Love the unparalleled work ethic in ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies, says Hayley Atwell

Actor Hayley Atwell says starring in two back-to-back “Mission: Impossible” films gave her a firsthand experience of the unparalleled work ethic embodied by the franchise’s lead star, Tom Cruise.

The actor, who became globally popular for her role as Peggy Carter in multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, joined the “MI” franchise with its seventh instalment “Dead Reckoning” (2023). Atwell played the character of Grace, a thief with a shady past who becomes an unlikely ally of Cruise’s spy agent Ethan Hunt.

She has now reprised the part in the latest chapter “The Final Reckoning”, directed by Christopher McQuarrie and co-produced by Cruise. It was released in Indian theatres on Saturday in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

“It’s a kind of an unparalleled work ethic that I love in these movies and something that I will continue to take with me in every job that I do. It’s the thing that gives me the most kind of excitement… The challenge, the discipline and the focus that it takes to execute these films well, all for the sake of delighting the audience,” Atwell told PTI in a virtual interview.

When she auditioned for the character, the actor said she realised it was way different from what she had done in Marvel films.

“Chris McQuarrie had seen me in a play, it will be about 13 years ago now… My background is classical theatre. And I’d done a little bit of stunt work before in the Marvel franchise, but this was very different.

“So, when I met Tom and McQ (nickname for McQuarrie) for the screen test for this, there was, of course, the acting and the dialogue scene that I had to learn… We were interpreting it in different ways, trying lots of different things and improvising with the text,” the 43-year-old actor said.

It was followed by a fight sequence to test her ability and fitness level, she added.

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“It was sort of discovering where my natural skill set was and what interested me. We learned pretty quickly that I loved working with props and knives, a sleight of hand. She became a thief based on understanding how I like to move my body with props,” Atwell said.

It all felt like a “bespoke collaborative process”, she said, describing the experience of working with Cruise, who has headlined the franchise since its inception with 1996’s “Mission: Impossible”, and McQuarrie, who helmed the last four “MI” films.

“They’d said, ‘We’re not looking for an actor to fit into a character or to fit into the story. We’re looking for an actor that we want to work with. And then we’ll create the story and the character with them in mind and around them.’

“This film is an accumulation of all the missions that have gone together in terms of its ambition and what it sets out to achieve emotionally with all the characters,” Atwell said.

“The Final Reckoning” takes place two months after the events of “Dead Reckoning” and sees Hunt racing against time to stop the rogue AI known as “The Entity” from gaining total control over the world’s digital infrastructure.

According to Atwell, what draws her to a project is not just the story or genre, it’s all the people she would work with.

“Every job for me is different, and it’s always the people. I’ve just finished doing a Shakespeare play in London and now I’m promoting a franchise. For me, the variety is the thing that excites me the most as an actor, the opportunity to explore my own range and to push myself, physically and mentally.”

The actor, also known for films “Cinderella”, “Christopher Robin”, “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” as well as acclaimed stage shows “The Pride” and “Rosmersholm”, praised Cruise as an “unparalleled stuntman, movie star and film producer” who cares about his co-stars and the crew.

“(He) wants us all to excel and thrive. So he’s looking at ways that he can support us actively doing that,” she added.

“The Final Reckoning”, which also features Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Ving Rhames, and Angela Bassett, is presented by Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions.