LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A diminutive, ageing action hero who is clean-cut but controversial, world-famous yet utterly secretive: Tom Cruise’s reign as the world’s top movie star has long defied time, expectations and – when stunts are involved – gravity.

The daredevil star, who famously insists on doing his own leaps, chases and plunges, abseiled from the roof of the Stade de France at the climax of the Paris Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday, leaving the country to reluctantly bid farewell to a Games hailed as one of the most successful in history.

Cruise descended on a wire in front of 71,500 spectators, grabbed the Olympic flag and jumped on a motorbike, to the delight of athletes and fans.

In a preview of what the world can expect when the Games head to Los Angeles in 2028, the Mission Impossible star was then shown boarding a plane and skydiving into the Californian city before adorning the iconic Hollywood sign with the Olympic rings.

The 62-year-old actor rode a motorbike off a cliff for last year’s Mission: Impossible installment, and still runs rings around Hollywood’s young pretenders when it comes to action sequences.

Cruise first emerged as one of the bratty young stars of 1980s Hollywood with The Outsiders and Risky Business.

The fiercely intense and ambitious actor embarked on one of the all-time Hollywood hot streaks with hits like Top Gun, Rain Man, A Few Good Men and Jerry Maguire. Despite standing at just 5’7″, he successfully pivoted toward action films with 1996’s Mission: Impossible.

-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin