Tom Cruise performs death-defying stunt at 61

Tom Cruise left the crew of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning in ‘absolute terror’ when he performed a ‘death-defying’ stunt on set.

The 61-year-old is known for performing his own wild stunts, and for one of the films, he's even scaled the outside of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, located in Dubai.

In the latest instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise, fans will see his character Ethan Hunt speed flying - which involves using a small paraglider wing to rapidly descend to great heights.

“It’s a very beautiful and delicate sport,” Cruise shared in a behind-the-scenes featurette about the film.

“We’re going to do spirals, and we’re landing at an incredibly high speed, over 80 kilometres an hour.”

The actor spent years training for the stunt, which is possibly his most dangerous yet.

In the behind-the-scenes featurette, Christopher McQuarrie, the film’s director, said speed gliding is one of the most “dangerous sports in the world”.

“While it may look similar, speed-flying is not skydiving. Skydiving is fairly predictable. Speed-flying is very unpredictable,” he explained.

“Flying close to rocks looks quite beautiful. Behind the scenes, we were all in absolute terror.”

Cruise also drives a motorbike off a cliff in the new film.

"We have a motto on this movie now, which is, "that's a terrible idea. When do we start?" McQuarrie said in an interview with ABC News.

"The more ill-advised something seems, that's how we know we're onto something. And what you're seeing in this movie is just Tom and I taking everything we've learned from all the movies previously — not just Mission: Impossible — [but] Top Gun, Edge of Tomorrow. All the movies we've done separately and together and just applying it to this one."

At the London premiere of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Cruise said the film was a culmination of years of training.

“It was actually years of training… because I fly jets, I fly helicopters, I fly aeroplanes. I’m a skydiver, I’m a parachuter, race cars, motorcycles,” he said.

“(This film) was a culmination of all my skills…. There’s a lot going on there’s a lot happening… (but) the most important part is getting the shot and getting the story across.”

The actor also said this film takes the franchise to another level.

“Each one is different – we give you Mission: Impossible, but the scale and emotion of this film – it truly is an epic adventure,” he said.

“The whole franchise has led to this and I think it’s our biggest moment. If you haven’t seen a Mission: Impossible then it doesn’t matter, you’re still going to get a great adventure.”

The actor has played secret agent Ethan Hunt in six other Mission Impossible films, with the first being released in 1996.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning is out in cinemas in Australia this week.