Actor and writer Simon Pegg’s longstanding collaboration with Tom Cruise on the Mission: Impossible series has allowed them to develop a genuine friendship with each other. Acknowledging Cruise’s unwavering commitment to performing daring stunts without the use of special effects or green screens, Pegg agrees that the authenticity of the Mission films resonates with audiences. In fact, Pegg has admired Cruise’s extensive knowledge of filmmaking on several occasions, even calling him a true authority in the industry.
However, in one of his media interactions, Pegg revealed something that proved that the 60-year-old star is still human, even if his on-screen stunts prove otherwise.
Simon Pegg revealed the time when he witnessed Tom Cruise being nervous
The electrifying allure of witnessing the world’s most renowned movie star engaging in audacious escapades is an undeniable part of the appeal of the Mission: Impossible films. The franchise’s lead actor, Tom Cruise, undertakes these daring stunts without the aid of camera trickery. Examples of his breathtaking feats include scaling the towering Burj Khalifa in Dubai without a safety harness in Ghost Protocol (2011) and clinging onto the exterior of an airplane during takeoff in Rogue Nation (2015). And the 2023, Dead Reckoning Part One, will showcase Cruise careening off a cliff on a motorcycle—an endeavor he described as his most perilous to date.
Simon Pegg, who was present on location in Norway during the filming of this motorcycle stunt, concurred with Cruise’s assessment. He recalled witnessing Cruise’s nerves on only a few occasions, such as when he hung from the plane in Rogue Nation and during the recent motorcycle scene.
“I’ve only ever seen him nervous a few times: one, when he was hanging off the plane in Rogue Nation and this time. And yeah, he did it, I think, six times in one day. And we were up there when he did it. And it was scary because we’d see him go off and he’d disappear and we’d just wait and then there would be silence until we heard the canopy and we’d know the chute had opened.”
Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One is set to release on July 12, 2023. Apart from Cruise and Pegg, the movie features Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, and Rebecca Ferguson among others.
Simon Pegg opened up on his time with Tom Cruise on the sets of Mission Impossible
Off-screen, Pegg, and Cruise have developed a genuine friendship. While they avoid discussing religion—Cruise being a Scientologist and Pegg an atheist—they enjoy engaging in unusual adventures together. Pegg admitted that it still feels surreal to partake in activities like spontaneously joining Cruise on a helicopter trip and swimming with sharks off the South African coast. Nevertheless, the mutual admiration between the two is unmistakable.
And when it comes to work, Pegg appreciated the Mission films for their ability to convey a genuine sense of danger. The Mission Impossible franchise stands apart from others in its commitment to authenticity, as the stunts performed in these movies are not only real but executed by Cruise himself.
Appreciating Cruise, Simon Pegg also drew a comparison to the iconic silent film star Buster Keaton, whose exhilarating physical comedy, such as a house front collapsing around him, remains more enthralling than the onslaught of countless computer-generated aliens.
Source: The Guardian
