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Tom Cruise departed from his usual kinds of movies to doThe Last Samurai. At a time when Cruise was stepping into futuristic roles, little did fans expect of him to go back in time for an epic period action drama. The film involved a lot of martial arts sequences and Cruise loved a challenge when it came to such roles. Cruise also delivered acting-wise, bringing an emotional and psychological depth to his character, Captain Nathan Algren.
However, one stunt artist might’ve given Cruise a run for his money when it came to commitment to their role. The said artist was injured during a scene but decided to stay in character even though he was just a background actor. While Cruise was nominated for a Golden Globe, the stunt artist’s effort went largely unnoticed.
Tom Cruise’sThe Last Samuraibackground artist proves to be a bigger badass than the actor
Tom Cruiseunderwentextensive training to transform into Nathan Algren, which meant he had to learn martial arts and sword fighting. Cruise approached it with his usual dedication, as seen in theMission: Impossiblefilms. Edward Zwick only had to worry about carrying the emotional weight of the film, as the stunts happened to be in safe hands.
Forget the Bike Jump, Mission Impossible 7 Part Two to Feature Even Deadlier Tom Cruise Stunt: “We can do better”
During one of the scenes inThe Last Samurai, Cruise’s character leads a cavalry and enters a fenced compound where soldiers are standing in an organized manner. Cruise’s horse stops in the middle of these soldiers so that Algren can dismount from his horse. However, fans noticed something in this particular scene (via Reddit).
When the horse came to a stop, it kicked one of the stunt artists in the background. He took a pretty good kick in the stomach that would’ve brought anyone else down. Despite potentially injuring himself from the kick, the actor didn’t show that he was hurt. He stood up straight immediately and took his spot as if nothing had happened.
Other sites likeWhatCulturenoted that the horse could’ve kicked the artists’ private parts, which makes it even more painful.
Tom Cruise narrowly escaped death on the set ofThe Last Samurai
When we say Tom Cruise does death-defying stunts in his films, we literally mean it. There were several instances when the actor came close to meeting his end while filming elaborate stunt sequences. One stunt scene inThe Last Samuraicould’ve gone horribly wrong for the actor.
“Maybe I should have kept this one to myself”: Mission: Impossible Director Felt 1 Tom Cruise Stunt Was Too Risky Even for Him Only to Call it ‘Tame’ Afterwards
During one of the crucial scenes in the film, Cruise’s Nathan Algren is fighting Emmy-winnerHiroyuki Sanada‘s Ujio on horseback. The film actually used mechanical horses for the scene. These horses were set to charge at each other and stop before Sanada swung his sword at Cruise. For some reason, the film decided to use a real samurai sword in the scene.
Cruise’s mechanical horse didn’t stop and Cruise came close to being beheaded by Sanada. It was reported that he came within an inch close to the blade. Sanada recalled the encounter in an interview withDaily Mail:
Tom’s neck was right in front of me, and I tried to stop swinging my sword, but it was hard to control with one hand. The film crew watching from the side all screamed because they thought Tom’s head would fly off.
Cruise’s efforts paid off as the film earned a total of $456.8 million at the box office against a $140 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). The critics were also satisfied with the epic, praising the high production values and fight sequences.
The Last Samuraiis now available for rent on AppleTV.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3017
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
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The Last SamuraiTom Cruise
