actors Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Angela Bassett and Frederick Schmidt. Newcomers to Mission: Impossible for the film include Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Esai Morales, Rob Delaney, Charles Parnell, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, and Cary Elwes.