Tom Cruise Talks Almost Being Iron Man, Praises Robert Downey Jr.

The rumors which often circle of Tom Cruise having once almost been Iron Man are not entirely true, as the mega-star confirmed the almost-casting while promoting his new film Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

Speaking to ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview, Cruise opened up about the time when he was almost Iron Man. As it turns out, it might not have been as close as those composite images of his face on Tony Stark’s would have you believe. “Not close,” Cruise said. “Not close, and I love Robert Downey Jr. I can’t imagine anyone else in that role, and I think it’s perfect for him.”

As for whether or not Cruise hopes to get on the superhero train at this point, he’s open to the idea. “I look at a movie and I don’t rule anything out,” Cruise said. “It’s, ‘What’s the story? Does it interest me? Do I feel this is where the audience would like to see me in? What can I learn?’ And ‘What can I contribute?’ That’s how I choose my movies.”

While it’s unclear what fans should expect if Cruise were to ever join the ranks of comic book heroes in live action, they will certainly earn his uncontested dedication. The actor suffered a serious injury while performing a stunt on the set of Mission: Impossible – Fallout, but continued with the shot to ensure the take was completed. “It’s in the movie,” Cruise said of the clip.

“That hurt. It hurt,” Cruise said of the injury. “I knew, ‘I don’t want to do the take again!’ I just got up, walked out, and I knew it was broken the moment it broke. I just know movies, instantly, I was thinking, ‘I better get over this! Otherwise, I’m gonna have to come back and do it again.’”

The accident happened when Cruise leapt from one building to another. As it turns out, he was running so fast in prior takes, that he would bounce off of the building. When he tried to slow down, his ankle ended up catching the brunt of it.

Such a stunt is hardly the most impressive feat from Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, as he also performed an insane skydiving jump, in character, multiple times for an intense sequence which was shown off during Paramount Pictures’ CinemaCon presentation.

Mission: Impossible Fallout hits theaters on July 27, 2018.