Tom Cruise's fear while filming on world's tallest building: "Falling"
(CBS/AP) While Tom Cruise is a big action-movie star who does his own stunts, it doesn't mean he is completely fearless when it comes to doing scenes on the tallest building in the world.
When the actor was asked about his biggest fear during scenes outside the half-mile high Burj Khalifa, Cruise was quick with an answer: "Falling."
Cruise is in Dubai for the world premier of "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" at the city's annual film festival.
Falling wasn't Cruise's only fear, he said filmmakers had to monitor temperatures of the building surface so he wouldn't get burned.
He spent months training on a four-story structure to practice his moves on the Burj. Most of the shots on the actual building were done in the shade to protect Cruise from high temperatures, as the facade heated up in sunlight.
In addition to dealing with the heat of the building, cross winds were a factor too.
"I had to figure out, actually, how to fly," he told reporters on the 124th floor observation area of the Burj Khalifa, which rises dozens of stories higher. " I had to figure out how to use my feet as a rudder...The first couple of times I was slamming into the building."
He acknowledged while his wife, Katie Holmes, is supportive and accustomed to watching him taking risks on stunts, it didn't make it any easier to watch.
Director Brad Bird said Holmes watched Cruise do a couple of takes on the side of the Burj before dealing: "OK, we're done."
"When you see it and he's out there, it's nerve-racking," Bird said.
Cruise was joined in Dubai with co-stars Paula Patton, Simon Pegg and Anil Kappor.
The film, which is the fourth installment in the "Mission" series, has been shown at selected "fan screenings" around the world, but Dubai marks the general audience premier.