Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt is known for taking part in many life-threatening stunts in the Mission: Impossible II that launched the actor as an action star. The John Woo-helmed follow-up was sold on stories of Cruise performing his own wild stunts, such as climbing a mountain or riding a motorcycle through fire, which became a selling point for many of his later projects.
While modern blockbusters tend to rely on CG to execute their action, the Rogue Nation and held his breath underwater to perform a one-take action sequence - though this shot was later cut up.
Hunt's remarkable durability has even become a joke within the Mission: Impossible series itself. However, Ethan has "died" in a few outings, though circumstances meant he wasn't dead for too long.
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Hunt's first death came with Mission: Impossible II, where in the finale he's captured by villain Ambrose (Dougray Scott) and his right-hand man Stamp (Richard Roxburgh). The latter captured Hunt after a brutal fight and claims to have broken his jaw, meaning the IMF agent can't speak. Ambrose - a rival of Hunt professionally and romantically - enjoys beating Hunt up before shooting him dead, only to realize the body is missing the same finger as Stamp. Ambrose realizes what's happening, reaching down to pull the face mask off "Hunt" to reveal Stamp underneath, who had his mouth taped. Hunt is then seen running triumphantly down a corridor, pulling off his Stamp mask while getting away with Ambrose's stolen virus.
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Ethan Hunt's second Mission: Impossible death came with the third entry. Taking place in the finale, Ethan has had an explosive pellet placed in his head by the villains, and to disable it, he needs to shock himself. Knowing this will cause him to flatline, he needs his wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan) to resuscitate him immediately afterward. However, she's drawn into a gunfight and is delayed for a couple of minutes, but after the movie milks Ethan Hunt's "death" for some suspense, he springs back to life after she pounds on his chest.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Ethan Hunt's (hopefully) final Mission: Impossible death was in the fifth outing Rogue Nation. Around the midway point, Hunt has to hold his breath to dive into a secure underwater turbine tank. He can't bring oxygen in either, but despite completing his objective successfully, he runs out of air before he can escape and drowns. Luckily, Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa jumps in to save him and revives him once they get out of the tank.
