Tom Cruise performs insanely dangerous stunts as if he is going to take a stroll in the park. We are not going to lie, we are always in awe of how the actor manages to pull every stunt off every single time. Whether it is flying an actual helicopter or climbing a 2,000 feet tall cliff, Tom Cruise has not failed to impress his fans every step of the way.
However, what we sometimes might fail to take into account is how Tom Cruise’s close ones feel when they see him risking his life for his films. Everyone aside, Tom Cruise found the biggest supporter in his mother, Mary Lee South, who knew about her son’s shenanigans ever since his childhood. Although, even his mother couldn’t bear to watch him perform a stunt on an airplane in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
A Stunt that Shocked Tom Cruise’s Mother
Talking to Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Tom Cruise recalled his mother’s reaction to the extremely dangerous stunt he performed in the 2015 film, Rogue Nation. In the stunt, Cruise can be seen dangling on the side of an Airbus 400 as the plane takes off from the ground.
Putting on his best Southern accent to mimic his mother, Cruise stated, “She is such a beautiful soul”: Tom Cruise Owes His $600 Million Hollywood Fortune to One Woman
“Later on, she saw some of the stuff…She was Southern …I showed her when I was on the A-400, the side of the airplane in Rogue Nation. She’s like, ‘Honey…is that – is that you on the side of that airplane?’ I said, ‘Yes ma’am.’ She goes, ‘Oh Lord, I’m so glad you didn’t tell me about that one. I just don’t need to know.’”
Well, we cannot blame her as sometimes, in some things, ignorance is bliss! Mary Lee South peacefully passed away in 2017 in her sleep at the age of eighty.
Tom Cruise Found His Greatest Supporter in His Mother
Cruise would use words like, “bully” and “coward” to describe his father, Thomas Cruise Mapother. However, he had nothing but praise, love, and respect for his mother. Talking to James Lipton, Cruise stated, “My mother is a very warm, charismatic woman.”
When the Top Gun: Maverick actor found his interest in theatre, there was no one who could’ve supported him more than his mother. South once told Rolling Stone,
“He used to create skits and imitate Donald Duck and Woody Woodpecker and W.C. Fields when he was just a tiny lot. I guess I was his greatest audience.”
When a knee injury stopped Cruise from pursuing Wrestling, he was encouraged by South to audition for his school’s Guys and Dolls play. Perhaps his role as Nathan Detroit in the skit sparked something inside him because he went home after the show with a special request for South and her second husband, Jack South. He asked the couple sitting in front of him if he could take ten years of his life and devote it to show business. South recalled,
“[To] make a long story short, we gave him our blessing – and the rest is history.”
Cruise’s relationship with his mother is a great example of how supportive parents can set their children up for success. If South hadn’t encouraged Cruise to go after his dreams, maybe we wouldn’t have had the superstar ruling the entertainment industry today.