CRUISE CONTROL

The risk-taking Mission: Impossible star refuses to slow down

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From death-defying feats to singing up a storm? That doesn't sound like the Tom Cruise we know! But the daredevil actor - who has soared to superstardom by jumping off buildings, straddling airplane wings and driving motorcycles over cliffs - has something different in mind as he ponders his future.

“Definitely musicals,” Tom confessed to fans at London’s British Film Institute when asked what’s next on his bucket list. “Drama, action, adventures. It’s endless. My goals are endless.”

The father of three - who already impressed fans with his vocal chops when he played lead singer Stacee Jaxx in 2012’s Rock of Ages - will undoubtedly be hitting the high notes as soon as the right script comes his way. Meanwhile, he’s beyond grateful to have filled his career with risky business.

“I remember as a child, four years old, I wanted to make movies,” Tom said in Tokyo while promoting his latest film, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (out on May 23). “And I wanted to travel the world and learn about people and culture. And I wanted to fly jets and airplanes and parachutes and motorcycles and cars and learn how to do samurai swords. So to be able to live my dream and to be accepted and allowed to entertain audiences, it’s something that I never take for granted.”

This may be the last hurrah for Tom’s cinematic alter ego, secret agent Ethan Hunt. But after a lifetime of ruling at the box office in everything from romantic drama Jerry Maguire (1996) to the Top Gun franchise, the 62-year-old still has lots left in the tank and welcomes whatever lies ahead, regardless of the film genre.

“Life is about learning,” he says. “It’s about learning about each other. It’s about learning skills and applying them. It’s not that [what I do] isn’t challenging or difficult – I just don’t mind the challenge or things being difficult. And I just never, ever give up, no matter what.”