I am a stuntman since 12, says Tom Cruise

London: Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise says he wanted to ride motorcycles, race cars and perform stunts since the age of 12.

The ‘Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol’ star, who is famous for doing his own stunts from motorbike chases, to hanging off the 124th floor of the tallest building in the world, said he has been teaching himself from a very early age, reported Femalefirst. "From as early as I can remember, I wanted to ride motorcycles and race cars. I wanted to do jumps and stunts. Every birthday I wanted only a motorcycle. By the time I was 12, I`d bought my own. "I crashed a lot, because I like to go fast. I`d create ramps to try to jump over garbage cans on my bike, figuring it out on my own," he said. However, the 49-year-old actor`s stunts were not always successful and he suffered his fair share of injuries, including breaking his nose three times. "I`ve broken my leg. The first time [I broke my nose], I got hit by a fastball. Another time, I got hit with a baseball bat by accident. "Then I rejarred it on a motorcycle. No one thought about helmets or pads back then. When I was 18, on the set of `Taps`, I met the stunt guys. I was like, `You train for stuff like this?` Back in the day there were no videos of this stuff." PTI