At this point in his career, Tom Cruise is known to not only come up with crazy stunts, but to then complete those stunts himself onscreen. So, no, John Oliver doesn’t think the actor will eventually have a peaceful death — unless it’s under a very specific circumstance.
Sunday night’s episode of “Last Week Tonight” focused on Air Traffic Control and the problems it’s faced for years now. To kick off the segment, the HBO host called attention to a recent near-crash, in which a plane nearly landed on top of another plane because they’d both been cleared for the same runway.
“Well, that is terrifying. Planes should definitely not be landing on top of each other,” Oliver said. “And I say that knowing that there is a non-zero chance Tom Cruise will hear me and immediately green light a new ‘Mission: Impossible’ to do exactly that himself.”
Indeed, the “Mission: Impossible” films have included no shortage of crazy plane stunts over the years, often resulting in Cruise hanging off the side of one. In the most recent installment, “The Final Reckoning,” Cruise literally clings to the side of a biplane to fight the pilot in it, as said pilot takes the plane through insane maneuvers to try and shake him off. It’s cool, but also very stressful.
From there, Oliver went on a short tangent about Cruise, worrying about the actor’s future and how he’ll meet his eventual end.
“I am not saying that he’s trying to die on camera, I’m just saying the only way Tom Cruise passes away peacefully in his bed is if the bed is being dropped into an active volcano to somehow save the live movie-going experience,” he joked.
You can watch the moment, along with John Oliver’s full segment on air traffic control, in the video above.
