Tom Cruise does his own stunts... is there nothing this man can't do?

That's not a new claim - either for Cruise or for other movie stars - but while the Hollywood publicity machine is no stranger to exaggeration and outright fabrication, it does seem that in Cruise's case, there's some basis in fact and has been for years.

Spinning and diving in aeroplanes, motorbike riding, climbing skyscrapers, skydiving, scaling cliffs, jumping between buildings - is there nothing this man can't do?

Well, undoubtedly: he wasn't allowed to pilot any of the navy fighter jets used in the new movie, but even being a passenger required emergency ejection and survival training.

And no doubt there have been other times when he's been told, or decides, no. That's not a slur: nobody can do everything, and the most well-planned stunt can still go wrong.

Cruise's athleticism is often remarked upon - many of his films have at least one see-Tom-run sequence - but given he carries most of the movies he makes, there's a lot at stake every time he steps in front of a camera.

When he decides to do things that most of us wouldn't or couldn't even if we were paid the same money he is, surely the directors, studios and insurers are a little worried.

But he's Tom Cruise, and it seems he long ago reached the point where he can, and does, do what he wants.

And that, apparently, includes risking life and limb for the sake of his art, and his audience, even when many of his fellow actors would be perfectly happy to let a stunt performer do their thing.

Not that Cruise is a complete daredevil. Nobody wants to be the person on whose watch Tom Cruise dies, so you can be sure every detail is worked out, every safety protocol is followed, every security wire or cable is put in place (these can now be digitally erased, of course). Still, even with every possible precaution, hanging outside a high window on the world's tallest building would give many of us pause (it certainly does me).

Recently asked at Cannes why he does his own stunts, Cruise reportedly replied, "No one asked Gene Kelly, 'Why do you dance?'"

Well, no, but the risk of Kelly dying while engaged in even the most vigorous of tap dances was far lower than many of Cruise's physical activities on screen. Both men did, however, suffer broken ankles. Cruise's injury came when he jumped between buildings in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, but he was apparently back on set within several weeks.

Kelly wasn't filming when he broke his ankle. He suffered the injury while playing volleyball which led to Fred Astaire coming out of an early retirement to replace him in the 1948 musical Easter Parade (happy ending: both men went on to even more career success).

Dancing isn't stunt work, though some scenes - Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling in Royal Wedding, lots of routines by the Nicholas Brothers - seem to blur the boundaries. And these dancers did their own fancy footwork (though dance doubles are not uncommon).

Some stunt work is almost balletic. In the silent movie era, actors like Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd in comedy, Tom Mix in westerns and Douglas Fairbanks Sr in adventure movies were renowned for doing their own - often very dangerous - stunts. But they could often make it look surprisingly graceful.

Sometimes then, as now, special effects, camerawork and other means were used to minimise the risk. But a lot of the time, what you saw was what you got: people risking life and limb in chases, jumps, climbs, falls and other dangerous endeavours.

Lloyd is probably best remembered for the climb up a building in Safety Last! (1923). In long shots, Lloyd was doubled but he's there in the closer shots. While he wasn't as high up as he appears - sets were built on the rooves of several buildings of varying height - his stuntwork was still dangerous, especially since he had lost two fingers on his right hand when a prop bomb exploded.

Keaton's stuntwork - which began before he was school age in the family stage act - was incredibly varied and risky in such films as Sherlock Jr and The General. In one scene involving a cascade of water he fractured his neck but didn't find out until several years - and many other stunts - later. He and Lloyd were among the silent comedians who inspired Jackie Chan, one of the best-known latterday international stars who has for a long time done his own stunts - and martial arts to boot.

There are many other stars who are credited as doing at least some of their own stunts - Keanu Reeves as John Wick, Daniel Craig as 007, Angelina Jolie in Salt, Tom Holland as Spider-Man, Christian Bale as Batman, Kristen Stewart in Charlie's Angels. How much of the stuntwork these and other actors do, and how much of it is aided heavily by special effects, may never be known - but for those who aren't professional stunt workers to do any of it is impressive.

How much longer Cruise will be able to perform stunts remains to be seen, but it seems he's nowhere near to running out of puff.