Actor Performs Terrifying Stunt Holding onto Flying Plane

53-year-old Hollywood actor Tom Cruise does as many of his own stunts as he is capable of doing, including one on a plane that looks more and more terrifying every time you’ve seen it.

The actor is meant to climb on a plane’s wing moments before it takes off, but before he can get the door open, the plane begins ascending with him hanging on for dear life. And it’s all real — no green screens, no stunt doubles, no CGI. Tom Cruise actually stood on a plane during takeoff, (other than a rope insuring he wont fall to certain death, if he were to lose his grip).

On Monday, the studio released a behind-the-scenes featurette focusing entirely on the stunt. There are a few interesting tidbits in the video, including the fact that what they thought would be a single-take scene turned into eight separate takes. That’s eight times Cruise risked his life to make sure they got the shot right.

“If something went wrong, I can’t get into the airplane until we land,” explained Cruise.