Sitting on top of the world! Is that Tom Cruise performing a death-defying stunt on the planet's highest skyscraper?

He's well-known for doing all his own stunts, no matter how dangerous they are.

But action hero Tom Cruise may have gone to new heights both literally and figuratively yesterday during a scene for Mission Impossible IV in Dubai.

A figure was clearly perched on top of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, which stands at 2,717 feet - and judging by his adrenaline junkie behaviour, it's very likely to be Cruise.



Mission insane: Tom Cruise sits on the top of the highest tower in the world in Dubai as he filmed Mission Impossible IV in Dubai yesterday

Cool as a cucumber: Cruise performs another hair-raising stunt perched barefoot at the very top of the Burj Khalifa



The last action hero: The Hollywood movie star is filming at the Burj Khalifa, which stands 2,717 feet tall

Reprising his Ethan Hunt superspy role, just a few days ago Cruise was running around the windows below the tower's Observation Deck, 124 floors above the ground during a chase scene.

At a press conference last week, Cruise informed attendees that he would be 'spending many days [and] many hours on the side of this building. I can't give details, but I will be up there.'

The actor's spokeswoman says: 'Tom has been preparing for the stunt for some time. He believes if he performs the stunts himself, the audience believes more in his character.'

Stuntman: Tom does his own stunts, no matter how dangerous they are

Cruise apparently relived his Days of Thunder glory recently on a night out.

The actor took 75 of his Mission Impossible crew and castmates, including British actor Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner, out go-karting at the Dubai Kartdrome.

And he even used his character's name from the 1990 race car film.

A source says: 'Cruise used the name Cole Trickle, his character from Days as his moniker during the outing.'

Generous Cruise also treated the whole group to burgers and fries.



High times: A view of the Burj Khalifa showing where Tom Cruise is performing his hair-raising stunt on in Dubai

Meanwhile wife Katie Holmes is home in the U.S. with daughter Suri, filming new movie Jack and Jill with Adam Sandler.



The film tells the story of Jack who is forced to deal with his twin sister, Jill, when she visits for Thanksgiving, but then won't leave.

Katie plays Jack's wife in the movie, which also stars Al Pacino and Christie Brinkley.

She has also been filming a television movie about former American president John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie alongside Greg Kinnear.