We’ve been celebrating after Karen’s work in the Hollywood blockbuster Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning was recognised in the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Karen Saunders is the lead parachute rigger here at Langar and was part of the stunt team that helped Tom Cruise launch his motorbike from a cliff and deploy a parachute as part of a thrilling chase scene. Her role was to maintain Cruise’s skydiving equipment.
In the film, Cruise is seen making the death-defying leap from the mountain-top in a stunt that resulted from years of work and the contribution of a team of subject matter experts to keep the star safe.
As the lead parachute rigger at the UK’s busiest skydiving centre, and with decades of experience in maintaining parachuting equipment globally, Karen was selected as Cruise’s personal equipment monitor.
Speaking of the role, she said:
“It was a real pleasure to work with Tom and the rest of the team behind the movie, which included an amazing stunt team. I had so much fun working with everyone and it was a real professional highlight to be able to put my experience to work in such a new and challenging way.
“Of course, much of it was run of the mill parachute maintenance and I was very comfortable with all of that, but being on the set of such a high profile movie certainly came with its own unique moments! It’s amazing to be able to sit down and watch the final product and to know that millions of people worldwide have seen it too. I’m very proud of it.”
With an estimated budget of $291 million, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning is amongst the most expensive films ever made. It took $568 million in box office sales.
Find out more about film and TV projects at Skydive Langar and by the Langar team here.