I know that all the big stars hate me to say this, but I don’t want to risk 80 peoples’ jobs just to say I got big huevos on The Tonight Show, because that’s what happens. I think a big star just sprained an ankle doing a stunt, and 80 or 180 people are out of a job.

We have stunt people who do that stuff, and if they get hurt, I’m sorry to say but they just need to put a mustache on another Mexican and we can keep going. But if I get hurt, everybody’s out of a job. So I don’t choose to do that.

• Danny Trejo, 2017 interview

It's definitely true that if every actor did their own stunts, stunt workers wouldn't get jobs. But here's the thing - that is not in danger of happening. More than that, Tom Cruise doing his own stunts, in many cases, makes his movies better. Hanging on the side of a plane or running on the Burj Khalifa - in both cases the shots they can get are far better than they otherwise would be if they have to obscure the stunt guys face and use camera trickery and CGI to take his face.

Not to mention that the other actors in his films use stunt doubles so making those films more successful keeps stunt workers employed. It's not like there were no stunt doubles in the mission impossible films.

Overall I just don't see how this is a real problem . Most actors, especially A-listers, like themselves too much to seriously attempt doing their own stunts. Most of their reactions to seeing what Tom Cruise does is "fuck no". Tom Cruise has the commitment of an actual crazy person to do the shit he does. No other actor who "does his own stunts" does what he does. Are stunt doubles really in danger of becoming extinct as a profession?

Given this, I guess I find it hard to see this as an issue worth worrying about. Why must this one crazy guy's obsession with stunts be squashed? Is there there really not room in the wide landscape of filmmaking for one obsessive dude doing his own stunts?

Like they had to do for one of the MI films after Tommy broke his ankle doing a stunt.

Scientology and its benefits...

He's so clear

On some level, isn't it very capitalist?

The studio has outlayed dollars from before the start of production, and they don't get any of that back until distribution.

If a star gets hurt and they can't shoot, getting returns are delayed.

If that pushes out a quarter or even fiscal year, that could have consequences for them. That assumes that there are any ongoing costs like rented equipment or properties.

Therefore, the most capitalist thing to do is to minimize risk by hiring dime-a-dozen stuntmens to do the stunts.