When we talk about legends of action movies, certainly Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s name comes to mind. But the actor who redefined action movies with his own blend of jaw-dropping stunts is none other than the legendary Tom Cruise.UFC’s Joe Rogan appears to be a pretty huge fan of the Hollywood A-lister, as the 55-year-old recently expressed how baffled he was after learning about Cruise’s acting legacy.

One of the biggest movie franchises of all time, the ‘Mission: Impossible’ saga, recently concluded its Ethan Hunt storyline, who is the protagonist of the series. Tom Cruise portrayed that role for almost three decades, which has the biggest franchise of his acting career. In that regard, Joe Rogan recently appeared very surprised about the fact that Cruise, who’s crossed his sixties, is still going strong with this franchise, racking up $4.3 billion in earnings.

“Wow. That’s wild… So, he’s been basically doing Mission: Impossible for thirty years. He’s 62 now,” Joe Rogan stated on the #2342 JRE episode. “But he doesn’t do that in the other movies he does.” The UFC commentator may not be aware, but Tom Cruise has a couple of movie franchises he’s worked in. This list includes the ‘Jack Reacher’ and the ‘Top Gun’ duologies. And guess what? Cruise has done his own stunts in all of these movies.

It was then that the guest, Jim Norton, reminded Joe Rogan about Tom Cruise’s ankle injury, which he sustained while engaging in a stunt for the sixth edition of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise. The JRE host seemed to be aware of that as he went on to add that Cruise compelled the whole stunt even though he hurt himself. Rogan believes that the actor is on another level in comparison to the other actors, while claiming that his movies will stand the test of time.

“He also broke his ankle. He was jumping from one building to another and destroyed his ankle,” Jim Norton added. Joe Rogan replied. “He finished the shot. You can see his ankle collapse when he hits the wall. He’s a f—ing nut, man. Like, real nut… Seven [Mission: Impossible movies]? So it all started in ’96?… Jesus Christ! That guy’s been in some f—ing banger movies.”

If you take a look at some of his stunts, one may wonder: Why take that kind of risk? Well, Tom Cruise is a man on a mission because not only does he love the thrill of it, he also wants the wow the audience with his artistic touch with those stunts. Here’s what he had to say.

Tom Cruise simply loves to ‘entertain’ movie-goers

For those who think actors have it easy, well, Tom Cruise does not fall into that category as he symbolizes what hard work in moving movie-making and acting is. But why go so far as to engage in dangerous stunts? If we take a look at it from a fan’s point of view, they simply want to get their money’s worth whenever they pay to watch a movie. Moreover, the ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies are all about the stunts getting crazier with each new installment, and Cruise believes he’s got a duty to deliver that to the fans.

“I know we can always take a story and create something special out of it,” Tom Cruise stated in an interview with ‘Rotten Tomatoes’. “It just takes that kind of intention and effort and know-how and just, you know, hard work to do it that I love doing.” Well, he’s not wrong about the intention of making his movies look perfect because he even learned some skills, like flying a plane, for some of his movies.

Cruise stole the show at the 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremony, performing a dramatic abseil from the Stade de France—just another day at the office for him. Cruise ranks among Hollywood’s highest grossers, with films earning over $12 billion globally, plus accolades including three Golden Globes, four Oscar nominations, and a 2025 BFI Fellowship. But thankfully, being in the 60s isn’t a deal breaker, as he will be giving us some great banger movies in the future. So tell us, are you a Tom Cruise fan like Joe Rogan? Drop your comments below.