After very unexpected and prolonged delays, movie fans are actually nearing the opening of what is sure to be a mega-blockbuster on the 2025 movie schedule, and that is the upcoming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. With Ethan Hunt and his team hoping to finally complete their mission after 2023’s Dead Reckoning ending, M:I 8 may very well be the last we see of the team, at least as it’s been for decades now. Before everything (probably) wraps up, Simon Pegg wants to be absolutely clear about one thing when it comes to star Tom Cruise.
What Did Simon Pegg Say About Tom Cruise And His Work In The Mission: Impossible Movies?
Even if you’ve never seen any of the Mission: Impossible movies, you are likely to know at least two things about them: Tom Cruise is the star, and he goes balls to the wall when it comes to making sure that one of the premiere action film franchises in the world is filled to the brim with death-defying stunts. Simon Pegg, who’s portrayed tech expert Benji Dunn since M:I 3 (which came out a whopping 19 years ago) has been around for most of them.
The Boys actor recently spoke to Collider about the new movie, and when asked if Benji was going to get in on the action more this time around, he decided to respond by letting everyone know exactly what Cruise does for his franchise:
Tom doesn’t do most of his stunts, he does ALL of his stunts.
Well, there you go. If anyone was wondering whether or not all of the intensely fast running, motorcycle off a cliff-jumping, wild broken-foot mountain climbing, and all the other great M:I action sequences were truly just Cruise doing amazing things in real life, Pegg can confirm that it totally is. Hell, the superstar has even admitted to passing out while hanging out of a plane at 10,000 feet. Pegg continued:
Our mantra has always been, the stunts are real. When you hand over to a stunt performer, the moment ceases to be about character and becomes all about the stunt. Tom and McQ know that those moments will become so much more impactful if it’s the actor in peril because the character remains present at all times. As for Benji’s physical exploits in this film, as TC always says, see you at the movies.
Like director Christopher McQuarrie’s noted previously, while most action movie directors have to concern themselves with concealing the fact that the stars are not the ones doing things like jumping between a speeding train and a helicopter (which Cruise did for the original M:I movie), he has to make sure that every camera picks up the fact that his star is actually doing everything we see Ethan do. And, no one can claim that this truth has done anything other than made the Mission: Impossible movies even more amazing to watch.