Tom Cruise lands chopper like a pro on ‘M:I 8’ set: He’s ‘taken our breath away’

Tom Cruise just pulled off some pretty risky business.

The 59-year-old action star proved that he still does his own stunts by accomplishing a “Top Gun” moment on Tuesday: landing his own helicopter in South Africa.

And in typical Tom Cruise fashion, he was smiling and waving the whole time.

Gillian Soames, who lives in Hoedspruit, Limpopo, said the “Jack Reacher” actor has flown by her town several times, but she got to witness his megawatt smile up close when she snapped photos of him expertly landing the chopper.

“For the last week, he has driven past my house two or three times a day and flies over every day and night to wherever they are filming that day,” she told South West News Service.

In fact, Soames said that Cruise was staying just a few hundred meters from her home and has been a “delight” to locals.

“I must have seen him 11 times now,” she added, “but yesterday was the first time he took off his mask to smile for us so we could see his face.”

Soames, 49, also added it’s the first time she’s seen him flying the helicopter on his own, although the veteran actor is well-known for doing his own risky stunts — like recently when he was photographed riding atop a speeding train and grinning for fans and paparazzi.

“It was also the first time he flew the chopper himself,” she noted to SWNS. “He normally has a pilot but he came and landed it himself.”

In photos, Cruise, wearing a mask with black aviator sunglasses, can be seen manning the chopper with a co-pilot as well as smiling and waving to cameras and locals after disembarking the aircraft. In November, Cruise was seen getting flying lessons at Duxford Airfield in Cambridge specifically for this film, which has been marred by COVID shutdowns and alleged budget disputes. The actor was also seen the same month hanging off the wing of an airplane for another wild stunt.

While the small town of Hoedspruit, population 3,157, was delighted to host an A-lister, Soames said she was ecstatic to witness a “real ‘Top Gun’ moment” while he films the eighth installment of “Mission: Impossible” — which will be released on June 28, 2024, while “M:I 7” is slated for July 14, 2023 — in nearby Blyde River Canyon and Swadini nature reserve.

“When I think of ‘Top Gun,’ I always think of the song ‘Take My Breath Away.’ He has taken our breath away, but hopefully, we have taken his, too, as the area, with the vistas, mountains and the landscapes, is so stunningly beautiful,” Soames added.

The fan of the “Edge of Tomorrow” action hero explained that “many celebrities pass through” the area while hunting big game, but the “Mission: Impossible” star’s presence has particularly excited the town.

“We are gentle bush people who tread softly on the earth and are not ones to mob, swarm or bombard him. The reason why he has been so accommodating and fabulous is we have been treating him with respect as well,” she said.

“But this is Tom Cruise so he cannot be ignored.”