When not jumping off buildings, cliffs, and planes, Tom Cruise does quite a decent job of being a host to all the newbies and the debutants within the Mission Impossible franchise and its installments. To date, besides the leading man himself, Ving Rhames remains the oldest collaborator of Cruise in the MI films, having been employed as his trusted friend from the very first film right until Fallout.
But as newer faces and fresher talents join in on the globe-trotting fun, it becomes Cruise’s job to introduce them to the high stakes of each mission and that is exactly what he sets out to do with every new installment.
Tom Cruise Introduced Rebecca Ferguson to the Mission
A personal touch is what one needs to truly feel like they belong with Tom Cruise as he parries off to perform some of the most ridiculously impossible missions with them in tow. Without the said personal touch, the missions would not feel as high stakes as one would like to believe. So, whether it be Simon Pegg‘s snarky tech wizard, Benji Dunn, or the glorious Rebecca Ferguson‘s Ilsa Faust, a lesson in stunts is a must if they are to work with the legendary Ethan Hunt. And Tom Cruise accepts it as his personal mission to make it happen.
While promoting Rogue Nation (2015), the Swedish actress, Rebecca Ferguson exposed her co-star’s approach toward the film and his authenticity toward performing each stunt when she claimed: “My heart was on the outside. He [Tom] wrote me a note that said, ‘Thank you for taking this first leap with me.’” However, underneath it all, there was also the terror of jumping off high rises. During an interview with British talk show host Graham Norton, it was finally revealed just how seriously Cruise takes his job as Ferguson further divulged insider secrets:
“I don’t really know how these films were made… On the first day of shooting, Tom, what did we do? [Cruise: “We jumped off a building”] Yeah. First day of shooting. [Indicating a picture taken during the stunt] That’s me swearing and shouting the naughtiest words ever in [Tom’s] ear… The worst words ever. And then we jump off and he looks at me in the Tom Cruise kind of way and he goes, ‘Welcome to the mission.’”
While the crowd erupted in laughter, a multitude of protests rose from Tom Cruise, who could not believe he would say something so on the nose as this, as he kept on insisting, “I don’t remember saying it… no, that is way too cheesy! I would never say that.” Simon Pegg took care of the rest by immediately dismissing Cruise and adding to the laughter by quipping in, “You said it to all of us.”
Tom Cruise Isn’t Done With Mission Impossible Yet
Despite the very obvious path that is slowly but surely taking Tom Cruise and his allies toward the end of the road, one finds it hard to believe that the Mission Impossible franchise is coming to such a definitive end with the eighth saga of the action espionage film series. After all this time, it seems as though Cruise can’t quite believe it too. Speaking at the Australian premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, the actor invoked Harrison Ford (whose final Indiana Jones installment hit the theatres just recently) and claimed:
“Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope to be still going. I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him. I hope to keep making ‘Mission: Impossible’ films until I’m his age.”
Although it sounds like a far-fetched possibility aimed at keeping fan expectations at an all-time high, nothing is set in stone as modern films are getting increasingly obsessed with sequels and revivals of the classics of the past. Top Gun: Maverick was a classic example of this and considering how successful the endeavor was, a tenth installment or a tangential spin-off of the Mission Impossible franchise is not an entirely impossible idea.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One premieres on July 12, 2023.
Source: The Graham Norton Show
