Tom Cruise: I smile through my film stunts

Tom Cruise says he enjoys performing stunts so much he has to be told to stop smiling.

The Hollywood star, 58, has been filming sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

He told The Graham Norton Show: “I am a very physical actor and I love doing them (stunts).

“I study and train and take a lot of time figuring it all out. I have broken a lot of bones.

“The first time of any stunt is nerve-racking but it also exhilarating. I have been told a few times during shooting a stunt to stop smiling.”

He said of reprising the famous role: “It was just that moment when I thought, ‘If I’m going to do this, now’s the time.’”

Cruise told Norton: “Being here is the first time I have been out of the film bubble – this is just incredible.

“From the moment we were in lockdown I have been working seven days a week almost around the clock because we were finishing Top Gun and prepping Mission Impossible.

“They shut down Mission and said we wouldn’t film for another year, so I had to figure it out.

“We worked with governments, doctors and our crew to keep everyone working – I haven’t had that banana bread moment yet.”

Norton’s chat show also features Cruise’s Top Gun co-stars Jennifer Connelly and Miles Teller, as well as actors Felicity Jones and Wunmi Mosaku, comic John Bishop, and music from Years & Years.

Mosaku has been nominated for a Bafta for her role in horror thriller His House.

But asked if she likes horror TV and movies, she said: “I don’t like being scared just for the sake of it. I don’t get it and it’s not my cup of tea.

“I don’t know why I find myself in them. I much prefer love stories and musicals. I did forget it was a horror because there is so much heart and humanity in it.”

The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One on Friday at 10.45pm and is also available on BBC iPlayer.