Cruise Control: 16 Flaming Falls And A World Record

Some men fake it on the green screens. Some hang off the planes. And then there's the daredevil- Tom Cruise, who just burned through a Guinness World Record with sixteen consecutive parachute jumps, all done with a flaming canopy strapped to his back.

For a sequence in Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning, Cruise plummeted through the sky with his parachute on fire, repeatedly. Obviously, this was no once-and-done stunt.

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The Hollywood actor is known to perform death defying stunts for his films but to perform a parachute on fire sixteen times until every camera angle is perfect, every puff of smoke is timed like punctuation is beyond imagination.

Hell, you'd think it's a simulation but Cruise did it. Doused in aviation fuel, igniting the air above South Africa's Drakensberg mountains, and switching to a backup chute all during a mid-descent, that too, with precision, is no joke. If one were not aware that it's a Tom Cruise stunt, one would take it to a tall-tale.

But Guinness World Records definitely took note of this, of course. The record? 'Most burning parachute jumps by an individual'-- yeah that is actually a real category now.

With months and months of preparation, a team of daredevil engineers, and a camera rig bolted to his body for a two-second shot that sells fantasy, extreme adventure and thrill, Cruise seems to be unstoppable and at this rate unmatchable.

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According to Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records editor-in-chief, "Tom doesn't just play action heroes - he is an action hero! A large part of his success can be chalked up to his absolute focus on authenticity and pushing the boundaries of what a leading man can do. It's an honour to be able to recognise his utter fearlessness with this new Guinness World Records title."

But what really goes behind the scenes to be able to achieve this? There are gym bodies, and action hero bodies but Cruise doesn't fit in either of those.

By that I don't mean he is not fit, of course. But there's more to the Cruise condition that trained for velocity, altitude, and impact. The kind that lands, adjusts the camera rig, and goes up again.

It is not a matter of a few push-ups and eating clean. It is as much about mobility drills, plyometric jumps in altitude chambers, isometric holds and breath training as much as mental resilience.

When you think of the Guinness World Record by the actor, your mind doesn't necessarily drift to his flex of physical dominance, it is his ability to override fear, to silence hesitation despite knowing the margin of error is one heartbeat.

Building mental resilience is a conscious, daily confrontation with your limits. It is a practice. It is self-discipline at the core alongside functional strength, and core stability.

We have seen that work out for the Mission Impossible actor a couple of times before: hanging off a plane mid air, holding his breath for six minutes underwater, motorcycling off a cliff into a BASE dive.

And now with a record-breaking, record-defining stunt that burns into the modern myth of manhood and is a reminder what self-discipline, obsession and unflinching willpower can do.

In a behind-the-scenes featurette of the scene revealed all 16 takes after the actor walked through the stunt with the crew. The actor was seen stating, "We're gonna be real smart. I'm not saying be risky. We don't take risks... obviously" and that just reveals a lot about his process when it comes to these extremely dangerous stunts.