Mission Impossible Stars Gush Over Working With Tom Cruise | E! News

someone on Twitter called you which I love a pop culture nerd's dream come true what do you make of that I think that's because as a fan of that stuff as a kid you know I'm very sort of I wear my heart on my sleeve in terms of the stuff that I've enjoyed in the past and I I've gone from being a fan of those things to being involved in them you know so from being a Star Trek fan I used to watch mission impossible as a kid on the TV you know before his film yeah yeah and so to actually to get there and be part of it you know I think sometimes that some of the fans get a vicarious thrill out of oh he's one of us he made it to that do you act probably try to be in every good franchise on the planet I really don't you don't this is just people are like we want our franchise to be successful you know who we need Simon Pegg you know JJ Abrams is very responsible you know he got me into mission in the first place yeah back in 2006. he gave me the role in Star Trek and and in Star Wars you know playing the the big fat sort of blob man in Star Wars um so I I owe judge a a big thank you for that and how do you think JJ like do you send a Christmas present is like a Gucci bag I take him out for lunch every now and again sandwich I saw him in London recently I love catching up with JJ and you know it's been such a joy to be part of this uh whole thing and I I have to thank him for that entire movie that you're part of not to give anything away but you're asked you know what matters the most to you yeah so what matters the most to you to me personally uh my family and my daughter you know I've got a 14 year old daughter and she's my absolute world you know she's the most incredible human being I've ever met and you know my wife wouldn't mind me saying that um but uh but I and and along with Benji you know friends are important Friends of the family we we get to choose you know and and um that's an incredibly important part of my life so and my dogs don't forget my dogs I mean who could forget if you follow me on Instagram you'll know my dogs it's it's hard to decide what you like more your dogs or Tom Cruise sometimes you know what I mean my dogs oh dude okay for sure Tom will be fine with that he knows his place um I love your friendship what is it like to have him as a as a friend and a confidant on set it's wonderful you know I I when I first met him it was my first time in Hollywood I'd never been to Hollywood before and I found myself in the Paramount lot and he came out it was on set the first day we met and he immediately made me feel very welcome very at home he's incredibly generous and over the 17 years that we've been friends it's it's just I feel lucky to kind of get to see a part of him that everyone else really wants to see which is just the guy you know and he is just a guy you know he's an extraordinary guy he's in a guy who feels an obligation to his audience to to risk his life for them you know to kind of like entertain them but of all they're kind of missed of of stuff that surrounds him in the center of that mist is a is a generous sweet guy who looks after everybody you know he leads from the top down and and it's kind of inspiring to be around there is no one else like him he is the last movie star you know of the of the old kind you know the 20th century classic movie star he's the last one he's unique and I I love him what movie you said like you used to watch all these different things growing up like what Tom Cruise movie made you realize like Tom Cruise is a movie star and one day I want to be in movies I don't know I look back on those early days I remember him in Legend and thinking who's this guy he's so handsome you know dancing around with Fox he told me how to [ __ ] he had a fight with a fox on that film it's hilarious uh and then obviously when the high concert films you know Top Gun came in I always think for me Jerry Maguire you know it's it's the best oscar-winning performance that never won an Oscar I I still feel that was an injustice that he I mean it's a Tom plays vulnerable really really well we often see him playing these kind of guys that are almost bulletproof yeah yeah well having said that you know both Pete Mitchell and and uh Ethan Hunt both show vulnerability and he does that really well I think yeah yeah am I watching an action movie or am I watching like am I emotional about this like it really it brings you into both things how many times have you seen the movie Once only one time yep okay and I'm gonna watch it again at the premium okay and my last question for you is you you mentioned your 14 year old daughter is she using you for Hollywood perks right now like is she like freebies can I get Taylor Swift era's tickets or anything like that she'd probably want to go see the Pixies that's her thing she's a little punk she's cool yeah I I she's determined she's really interested in in film she's grown up with me watching movies she loves Cinema she loves Tom like Tom and Tilly get on so well they're like they're like buddies um and she's had all this access to kind of sure sure but she's determined not to be a nepo baby she wants to if she's gonna do what I do she's gonna make it you know by herself so she would refuse those tickets say I'll get him dad she's so wrong be a nepo baby it is so hard in Hollywood anything you can I get so annoyed when I see those articles because it's like well if you hang around with your mom and dad or your life maybe you're going to want to do what they do it's not you know anyway it's another discussion much um all right so this movie I think it's hard to believe that the stunts outstunt the other movies what's your favorite scene what's your favorite stuff I mean I've seen Tom do so many crazy things I say crazy he's not crazy about it he's very very carefully trained seed you know he's kind of the opposite of crazy even though what he does seems that way I I love the this the stun in this film the motorcycles done we were all up there myself pom Clementi of hell yeah well Shea wig and Tarzan Davis Isa Morales we were literally all holding on to each other watching this happen and Tom would go off the cliff he would disappear out of sight and then there'd be this pause and then after a short time they'll be there okay good canopy and we'd know he survived but that pause I tell you I mean we didn't know if we were going to lose our leading guy you know and and that it was a however careful he is however skilled he is there's always an element of uncertainty and the fact that he does that kind of just blows my mind I was walking back with all the Press yesterday from the screening and we were discussed guessing like if thank you um like when Tom Cruise dies like this is such a harsh thing to say that's not gonna happen well here's the thing he's never gonna die but if he died of old age he would be so disappointed like he has to die motorcycling off a cliff or something I mean I don't want him to I know he's saying when it's time for him to go please let him like be jumping out of a helicopter because that seems like his true love I want him to get to a point where all he can do is sit in an armchair I've known Tom for 17 years I've seen him sleep twice one time on a plane when we were we were flying to Tokyo and uh both of us had a nap and then one time I bought him a special chair a zero gravity Garden chair which I always have on set yeah Jeff Bridges gave me one in 2008 I've never gone back I always have it on set I gave Tom one sit on set on this because it's the most comfortable and I peeked into his little easy up and he was like that and I thought yes I've made Tom Cruise go to sleep what was the first Tom Cruise movie that you saw that made you fall in love with Tom Cruise oh my gosh great question I think you know I saw Top Gun when I was really really little um after it had come out right um and I but I think when I was older the two films for me that really made me totally be kind of overwhelmed at his talent in his range was Jerry Maguire and then Magnolia and then seeing him do Tropic Thunder I think the thing with Tom is it's how his career spans all these different characters and genres while also maintaining that we know it's the Tom Cruise brand what's so crazy about this Mission Impossible is that if you're like an adrenaline crazy obviously you're sad sap heart who loves a rom-com the chemistry between you and Tom Cruise is next freaking level I want to know did you have to audition was there a chemistry test like how did you yeah tell me about that so Chris McCrory came and saw me in a play in London 10 years ago and he said I want what you do on stage I want to bottle it and I want to create and write the character view I just don't know what that is yet so the next phase of that 10 years later he calls me and he says we're having a very ambitious discussion about the next two installments of mission impossible that are gonna have to be a part one and part two because it's so big and we're looking for our new leading mate the opposite Tom and when I went in I had read with Tom before I knew that he was he's very present he's very professional and he goes out of ways to make sure that anyone around him in his in working capacity makes makes them feel very safe yeah so they can be creative so when I walked into the screen test it was clear that they had this symbiotic relationship and that they were looking for actor who got and liked and respected their work ethic to then create the character for based on training yeah so then the next stage is discussing with them references of films like what's up doc Paper Moon The Sting um the train uh you know 70s heist movies Broadcast News and going oh and I was like oh you guys are looking for a levity between these two characters in a way that we haven't seen before yeah and then from out of that there Comes The Comedy of the Fiat 500 and the handcuffs and you know all of that was sort of meticulously planned out based on them kind of paying attention to me it felt like you like I just I just love like I I believed it so much like I thought you did such a fabulous job and it's exactly what you just said like there's this levity where you're kind of a prankster and you're messing with each other but you're like there's this attraction and like you never see that it's so fantastic um what was your favorite stunt day was it Train Day oh my gosh well no they would train months okay and then we finished it and then a year later we came back to it so like that was literally a runaway train that never stopped that whole stunt sequence um I think gosh it was so hard I think you know any day where you have completed a shot or completed a stunt yeah um is so deeply fulfilling I remember you know when we're drifting in Rome there was a day that we were losing the light it was starting to rain so the ground was getting wet and that was slippery to drift in I was handcuffed to Tom who was in the passenger seat a place that literally metaphorically not a favorite place to be and having he trusted me with his life doing this stunt and I was drifting and doing spins 360s and because I couldn't see where the cameras were positioned I was sort of in a space where I had to just totally trust my training would kick in then on action Tom would improvise and sometimes he would he would say a line as Ethan like stop stop slow down yeah but also I had to work out whether that might also be Tom telling Hayley just to actually slow down or he would be suggesting a line for me to say right rather than it being his own light so you're it's like three-dimensional chess that you're playing four-dimensional chess and and I loved how contagious that was the energy I love what you just said your handcuffed to Tom this is like the iconic one of the I mean this is the the scene that a lot of people saw you shoot the paparazzi guys you guys so like a lot of people know it's coming your handcuffed to Tom Cruise and he's not driving he's the stunt what is he like in that moment because I I agree with what you said it's probably his least favorite place to be because he's used to being the guy that's jumping off with the parachute well also I mean alongside that he also is so um he allows himself he allows Ethan Hunt to get a little embarrassed and that to me is an actor who's a true creator he's not someone who's who's overly concerned with his own Pride or ego you know you set up the door and goes what's great for the scene what's great for the movie so when he does a you know he turns on the engine of the 500 and accidentally turns on the windscreen wipers that moment of embarrassment for Ethan yeah is so beautiful because it's so endearing because we're going oh my gosh Ethan Hunt's been undermined by a Fiat 500 that's and you can imagine Ethan Hunt's like I'm not usually if you watch me other films I you'll see that I'm actually better than this and it takes it takes tremendous you know sense of uh understanding about characterization to be able to do that you've been hustling in this business such a long time I'm Agent Carter like you did it like you are you're the it girl like does that ever like cross your mind no never never I don't even know when I say it no no and I well it's so lovely to hear that and a thank you that compliment I will receive graciously um I think I'm just I'm a workabee I love working and it's where I feel most alive it also means I'm not reflecting or analyzing my own life I'm getting out of my own head I'm participating I'm contributing I'm learning um and that for me is is the drive and I think any time when I would sit down and be like I made it nailed it first of all pride comes before I fall I'd fall flat on my face yeah uh and I would be humbled by that experience but I think also I I'd be like oh I guess I've kind of done everything right and I think that hunger is something that's always driven me um and it means that I'll always be grateful for the opportunities that come my way it's so important because it's such a privilege to be here what was it like to you know work with Tom and be a part of Mission Impossible amazing it felt amazing to join in Fallout at the time because of the history of the you know it's been 30 years since I did the first one and and that's the red gray plays my mother in the first one so there's such an amazing link and she's just the first of So many actors I mean Kristen Scott Thomas is in that movie and has that amazing scene doesn't she um and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tandy Newton and all these brilliant actors throughout the throughout the different ones and then here we are together it's so nice it's so crazy I read an article where you said that Tom has quote an unhinged thirst for Perfection and I love that so much but does that put pressure on you because you're in these scenes and you're like okay it's got to be right it puts what did they say last night Tom and Chris are talking would get you know we had dinner all together and they said something like you're in equal parts so inspired and terrified and I think that the state that everybody's in you know because it's like jumping off a you know a cliff at the motorcycle you know you must be I mean in fact he wasn't he was totally Fearless but I think it requires a real level of um commitment and passion and turning up and care and it's just yeah there's also so much trust we have so much trust in him and McHugh Christopher Macquarie and the thing is like they just like stab um you know set the the bar so high that we also need to step up our game even more so it makes everyone better too and and they care so much about the movie they spend so much time crafting it and making it perfect and also with the editor Eddie Hamilton that sometimes we don't talk about him and look at how amazing he is and they craft something that is so perfect and I mean we watched the movie a few a few days ago yeah and we're both blown away you know I went back to my hotel room it was just kind of like I couldn't speak I was you know it was overwhelmed by how good it was yeah people can be afraid of the length especially like in our culture right now it went by like that right most of it I was like like it is such a Thrill Ride and so so so crazy um do you guys have a favorite stunt from the movie I mean Tom stunt was incredible the motorcycle Cliff jump I'm sure yeah I mean we can't you know talk about this one I mean I loved also all the horses galloping in the desert it was so beautiful to watch and reminded me of like Lawrence of Arabia you know it's a beautiful Hollywood movies for three years for paragliding didn't he for the for the sky yeah yeah three years to be able to do those shots it's just amazing um I love that there's this central theme it's not as involved for you guys but this central theme of what matters most to you so I want you know it's like what matters most to you and and Simon's character says you're my friends what matters most to both of you you're both so busy with so much going on in Hollywood how do you stay grounded and what matters to you I mean I would I would say something that maybe I shouldn't say my my Independence oh I love that yeah I love being independent Planet but you know it's like desires change too so one day you're gonna say something in the day after you're on the opposite so you know it's hard to put a yeah yeah yeah I'd say my sister um we've lived together for a really long time and uh she's an angel in my life and I just literally couldn't do I couldn't I just couldn't live without her she's just the best thing ever so I've got to say and I also think I fell in love with you as a sister when you played Princess Margaret like I just you're so incredible like it's stupid um okay last thing uh Palm it's been 10 years since your Hollywood debut this year 2023. oh my God you're right oh boy what I know oh my God I know you know when I came together I could barely speak English I came to La I learned English by watching 30 Rock with Tina Fey because it's just a funny one no way yes yes I worked with Spike Lee the first movie that I did in the U.S at some point at the screen test he said uh move forward you know like she's like to step step up I had no idea what forward meant so I didn't know what to do it's like do you don't know what forward means I'm like no was that oh so he explained it to me it was very nice but you know I was like I want to do look at you now because 2023 you've got a mission impossible the biggest movie franchise of all time and an MCU film yeah it's crazy right you did it I mean I mean yeah I'm proud of this yeah but you know there's yeah it's the beginning [Music] foreign

Channel: E! News

Views: 66,831

Keywords: E! News, CELEBRITIES, ENTERTAINMENT, EXCLUSIVES, INTERVIEWS, MOVIES, TOM CRUISE, TOM_CRUISE, Mission Impossible Stars Gush Over Working With Tom Cruise, mission impossible, mission impossible interview, mission impossible stars, mission impossible cast interviews, mission impossible 2023, mission impossible cast, tom cruise, tom cruise interview, tom cruise mission impossible, tom cruise mission impossible interview, mission impossible 7 trailer, mission impossible dead reckoning

Id: SWMw6D8khx0

Length: 19min 0sec (1140 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 21 2023