Hayley Atwell blown away by Tom Cruise’s running skills

Tom Cruise’s stunts may get the most attention, but his running abilities have been wowing co-stars and audiences for 40+ years.

While his elaborate and death-defying stunts tend to fill up the bulk of his highlight reels, Tom Cruise is a hell of a runner, too. After all, one of the biggest studios in Hollywood doesn’t make a 10-minute compilation of you doing so for nothing. Not surprisingly, his co-stars are wildly impressed by this feat of athleticism, too.

Hayley Atwell, who co-stars with Tom Cruise in this summer’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (and its 2024 follow-up), not only had to watch the actor speed across the screen, but actually had to run with him – with the added challenge that she was in heels and handcuffed to him. “What I’ve noticed on set is it’s not his speed that’s the most impressive. He’s studied the form, he’s studied how to run. So when he’s running, it feels like it’s with every cell in his body, as if he’s running towards the thing he wants to save and also running away from a bear. There’s not a lazy foot or a turned in knee at any point, and it creates this form that’s really beautiful to watch because it’s anatomically correct. It’s kind of amazing because you think some people might be faster than him, but he runs with such an urgency where you feel it.” No wonder it has become something of a badge of honor to run alongside him in a movie.

Tom Cruise’s running is so prevalent in his movies – he has reportedly ran in around 85% of them – that it has even been the subject of studies and analyses. Cruise is also quite aware of all of it, making his Instagram bio read, “Actor. Producer. Running in movies since 1981,” also adding that he could run 17 mph at one point. Obviously he can’t sustain this for extended periods, otherwise he would finish a marathon in a little over an hour and a half. Cruise is good but he’s not cruising 26.2 at that pace! For what it’s worth, six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee thinks she could improve his time by fixing his posture.

You can see Tom Cruise run, motorcycle and who knows what else now that Dead Reckoning – Part One has hit theaters.

What is your favorite Tom Cruise running scene? Give us your pick in the comments section below!