Tom Cruise's 60th Birthday Honored by 'M:I' Director, Wild Plane Stunt

Tom Cruise wasn't born on the Fourth of July, but came close -- and on his special day, a filmmaking partner is honoring him by basically saying ... never change, you nutty bastard.

The actor turned 60 Sunday, and to ring in the milestone ... director Christopher McQuarrie posted a wild photo to celebrate TC and the death-defying stunts that he still carries out himself to this day ... including on the forthcoming 'Mission: Impossible' movie(s).

As you can see, there's Tommy dangling from the wing of an old-timey biplane ... without anyone in the cockpit, it seems. Just Tom hanging on solo, without much assistance.

McQuarrie didn't add much context to this pic -- other than wishing Tom a happy 60th -- but it's pretty obvious this is from either "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" or 'Part Two' ... both of which CMQ is helming with Tom in the driver's seat.

One description of this stunt -- which was reported on last year, as eyewitnesses saw Tom practicing in the U.K. -- explains he'll apparently slip out of the cockpit, make his way to the wing of the plane, hang there as the plane nosedives, and then do a barrel roll to boot.

Unclear if this will be featured in 'M:I 7' '8' ... but in any case, Chris seems to have thought its worthy to throw up as an homage to Tom -- who continues to live like a daredevil.

In fact, this plane thing is just a taste of what he'll do in the new flick -- as we learned from the teaser trailer last month, Tom is also going to jump off a cliff while on a motorcycle ... only to be saved by a parachute. Indeed, his reputation only gets cemented with each flick.

Lots of reasons to be happy if you're Tom Cruise today -- not only is it his born day, but his latest blockbuster, "Top Gun: Maverick," hit a huge benchmark that he's never achieved ... the film has grossed over a billion dollars worldwide at the box office. And, it's still rolling.

As for what the guy's up to today, he was actually spotted at the British Grand Prix ... where he did a stop-and-chat with Sky Sports' Martin Brundle and cheered on Lewis Hamilton.

Even on his bday, he's got time for an impromptu interview and is pleasant about it. Just one more reason we love Tom ... one of the last true iconic movie stars of this generation.