Does It Matter Whether Stars Do Their Own Stunts?

By now, Tom Cruises penchant for performing his own stunts is known the world over.

Its an image so powerful that its appeared consistently in the movies promotion.

But still, stunt doubles were still on hand to perform some of the most dangerous sequences.

But do actors necessarily need to do their own stunts?

Could it even be foolhardy for an actor to put themselves at risk in a multi-million dollar movie?

Some actors turn around and say they do everything themselves, Schwarzeneggertold uson the set ofTerminator Genisyslast year.

You have experts in wardrobe.

You have publicists that deal with the media.

You have the stunt people with the ways of making this crazy action a reality.

Its a harsh reality that filmmakers and stuntmen commonly have to deal with.

Remember the incredible bit where Ford climbed under the Nazi truck inRaiders Of The Lost Ark?

What he had to do was come up with something his rivals couldnt simply copy.

Something people hadnt seen before.

Police Story,released in 1985, was arguably the film that launched Jackie Chan as a global super-star.

Another saw Chan use the curved handle of an umbrella to hang from the side of a fast-moving bus.

Police Storywas really my big breakthrough, where even Hollywood was shocked,Chan told us last year.

What kind of person would do this?

Is he still alive?

I really risked my life to make that movie.

Cruise, perhaps better than any other star in Hollywood, understands the value of a practical stunt.

So if this is the case, does it really matter whether Hollywood stars perform their own stunts anymore?

Ninety-nine percent of the time, the answers surely a bigno.

But Cruise has managed to turn headline-grabbing stunts into his own signature move.

The sensation of the wind whipping at his heels as he dangles high over Dubais freshly laid pavements.