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By Narissa Subramoney

Deputy digital news editor

3 minute read

23 Feb 2022

Watch: Tom Cruise would like to live in ‘incredible’ South Africa

Tom cruise says it would be 'nice' to live in sa, after being taken in by the wildlife and natural beauty..

Tom Cruise in Hoedspruit | Picture: Kevin McDonald

Veteran Hollywood actor Tom Cruise has described South Africa as “incredible and amazing,” even saying he would love to live here.

“It would be nice to live here,” the actor told a small group of people who’d gathered to welcome the Top Gun actor to Limpopo.

Cruise is in the country filming Mission Impossible eight, which some have joked is about getting a driver’s license or visiting the Home Affairs department.

“I’m very excited to be here, I’ve been wanting to film here for a very long time,” Cruise told fans.

“I can’t wait for you to see the new movie.”

Limpopo may have female premier

The Hollywood heartthrob was greeted by a few eager fans when he landed a helicopter in Limpopo’s town of Hoedspruit.

This video is no longer available.

Despite being in the bush, Cruise looked dashing as ever with his perfectly tousled windblown hair and dressed in navy fitted jeans and a T-shirt, revealing his defined muscular build.

Cruise was charming and humble while interacting with locals and thanked fans for their hospitality and support.

ALSO READ: Tom Cruise in Limpopo to shoot upcoming ‘Mission: Impossible 8’

The 59-year-old said he’s been working seven days a week, but he hoped to go on a safari once filming was done.

The Jack Reacher star also gushed about seeing lions and cheetahs in passing. “They were just there in someone’s driveway,” Cruise told fans.

Cruise was also spotted in KwaZulu-Natal late last week, reportedly flying his own helicopter over Oribi Gorge while scouting for locations for the film.

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the film will once again see Cruise reprising the role of agent Ethan Hunt. 

The release date for  Mission Impossible 7  has been postponed to 14 July 2023 while the release date for  Mission Impossible 8  has been pushed from 7 July 2023 to 28 June 2024. 

Additional Reporting by Xanet Scheepers

NOW READ: Tom Cruise’s visit to SA will boost our ratings

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Home » From Hollywood to Hoedspruit! Tom Cruise Arrives in South Africa to Film Mission Impossible 8

From Hollywood to Hoedspruit! Tom Cruise Arrives in South Africa to Film Mission Impossible 8

Hollywood star Tom Cruise has arrived in South Africa to film Mission Impossible 8… and he’s already been treated to a little SA hospitality and humour! UPDATE 16 FEB: See Gillian Leigh Soame’s latest spectacular photos of Tom Cruise in South Africa! Hoedspruit resident Gillian Leigh Soames, who’s renowned for spotting leopards in the bush, […]

Hollywood star Tom Cruise has arrived in South Africa to film Mission Impossible 8… and he’s already been treated to a little SA hospitality and humour! UPDATE 16 FEB: See Gillian Leigh Soame’s latest spectacular photos of Tom Cruise in South Africa !

Hoedspruit resident Gillian Leigh Soames, who’s renowned for spotting leopards in the bush, spotted the American celebrity flying over her home in a helicopter on Thursday. Posting a pic to Facebook, Gillian said:

“And there he is, Mr. Tom Cruise, in all his glory, in Hoedspruit! His chopper flew directly over our deck and yes… I flashed him! ?”

And Tom saw! “I flashed him, and the chopper flashed me back ?” she told SAPeople. “I know the chopper (it flies over my house every single morning at 6am and every night at 6pm). Last night it was early at 5pm.”

She says the helicopter was “LOW, about 40 meters only above our deck and hovering! I’m sure it’s because our garden is the ONLY green garden around here for miles and we have a big property! He was 100% looking at our garden ?”

The news of Tom Cruise filming MI8 in SA was first broken by Variety magazine last month, with local sources in SA revealing that he would be shooting around Durban and Cape Town.

Yesterday footage was posted to Twitter, allegedly of Tom flying over Oribi Gorge in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) “to check out the area” for filming.

#TomCruise Tom's already in South Africa! "Tom Cruise flying his own chopper over Oribi Gorge. He is here for a few days to check out the area. They want to shoot Mission Impossible 8 here." #TomCruise #MissionImpossible8 #TomCruisenews pic.twitter.com/WTlylYgj0P — Tom Cruise Fan #follow me (@Tomcruisetopp) February 10, 2022

In another tweet, photos were shown of the planes that have arrived in Hoedspruit to be used for a big stunt in the film.

The planes for the big stunt arrived in Hoedspruit, South Africa… #MissionImpossible8 #TomCruise pic.twitter.com/GzzFdTrS5c — Tom Cruise News (@TCNews62) February 8, 2022

Gillian says Tom and the crew are expected to be in Hoedspruit (Limpopo) for two months where they’ll apparently be filming Mission Impossible 8 over the Blyde River Canyon which is only an hour away, in Mpumalanga.

“As I sit here, he is living exactly 2.4kms from my house!” says Gillian, who lives on the beautiful Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate . “His helipad is right next to our house.”

Gillian says it’s a great time to be filming at Blyde River Canyon. “It’s perfect right now as it is SOOO lush and green and all the waterfalls are flowing,” she says.

Celebrity sightings in Hoedspruit are becoming as common as wildlife sightings. This week it’s Tom Cruise, last week it was YouTuber Logan Paul, and the week before it was another YouTuber David Dobrik.

South Africans have posted messages welcoming Tom to their beautiful country, and expressing hope that the Hollywood blockbuster, featuring spectacular SA landscapes, will boost tourism to the country. And of course, there’s been more humour…

Follow @ GillianSoamesLeopardQueen on Instagram! 

To use any text or photos, please contact [email protected]

If you love movies and TV series, get your fix of local and international films and TV shows from Showmax ! 

Update on tom cruise in south africa, sat 12 feb, from gillian:.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Gillian Leigh Soames (@gilliansoamesleopardqueen)

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Tom Cruise arrives in Ladysmith and greets the locals! Image via YouTube The Ladysmith Gazette

Man on a mission: Tom Cruise off to Drakensberg for location scouting

From Hoedspruit to Drakensberg! Award-winning actor Tom Cruise is in KwaZulu-Natal to scout some locations for ‘Mission Impossible 8’.

After spending some time in Hoedspruit, Limpopo, to film a few scenes for the eighth instalment of Mission Impossible , Tom Cruise landed at the Ladysmith Airfield in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday 28 March.

According to Northern Natal News , Cruise will be scouting out locations in the Drakensberg for the film. 

ALSO READ: Flash mob: Hoedspruit woman ‘flashes’ chopper-flying Tom Cruise

TOM CRUISE SCOUTS LOCATIONS IN KWAZULU-NATAL

As per Northern Natal News, Tom Cruise and his Mission Impossible production crew landed at the Ladysmith Airfield on 28 March with six helicopters and three planes. 

Cruise greeted all the locals before climbing into one of the helicopters. 

The 59-year-old actor also stopped to greet some of the bystanders and many couldn’t help but take a few photos of the hunky Hollywood actor. 

“Hi, how are you?” asked Cruise before posing for a photo.

TAKE A LOOK 

TOM CRUISE LOVES SOUTH AFRICA! 

While shooting in Hoedspruit , Tom Cruise was welcomed by the locals every day. “Anytime between 16:30 and 18:30 he returns and lands in the same spot,” Mel Owtram told Channel24 . 

“The security guards are extremely friendly and chat and even take selfies with the kids.”

While mingling with the locals, Cruise said it would be nice to live in South Africa permanently. 

“I’m very excited to be here, I’ve been wanting to film here for a very long time. I can’t wait for you to see the new movie.” 

ALSO READ: ‘Chiller swindler’ scams ‘Podcast and Chill’ crew about Tom Cruise meeting

WHEN TO EXPECT ‘MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 8’ 

According to Forbes , Mission Impossible 7 is set to be released on 14 July 2023. Mission Impossible 8 , which is currently being filmed in South Africa, will be released on 28 June 2024. 

The film will be Tom Cruises’ final film as Ethan Hunt in the Mission Impossible series.

Virseker werp lig op die mees algemene geboueverwante uitdagings wat verbruikers ondervind. 

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Tom Cruise has just been spotted in Johannesburg and SA has major heart eyes

In February earlier this year, Hollywood actor Tom Cruise was spotted in Hoedspruit , where he reportedly stayed for two months whilst filming for a new Mission Impossible movie. Now, the star has been spotted at Joburg’s Killarney Country Club (KCC) after landing his helicopter there, in true Cruise style.

In an Instagram post uploaded by the country club, the starstruck staff of KCC can be seen posing next to the Hollywood star, smiles beaming.

  if(window.isMobile != null || window.isTablet != null){ document.write(' '); document.write(' '); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('dfp-300x250-2'); }); document.write(' '); } View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Killarney Country Club (@killarneycountryclub) if(window.isMobile != null || window.isTablet != null){ document.write(' '); document.write(' '); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('dfp-300x250-3'); }); document.write(' '); }

The caption reads: “The KCC Team had the privilege of meeting Tom Cruise today on his day trip to Johannesburg… what an experience!”

Mingling with South African fans is no new pastime for Mr. Cruise. During his stay in Hoedspruit, the actor charmed his way into the hearts of Limpopo’s locals. When asked if he would be moving there, Tom responded that it would be ‘nice’ to live in South Africa permanently.

According to an IOL article , Cruise landed his chopper at KCC about a week ago, before driving off to another location for a meeting with producers and the production team of the upcoming film, on the day.

In a post by a Johannesburg local on Twitter, we see Tom greeting fans:

pic.twitter.com/jhmpo69U6m — Edwin (@Blademale) December 6, 2022

The first look at the new Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One movie was revealed by Paramount in April earlier this year, and is set to be released in July 2023, part two following the year after, in 2024.  This will mark the eighth film of the Mission Impossible franchise.

As far as Tom Cruise goes, keep a look out…he may be frequenting a country club near you next.

All eyes on Jennifer Coolidge – the star of The White Lotus

Feature Image: Instagram / @killarneycountryclub

Savanna Douglas

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Tom Cruise Talks to South African Fans in Hoedspruit After Long Day Filming

Tom Cruise left a few fluttering hearts in Hoedspruit recently after landing in a helicopter and then chatting to local fans.

Hoedspruit, South Africa (24 February 2022) – If you didn’t know, Tom Cruise is currently in South Africa. Every WhatsApp group has shared the meme that the new Mission Impossible movie is about renewing a South African licence.

While that may not be the film’s actual plot, parts really are being filmed in South Africa. Every day, a helicopter collects Cruise and takes him to the site where they are filming, then every evening, he returns to a crowd of fans.

Mel Owtrans and her daughter Savanna were there to greet him and were blown away by his kindness and willingness to speak to excited fans after a long day of filming. Mel shared the video on her YouTube, and people are loving how engaging and kind Cruise was to chat and answer questions.

Savanna had traced out a heart in the sand before Cruise arrived by helicopter. Cruise then greeted the fans, and Savanna was delighted that he placed himself right in the centre.

Take a look at the wonderful moment below. We love Tom Cruise even more now for making so many South Africans smile.

Sources: YouTube

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The Lush Drakensberg Mountain Lodge That Tom Cruise Stayed In While Filming In South Africa [Images]

09 feb 2023 by tayla in celebrities , hotels , lifestyle , movies , south africa , tom cruise , video.

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[imagesource: YouTube / African Wildlife Adventures]

We’re taking a look at the gorgeous mountain lodge in the Drakensberg that Tom Cruise stayed in while filming the eighth instalment of Mission Impossible  in February last year.

Saffas near and far were so chuffed to see the action star on our turf, so we have to know more about where he kicked his shoes off after a gruelling day of stunts and filming.

At the time, Cruise was seen flying his helicopter in and around Hoedspruit, Limpopo , exciting fans with his coming and going.

When he was asked by his adoring fans in the small bush town if he would live in South Africa, he said he “would love to” and added that “it would be nice to live here permanently”.

He was then spotted in Ladysmith in March , charming the crowd there with his generous greetings.

A few months later, in December, Cruise returned to the country to reportedly tie up loose ends concerning the film, landing his chopper at Killarney Country Club in Johannesburg where everyone lined up to get a picture with him.

Later on, he shared a video of himself flying “over stunning South Africa” while wishing his fans and followers happy holidays and jumping out of the plane in a shameless plot to promote his movies:

A special message from the set of #MissionImpossible @MissionFilm pic.twitter.com/sfnWWluLyl — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) December 18, 2022

When Cruise wasn’t hanging out mid-air or something else that would send any normal person into a full-blown panic attack, he was hanging out at Qambathi Mountain Lodge , the adult-only boutique lodge and nature reserve that he called home during his stay in February.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Qambathi Mountain Lodge**** (@qambathimountainlodge)

Cruise and the production team stayed at the lodge nestled in the heart of Kamberg Valley, Drakensberg, in KwaZulu-Natal, for a few months in 2022 while filming Mission Impossible 8 , the lodge owner Nadia confirmed via News24 .

“We were very pleased and honoured to find that they chose our little lodge to stay at,” she adds, sharing the story of how she and her husband, Stephen, moved to South Africa from the United Kingdom in 2019, bought the lodge and refurbished it before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. “Post Covid, the travel industry has not yet recovered to the pre-2020 numbers and had it not been for Tom and the MI team staying with us, we would not have been able to survive as a business. It is thanks to him that the doors are still open and our staff are still able to feed their families.”

Cruise was able to enjoy locally-sourced food – “all the best that Midlands has to offer” – calling the Stable Suite, the honeymoon suite, his home away from home:

The suite is their “biggest room with stunning views right from your bed” and offers a “cosy fireplace and its own chill-out deck with hanging basket chairs to enjoy the beautiful gardens and mountain views,” per the Qambathi website.

The price of that is around R2 300 per guest, with breakfast included – a steal for Cruise, I am sure.

Nadia said Cruise and co. were “just very lovely and generous”, even speaking a bit of Zulu to the staff and writing a note of thanks upon leaving:

“To everyone at the Qambathi, Thank you for welcoming us into your home and for making our stay so peaceful and memorable. We hope to see you again soon,” wrote [director Christopher McQuarrie]. “To our Qambathi family, I will never forget our magical time with you all. I look forward to my next visit. Thank you.” – Cruise

Of course, they posted a pic on the ‘Gram:

Nadia also confirmed that Cruise worked, day in and day out, with hardly any downtime in between.

At least he had a luxurious spot to rest his seemingly never-weary head.

[source: news24 ]

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‘It would be nice to live here!’ – Tom Cruise on South Africa

Cape Town –  Fans came out in droves at the small town of Hoespruit in Limpopo recently when the award-winning international actor, Tom Cruise, hovered a chopper over a clearing and came down to meet and greet the eagerly awaiting crowd.

Tom had arrived in the small town to shoot his hit franchise movie Mission: Impossible 8 .

“It would be nice to live here. I’m very excited to be here, I’ve been wanting to film here for a very long time. I can’t wait for you to see the new movie, ” The Citizen quoted Tom as saying.

ALSO READ: WATCH | Tom Cruise out and about in SA’s Limpopo for Mission: Impossible 8 shoot

In the short video clip shared on Youtube, Tom is seen donning a large smile waiving and interacting with the small crowd of onlookers.

Earlier, the Limpopo Tourism Agency had posted snaps of the Hollywood actor on their Instagram page and captioned it:

“Here in Limpopo Province, it will be Mission very much possible. Not Mission Impossible. A warm welcome to Tom Cruise and the entire film crew who are currently in Hoedspruit shooting a movie. Thank you for choosing our iconic destination to feature in the movie, from Hoedspruit to Hollywood and the rest of the world.”

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Limpopo Tourism Agency (@go_limpopo)

Tom will reprise his role as Agent Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 which is said to be written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie.

The actor has been playing the role of  Ethan Hunt for more than two decades when Mission: Impossible was first released back in 1996.

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Picture: Facebook/ Gillian Leigh Soames

Compiled by Odwa Shumi

Article written by Odwa Shumi

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