Actor Tom Cruise is a Thrill-Seeker Roof Junkie

62-year-old actor was in London to receive an honor and was filmed atop BFI IMAX building

Actor Tom Cruise was filmed atop the BFI IMAX Building in London to promote “Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning.” — Image courtesy of YUB17Y | X

The 62-year-old actor was in London last weekend to receive an honorary British Film Institute Fellowship, with the organization celebrating his versatile career.
— Image courtesy of YUB17Y | X

Actor Tom Cruise gave Londoners quite a sight last weekend when he was spotted on the roof of the BFI IMAX building during his visit to the capital.

Cruise was filmed by passersby on the roof of the landmark cinema wearing a tuxedo. The building houses the UK’s largest cinema screen, 65 feet high — the equivalent of five double-decker buses — and 85 feet wide.

The stunt, first reported by The Independent, was a promotion for the star’s new film “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.”

The sequel, which is scheduled for release on May 23, will be one of the most expensive films ever made, with an estimated budget of $400m.

Cruise will reprise his role as super spy Ethan Hunt in the franchise’s final installment. "Severance" actor Tramell Tillman and "Ted Lasso" star Hannah Waddingham will also appear.

Video courtesy of The Independent

Cruise’s BFI IMAX stunt is the latest high-top exploit the actor has undertaken during his career: Last August, the action star jumped from the roof of the Stade de France during the Olympic handover ceremony from Paris to Los Angeles.

Cruise admitted he’d enjoyed scaling buildings since he was a child while being interviewed by a reporter at the event celebrating his BFI Fellowship.

“I was a kid that opened a window and I’d crawl on the roof and look at the stars,” Cruise said. “I’d wake up and I’d sneak out and I was three years old.”

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Bryan Gottlieb is the online editor at Engineering News-Record (ENR).

Gottlieb is a five-time Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism award winner with more than a decade of experience covering business, construction, and community issues. He has worked at Adweek, managed a community newsroom in Santa Monica, Calif., and reported on finance, law, and real estate for the San Diego Daily Transcript. He later served as editor-in-chief of the Detroit Metro Times and was managing editor at Roofing Contractor, where he helped shape national industry coverage.

Gottlieb covers breaking news, large-scale infrastructure projects, new products and business.