Exclusive: Tom Cruise’s High-Flying Return and Hayley Atwell’s Sticky Fingers: Inside “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”
Whether he’s dangling from cliffs or flying a vintage biplane, Tom Cruise is once again pushing the limits of action filmmaking in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”. As “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” gears up for its highly anticipated release this weekend, the cast sat down with IMDb to reflect on the insanity, adrenaline, and occasional theft behind the scenes of the franchise’s latest installment.
(Tom) Cruise, Camera, Action
There’s a reason Cruise’s commitment to practical stunts has become the stuff of legend, and in Final Reckoning, he raises the bar—again. This time, it’s not just about jumping off cliffs or scaling skyscrapers. According to co-star Hayley Atwell, the now-iconic biplane sequence involved Cruise doing… well, everything.
“We’d get reports back that day of what he’d done,” Atwell told IMDb. “I remember though, specifically, that [McQuarrie] had told us that at one point, he was shooting from the helicopter and Tom was in the biplane, and Tom was having to be the focus puller, and his own camera operator, and piloting the plane, and performing on the plane. And McQ had to remind him to stop smiling. He’s like, ‘Stop looking like you’re having fun!’”
That quote sums up the duality of Cruise in action: high-stakes drama for the audience, pure joy for the man doing it. “This is kind of what he was built to do,” Atwell added. Off-camera, Atwell was busy channeling her character Grace—a professional thief—a little too well. In fact, she admits to taking more than just memories from the set.
“I can probably admit now, since it’s been long enough, that I’ve stolen quite a few things from the film… Because I took my role as Grace, the thief, probably a little bit too literally,” she said.
Her haul? A salt and pepper shaker from the train set, an ashtray, a watch, a necklace, fossils, mysterious documents, a poison pill, a key… and perhaps most amusingly, a very special bottle of Tom Cruise’s hot sauce.
“The restaurant had…made this hot sauce for him, because the spices that they had were not strong enough. So, they made this concoction that sort of blew his head off, which was delicious,” Atwell explained. “And a beautiful bottle, with a pipette. So, I just pocketed that at the end of the meal.”
Call it method acting or kleptomania—either way, it makes for a hilarious footnote to a film packed with intensity.
“Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning”
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” promises to be a fitting swan song for Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, with the actor once again redefining what’s possible on screen. From impossible aerial choreography to hot sauce heists, the latest installment is as much about behind-the-scenes madness as it is about saving the world.
And in true Mission fashion, the cast remains as daring—and endearing—as ever. “Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is out in theaters this weekend.
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