Tom Cruise, Jimmy Fallon reunite mom and Navy son on ‘Tonight Show’

Tom Cruise is making magic happen on more than just the big screen. 

On Monday’s episode of The Tonight Show, the Mission: Impossible star teamed up with host Jimmy Fallon to facilitate a surprise reunion between a U.S. Navy sailor and his mom after two long years apart. Cruise and Fallon kept the secret under wraps by playing a game called “What’s Behind Me?” which saw one person attempt to guess what kooky high jinks were unfolding on the stage behind them while the other gave them clues.

After a few rounds, Fallon asked if anyone in the audience would like to give the game a try and casually selected Shontavia, a community health center worker living in Buffalo, N.Y. Fallon then asked if she had any children.

“Yes, I do,” Shontavia said. Pressed on whether they lived in Buffalo too, she replied, “No they don’t. All over. Europe. My son’s in the military.”

Shontavia explained that her son, Bruce Gary, had been stationed in Europe and so she hadn’t seen him for the last two years. “Bruce, if you’re watching, your mom’s on The Tonight Show,” Fallon said as Shontavia blew a kiss to the screen and made a heart with her hands. “That’s a big deal! Thank you for your service, Bruce. Right?”

“Definitely,” Cruise said. “Thank you, Bruce!”

Fallon then rotated the stage so Shontavia was facing away from the curtain, which was pulled up to reveal Bruce standing patiently in his Navy uniform with a beautiful bouquet of flowers in hand.

After Cruise coached Shontavia through the game — which saw her identify the words “son,” “flowers,” and “New York City” — Fallon gave her credit for the puzzle and told her to take a look as her chair spun around to reveal her son.

She burst into tears upon spotting Bruce, standing up and pulling him into a big hug as she wept. “We flew him all the way in to surprise you!” Fallon said. When Bruce handed his mother the bouquet, the host said, “That’s for you, Mom!”

Shontavia touched her son’s face, seemingly still in shock over his surprise visit. “How’s he look?” Fallon asked. “He looks good, right?” Shontavia, visibly emotional, simply nodded in response. 

Shaking Bruce’s hand, Fallon added, “Thank you for your service.”

Cruise and Fallon reflected on the sweet moment during the actor’s sit-down interview after the break. “That was beautiful. That was really — I’ve seen stuff like that on television before, and to be part of it was really special,” Cruise admitted. “It’s beyond cool.”

Bruce wasn’t the only sailor at the show that evening. After discussing how the Navy helped Cruise film a submarine sequence for Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, Fallon revealed that several service members were in the audience.

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“The servicemen and women are here tonight,” he said as the cameras revealed a group of sailors dressed in their naval uniforms.

“Thank you all for being here,” Cruise added.

Watch Bruce and Shontavia have their extra-sweet reunion in the video above.