He recently reprised his role as LT Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick.

And Tom Cruise, who famously does his own stunts, recalled the time he leaped off the roof at just four-years-old when speaking at the premiere in Cannes, on Wednesday.

The actor, 59, confessed he feared he was ‘going to die’ but luckily it didn’t put him off stunts for good.

‘I thought I was going to die’: Tom Cruise, 59, revealed he ‘jumped off the roof’ during a daredevil stunt at four-years-old at the Top Gun: Maverick premiere in Cannes on Wednesday

During a panel discussion at the Cannes Film Festival, he confessed: ‘I think I was about four-and-a-half years old, and I had this doll, and you throw it up in the air and a parachute comes down.

‘I played with this thing, and I’d throw it off a tree, and I was like, “I really want to do this.” I remember taking the sheets off my bed, and I would tie a rope… and I climbed up to the eave, and I got up to the roof.

I looked and my mother was in the kitchen – she had four kids – and I jumped off the roof.’

Recalling the time, Tom said: ‘I remember taking the sheets off my bed, and I would tie a rope… and I climbed up to the eave, and I got up to the roof’

Daredevil: He detailed: ‘I remember taking the sheets off my bed, and I would tie a rope… and I climbed up to the eave, and I got up to the roof’

He continued: ‘It’s that moment when you jump off the roof and you go, “This is not gonna work. This is terrible. I’m gonna die.” And I hit the ground so hard. Luckily, it was wet.

‘I don’t know how it happened, but I figured out after that my face went past my feet as my a** hit the ground.

‘And I saw stars in the daytime for the first time, and I remember looking up, going, “This is very interesting.”‘

Oh no! He continued: ‘It’s that moment when you jump off the roof and you go, “This is not gonna work. This is terrible. I’m gonna die.” And I hit the ground so hard’

Tom explained: ”I don’t know how it happened, but I figured out after that my face went past my feet as my a** hit the ground’

Tom admitted that he was afraid of how his mother would react to his risky stunt as he said: ‘I thought, “Oh my gosh, my mom’s going to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 me”, because the sheets were dirty.’

The Mission: Impossible star admitted he always wanted to figure out how to work his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood exploits into his future career.

He explained: ‘Now, here I am on a movie set… but I was the kid who would climb to the rafters or climb the tallest tree. I wanted that, I wanted to do that, and how do I develop these s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s and make it part of the story and character?’

Brave: The Mission: Impossible star admitted he always wanted to figure out how to work his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood exploits into his future career

He explained: ‘Now, here I am on a movie set… but I was the kid who would climb to the rafters or climb the tallest tree. I wanted that, I wanted to do that’

On growing his s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s he added: ‘Even if I wasn’t working on a movie, I was studying film, I was pushing myself to learn different s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s. I was like, “I’m going to put this in a movie one day.”

‘So I’d take dance lessons and put it into Les Grossman [in Tropic Thunder], or Rock of Ages, and take singing lessons so I had the s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s.

‘No one asked Gene Kelly, “Why do you dance? Why do you do your dancing? Why do you do your own singing?” If I do a musical, I want to sing, and I want to dance. And I want to see how I can do it.’

On growing his s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s he added: ‘Even if I wasn’t working on a movie, I was studying film, I was pushing myself to learn different s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s. I was like, “I’m going to put this in a movie one day”‘

Earlier in the day Tom and his co-star Jennifer Connelly dressed to impress as they arrived at the star-studded premiere of their film Top Gun: Maverick premiere at the Palais des Festivals during the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival.

The actor cut a dapper figure in a classic black tuxedo, while Jennifer, 51, who plays Penny Benjamin, looked simply flawless in a striking off-the-shoulder metallic gown.

Tom – who later received an honorary Palme d’Or award – beamed with joy as he greeted crowds at the event, with the Hollywood hunk teaming his smart black attire with a crisp white shirt, black bow tie and lace-up brogues.

Stars of the show: Earlier in the day Tom and his co-star Jennifer Connelly dressed to impress as they arrived at the star-studded premiere of their film Top Gun: Maverick premiere

Much has been made of Tom’s insistence on real flying scenes, with no CGI work. He has said in numerous interviews that he refused to even talk about a Top Gun sequel unless they flew in real planes.

Tom said: ‘For years, people had said, ‘Can’t you shoot [the movie] with CGI?’ And I always said, ‘No. That’s not the experience.’ I said, ‘I need to find the right story. And we’re going to need the right team. This movie is like trying to hit a bullet with a bullet. I’m not playing.’

The sequel to Tony Scott’s classic 1986 blockbuster Top Gun has been unanimously praised in early reviews with one even declaring that it ‘improves upon the original in every conceivable way.’

Tom, who is famous for doing his own stunts, is said to have trained to withstand g-force power and actually flew in real fighter jets for the sequel.

Peter Hoskin for the Daily Mail gave the film five stars, writing: ‘Whenever the film threatens to become too cosy, it shocks itself – and us – back into the present with another madly ambitious action sequence.’

Tom underwent a full Aviation Survival Training Curriculum before going up in the US Navy F-18, as did his co-stars.

They worked up to the supersonic jets by going up in a succession of slower planes first over many months.

Amazing: Tom is said to have trained to withstand g-force power and flew real fighter jets for the sequel Pictured the French Alpha Jets Patrouille de France flying over the premiere)