Even though The Mummy (2017) turned out to be one of the biggest bombs that Tom Cruise has been associated with, we have to say that it still had a few cool action sequences. And among them, those who did watch the film got to enjoy his trademark running sequence that we get from every one of his films. But this time, he wasn’t seen running alone. His co-star Annabelle Wallis was seen running alongside him. It was a pretty cool sequence, but Tom Cruise almost didn’t allow her to run alongside him.
So far, we’ve witnessed several of his running sequences. Mission: Impossible 3 & 6 had two of the longest runs of his career. In the above video, you could see the evolution of his running sequences. You’d see how it became his thing in every one of his films. There are only a few films where he didn’t run. And there is only a handful where he ran with one of his costars. Rebecca Ferguson, Emily Blunt, Cobie Smulders, and Jeremy Renner are among a few lucky actors to have shared a running sequence with him. Annabelle Wallis joined this small list of actors who’ve run with him. Keep in mind that we’re not counting those film sequences where a bunch of side actors were seen running with him.
Anyway, what’s amazing is that she actually had to earn her running sequence. She loved it so much that she actually compared it to winning an Oscar. She revealed that at first, Cruise almost didn’t let her run with him, saying that “Nobody runs on-screen [with him].” Before you take this as an arrogant remark, you have to read the whole quote of Wallis.
In her recent interview, she said:
“I don’t think they ever will. He’s Tom Cruise. He’s his own thing. He’s such a movie star, and he does his own bloody stunts! He means business, and he loves this business. He’s a cinephile. I think people are in awe of that kind of passion and love for cinema and a desire to excel, to keep growing and keep pushing boundaries. He’s on a different level, and, you know, I ticked a box. I got to run on-screen with him, but he told me no at first. He said, “Nobody runs on-screen [with me],” and I said, “But I’m a really good runner.” So, I would time my treadmill so that he’d walk in and see me run. And then he added all these running scenes. So, that was it. It was, like, better than an Oscar. I was so happy! (Laughs.) I was so happy that I got to run on-screen with Tom Cruise. But I don’t think it ever goes away and I hope it never does. It’s so wonderful to be excited by someone and in awe of what they’ve achieved in their lives. Yeah, good on him. And I hope the questions never stop. I love talking about him. It’s really cool.”
People love Tom Cruise for what he does. He is known for pushing the cinematic boundaries with every new film of his. Over years of hard work, he has earned a trademark over his running sequences. So, he’d always have the final say upon running alone or with a co-star in a particular sequence. Since he is the master of long runs, he has every right to choose how it has to be done. This certainly shouldn’t be taken as arrogant behavior. As you could see from Annabelle Wallis’ comments, she felt lucky to be chosen for the sequence. It’d be a similar feeling for Cruise’s other co-stars.
While Tom Cruise has his “running choices,” you’d find several actors having other weird clauses in their contracts. For instance, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson & Jason Statham have all signed contracts that they’d only take a limited number of punches in an on-screen fight sequence. We love what these action movie stars do on the big screen. And these conditions in their contracts are what make them look like total bad-asses. So, there’s nothing wrong with these weird and sort of funny rules that they create for themselves.
