Tom Cruise dangles from the world's tallest building as he performs a death-defying stunt for new Mission: Impossible movie



From jumping off buildings to fighting with samurai swords and scaling mountains without ropes, Tom Cruise has always insisted on doing his own stunts when making an action movie.

And this weekend the actor proved he is still very much the adrenaline junkie as he dangled almost 2,717 ft in the air from the tallest building in the world.

The actor was filming near the top of the Burj Kahlifa in Dubai for scenes for the fourth Mission: Impossible film.



Adrenaline junkie: Cruise runs along the side of the Buri Khalifa

On Saturday, the actor was snapped hanging precariously from the observation deck of the building, which is 124 floors high, as fans watched in awe and terror from the street below.

Dressed all in black, the 48-year-old ran across the windows of the tower as technicians and film crew watched nervously from an open window above him.

Another actor hung alongside him for the scene, which see Cruise jumping over him during a chase round the exterior of the building.

Sky-high chase: cruise and another actor tussle in the scene which sees them scale round the exterior of the building

A helicopter hovered just ten feet away from the building as crew inside filmed the scene for the movie, which will be released next year.

And even by his standards, this weekend's stunt was Cruise's most dangerous yet, as onlookers watched with their heart in their mouths.

And for those doubting it was the star hanging from Burj Khalifa, Tom himself confirmed he would be performing the stunt days before shooting began.

He said: 'I'll be spending many days, many hours on the side of this building. I can't give details, but I will be up there.'

And his spokeswoman added: '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.'



Heavens above: A helicopter hovers by the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa to film Cruise perform his death-defying stunt

In awe: Fans and tourists take pictures of Cruise performing his stunt

After filming the dangerous scene, Cruise was joined by his co-stars Jeremy Renner, 39, and Paula Patton, 34, at the Armani hotel where they held a press conference to announce that the fourth installment in the movie franchise will be called Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

Cruise is well-known for doing his own stunts in all his movies, especially the Mission: Impossible films.

He has filmed many for his character, Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt,and designs them and meticulously calculates and goes through every jump, roll, skid and slide with his co-stars and the director.

Speaking to the Daily Record this summer, he said: 'I want to entertain the audience and part of making these movies is doing my own stunts.

Back down to earth: His feet firmly on the ground, Cruise was joined by his Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol co-stars Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton at a press conference for the movie

'I love having the camera right there in front of me, where you can see me holding a shot all the way through.

'I think it adds to the excitement for an audience. It's something that is challenging to do and fun for me.



'There's always that adrenalin before you do a stunt. But we go through everything, we prepare and we make sure we are ready.'

Daredevil: Tom drives a bike through fire and climbs a mountain unassisted for Mission: Impossible II







