7 "Wow" Facts About Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning

1. Risking Death Every Time

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Cruise’s infamous stunts absolutely pose a risk to his life, says Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One director Christopher McQuarrie. “They all have their own risks, and it's not always what you perceive the risk to be,” McQuarrie says. “So there's all of these different factors and variables that you're constantly thinking about that could go wrong outside of all the variables that you've eliminated. The more variables, the scarier the stunt. I think that's kind of, to me, what makes it terrifying is how many different ways Tom could be killed doing the stunt, but they're all knowns. They're all things that you've thought about and can't control.”

2. The Stunt Cruise Refused

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Cruise’s co-star Pom Klementieff says there is one stunt Cruise was not on board with while filming. During a fight sequence set in Venice, Klementieff asked the actor to kick her in the stomach, which he absolutely refused to do. "I kept telling him to just kick me here," the actress says. "I was squeezing abs. [I said], 'You can just go for it.' He was like 'No, no, no, no, no.' I was like, 'But it's going to help me!' But he wouldn't do it."

3. De-Aging Cruise?

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McQuarrie was seriously considering de-aging Cruise for a sequence set in 1989, but ultimately decided it would be too distracting. “Originally, there had been a whole sequence at the beginning of the movie that was going to take place in 1989,” he says. “We talked about it as a cold open, we talked about it as flashbacks in the movie, we looked at de-aging. One of the big things about [the de-aging] I was looking at while researching, I kept saying, ‘Boy, this de-aging is really good’ or ‘This de-aging is not so good. Never did I find myself actually following the story.”

4. Three-Hour Director’s Cut

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According to McQuarrie, the original cut of Dead Reckoning was three hours long. “With every cut, we knew it could be better, we knew it could be tighter,” he says. “When we finally screened it for the last test audience and were happy with the result, we were about two minutes longer than we are now, and we walked away from it. The studio was very happy, the scores were great, but we still knew we had issues. We knew we had issues with pace and length, and we went back into the editing room, reconfigured the first act, and ended up taking two minutes out of the movie, which was critical.”

5. Cruise Destroyed Six Motorcycles

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Cruise destroyed six motorcycles in just one day while filming Dead Reckoning, by driving them off a cliff. “In terms of this movie, definitely the motorcycle jump [was the scariest],” McQuarrie says. “But we have continued and we've pushed ourselves even further in Part Two. And you'll see. It's terrifying.”

6. Cruise Insists on Theater Release

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Cruise himself insists on his big-budget action hero movies coming out in theaters so people can have the best experience watching them on the big screen. “I'm first and foremost the audience. The audience,” Cruise says. “So when you look at the films that I have, it's not about me. It's about us. It's about that experience together. … That's why Top Gun: Maverick, I was like, no, this movie's coming out in the theaters. And when we were going through that time period, I kept calling the distributors and the theaters. I said, no, it's coming. And I showed them the movie and I said this will be in the theaters. I want you to have that experience.”

7. 40 Takes For One Shot

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Vanessa Kirby says filming was so specific, she did 40 takes of her simply picking up a key. “We did 40 takes of picking up a key, and it was so fun because actually, you realize by take 30, you're thinking as an actor, yeah, you're just picking up a key, but I thought, ‘How many ways can a human being pick up a key?’” she says. “That's just one tiny example, but in many moments, you get to play many, many different things because you get the opportunity because there's time and space, and it's the process of, ‘Let's see what comes out.’ Then we have loads of time in the edit putting things together that are unusual and allow for– rather than, you know, we're so used to having one or two takes sometimes in films when it's a small budget.”

Beyond his dazzling on-screen presence, Tom Cruise's life has been one wild ride. Unbeknownst to many, his birth name is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, but he opted to drop his last name when he entered showbiz. Alongside his stellar career, Cruise earned an Honorary Palme d’Or for Achievement in Film at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Acting talent runs in the family, with his cousin William Mapother also carving a path in the industry. Surprisingly, Cruise once contemplated becoming a priest! Read on to discover 11 facts you never knew about the star of Mission: Impossible.

1. Cruise Is His Middle Name

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Cruise is one of many actors who changed his name for Hollywood. However, he decided to drop his actual last name. Cruise was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV. He was named after his father.

2. He Has An Honorary Palme d’Or

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Cruise has been nominated for and won many awards. Last year, he received an Honorary Palme d’Or for Achievement in Film. Cruise was given the award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, when his film Top Gun: Maverick was debuted. Cruise received the award along with Forest Whitaker.

3. His Cousin Is Also An Actor

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Acting runs in Cruise’s family. His cousin is actor, William Mapother, who is best known for his role on the TV show Lost. Mapother also worked alongside Cruise in the films Mission: Impossible 2, Magnolia, and Minority Report.

4. He Wanted To Be A Priest

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After his mother and stepfather married, Cruise attended the St. Francis Seminary School on a scholarship. Cruise wanted to become a priest, but decided to leave after a year. However, a classmate said he was kicked out after being caught with alcohol.

5. He Inspired Aladdin

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Cruise was used as an inspiration for the Disney character Aladdin. They decided to use Cruise as an inspiration as it would make the character look more likeable.

6. He Saved Ray-Ban

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In the early ‘80s, the Ray-Ban sunglasses company was in trouble. However, Cruise managed to save the company. After wearing the glasses in his iconic role in Risky Business, sales shot up. Cruise would then wear the brand in Top Gun, further improving sales.

7. He Loves Underwater Scenes

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Cruise is known for doing his own stunts. He is particularly good at underwater stunts. In Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Cruise was able to be underwater for six minutes. "I have done a lot of underwater sequences,” he told USA Today. “But we wanted to create a suspense underwater sequence without cuts. So doing that sequence was really interesting.”

8. He Has Dyslexia

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Cruise has dyslexia. In 2003, he opened up about growing up with it to People. "All through school and well into my career, I felt like I had a secret. When I'd go to a new school, I wouldn't want the other kids to know about my learning disability, but then I'd be sent off to remedial reading."

9. His First Wife Was Mimi Rogers

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Cruise has had a lot of high-profile relationships. He dated people like Cher, Rebecca DeMornay, and Penelope Cruz. He notably was married to both Nicole Kidman from 1990 to 2001, and Katie Holmes from 2006 and 2012. However, Cruise was also previously married to actress Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990.

10. He’s Won Three Golden Globes

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Cruise has been nominated for several different awards. He has won a Golden Globe three times. In 1990, he won Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama for Born On The First Of July. In 1997, he won Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role in Jerry Maguire. Lastly, he won Best Supporting Picture - Motion Picture for Magnolia in 2000.

11. He’s Never Won An Oscar

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While Cruise has won several awards, he hasn’t yet captured the elusive Oscar. Cruise has been nominated four times. Coincidentally, three of his nominations were for the roles he won Golden Globes for. He was nominated for Best Actor for his roles in Born On The First Of July and Jerry Maguire, and Best Supporting Actor for Magnolia. Cruise’s film, Top Gun: Maverick was also a Best Picture nominee.

As Mission: Impossible—Dead Recoking Part One hits theaters, get ready to be inspired by the incredible fitness journeys of the stars behind the high-octane action of Mission: Impossible. From the age-defying Tom Cruise's diverse outdoor pursuits to Rebecca Ferguson's rigorous preparation for fight sequences, this article unveils the secrets of 13 phenomenal bodies. Henry Cavill's thirst for knowledge in staying healthy, Michelle Monaghan's devotion to SoulCycle, and Angela Bassett's accountability approach will motivate you to take charge of your own wellness. Join us as we delve into the exercise regimes and wellness philosophies of these remarkable Mission: Impossible stars that keep them at the top of their game.

1. Tom Cruise

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Tom Cruise is still in amazing shape, despite being in his 60s. He does a variety of things to stay in shape. In particular, Cruise likes to do a lot of outdoor activities. He shared some of his favorites with MAartial.com. “Sea-kayaking, caving … fencing, treadmill, weights … rock-climbing, hiking. I jog. I do so many different activities.”

2. Rebecca Ferguson

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Rebecca Ferguson shared how she gets in shape for Mission Impossible films in a 2015 interview with Vogue. “Pilates was the ground floor. It’s such a good way of keeping your body safe. There is so much technique in fighting—how do you hold your fist, where does the motion come from. I had to learn to run fast—so we did a lot of explosive running. When we started filming, we kept the training up as much as possible. When you see a sequence that is 30 seconds long, it has taken weeks of preparation.”

3. Henry Cavill

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For Henry Cavill, staying healthy means learning new things. “Over the past couple of years, I've been trying to quiz my trainer, Dave Rienzi, more and more about the why of everything,” he told GQ. “‘Why is that going in? Why this rather than that? Aren't they both carbohydrates? Why this protein versus that protein? What does it mean when you do this before or afterwards?’ And so my journey is still very much in process.”

4. Michelle Monaghan

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Michelle Monaghan shared her favorite workout in an interview with Byrdie. “Soulcycle is my religion,” she revealed. “I started working out after I had my first daughter and I’ve really taken to it. I’m in better shape now than I was in my 20s!”

5. Jeremy Renner

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In an interview with The Gentleman’s Journal, Jeremy Renner talked about his support for the Me Too movement. “I always try to take something positive, even out of the worst things,” he said. “And, in this case, it’s got to be this courage. The courage women have had to stand up, and not wallow or be taken hold of by all this awful news. They knew that they couldn’t start a crusade alone, but they built one anyway — one brick at a time. And that shows great strength — a strength that I see it as my place to encourage.”

6. Thandie Newton

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Thandie Newton’s trainer, Liston Wingate-Dayes, talked to Healthista about how she stays in shape. “Her routines vary; she combines the routines we do, involving strength training, self-defense, light weights and stretching, with her yoga. We normally train two or three times a week when she is in London, but it’s tricky – celebrities are always working, and they don’t have much time. I might see her twice in one day, or some weeks we book five sessions, but she may cancel a couple of times and do things on her own.”

7. Vanessa Kirby

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Vanessa Kirby broke down how she got in shape for the Mission Impossible films to Harper’s Bazaar. She says that working out for her is about how she feels. “I think all of us really learned that exercise, training, and regime is more about how it makes you feel. If it makes you feel good, then do it.”

8. Jonathan Rhys Meyers

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In an interview with The Guardian, Jonathan Rhys Meyers opened up about his life and what he’s learned. One thing he shared was the biggest lesson he’s learned. “That if you really want to do something, you have to do it yourself,” he answered. “But nobody achieves anything on their own. Ask for help.”

9. Maggie Q

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Maggie Q shared some of her wellness secrets in an interview with InStyle. In it, she shared her favorite workouts. Q says that she likes going to classes, and cites OmStar.com as a favorite, specifically their yoga classes. “I've always been more inspired by crowd energy. You are more inspired when you feed off other people in class."

10. Dougray Scott

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Dougray Scott shared some of his diet and exercise secrets in an interview with Coachweb.com. “I have a trainer who lives in my pocket,” he says. “He’s my mate and he owns the gym in LA that I train at. He trains me three times a week and I also do Pilates because my back gets stiff, and Pilates is good for that.”

11. Paula Patton

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Patton said this about what she's looking for in a partner: “You know what the biggest thing is for me? Somebody who really likes to have fun,” said Patton. I want a man, but I want a man that also wants to embrace his inner child. You know? Laugh. Have fun. Enjoy the moment….I just, I want to be happy. Life is too short," she said, according to Essence.

12. Keri Russell

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Keri Russell opened up about her wellness secrets in an interview with Shape. In it, she says that she values time to herself. "Comfort for me is a bike ride. It can be simple: When I'm the one in the morning who gets Matthew and me coffee, alone on my bike. I don't care how cold it is. It could be 23 degrees outside. I need those little bits of time to myself.”

13. Angela Bassett

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Angela Bassett shared some of her workout secrets with BlackDoctor.org. She says that she likes to make plans with others, as it keeps her accountable. “Recently, I got a couple of my girlfriends together and we walked the Rose Bowl. It’s maybe a three-mile thing. It’s about showing up and accountability. You have to say, ‘Everyone will meet at 8:15 a.m.’ I know when I have a real plan then I’m there. If my friends are waiting, that puts a pressure on me not to disappoint them.”

1. Zoe Saldana

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Zoe Saldana plays the female lead character, Neytiri. She shared her diet secrets with Byrdie. “Nutrition is super important in my life. It always has been. These days, I’m really heavy into having a green juice in the morning because it’s hard for me to have a balanced meal sometimes as a working mom. I’m a professional; I’m working all the time. I want to make sure that I get my greens in, so I do that every day, and it helps me a great deal. But I try to be balanced. I don’t like hearing, ‘Oh, I’m doing this diet, or I’m doing that diet.’ I like when people use words like ‘my lifestyle.’ When we use the word ‘diet,’ we’re preparing ourselves for a big sacrifice that we know, the older we get, we’re going to be too weak to fulfill. We just end up crashing and defeating ourselves. So I like telling myself that I’m not doing a diet, that this is my lifestyle, and I’m choosing to have a balanced meal. I don’t like having zero carbs or all protein. I like getting all the nutrition that my body needs so that it can heal itself naturally.”

2. Michelle Rodriguez

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Michelle Rodriguez appeared in the first film as Trudy Chacon. She shared her skincare secrets with Beauty Logic Blog. "My must-have beauty product is my moisturizer. I care more about my skin and its maintenance than I do covering it up. I cover my blemishes when I go out on the town with some tea tree oil to disinfect them, and then I'll put on an oil-free cover up under my eyes if I didn't sleep. After that I will apply a little lip stain on the cheeks (if I've neglected my weekly vitamin intake) for a fresh complexion. I'll put a little mascara, but that sums it up.”

3. Sam Worthington

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Sam Worthington played Jake Sully in the first two films. Despite all his success, Worthington wants to stay humble and live a low-key lifestyle. “My life is still the same,” he said to The Telegraph. “There is a fantastical element to my job because there is loads of glitz and glam attached to it. But I don’t like all that, I didn’t get into this to have my photo taken. If I wanted to be famous I would go on Big Brother.”

4. Sigourney Weaver

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Sigourney Weaver played Dr. Grace Agustine in the first movie, and Kiri Sully in the second. She tells InStyle that being prepared is one of her biggest pieces of acting advice. "You've got to do your work ahead of time," she says. "Then you just go for it. You jump off the cliff."

5. Kate Winslet

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Kate Winslet played Ronal in the second film. She opened up about eating a plant-based diet and loving juicing to MindFood.com. “Our fridge is always full of spinach, kale, cucumbers. I’m vegetarian and my husband is vegan, so there’s a lot of plant-based focus in our home. My husband turning vegan is relatively recent, so that’s been a really fun education because you have to learn to be a little more inventive with foods.”

6. Stephen Lang

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Stephen Lang played Miles Quarich in both films. He shared his approach to fitness in an interview with Men’s Health. "At this point in my life, What's important to me is flexibility, stamina, and strength. And I've added one other thing to that, which is alignment.”

7. Edie Falco

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Edie Falco played Frances Ardmore in the second film. She is known for following a vegetarian diet for years, and recently became vegan. Falco says to The Guardian that this impacted her time on The Sopranos, because her character made a lot of Italian food. “If you watch the scenes in the show where I’m supposed to be cooking, you’ll see the camera never showed my hands, because I have no idea how to do that. That food is not even the kinda stuff I eat. I was vegetarian on the show and I became vegan in the past 10 years.”

8. Matt Gerald

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Matt Gerald played Lyle Wainfleet in both films. He talked about how he chooses roles to play with The Action Elite. “When considering a role, I like to ask a few specific questions. 1) Is the piece well-written? 2) Is the character well-rounded with meaningful impact? 3) Does the project shoot in either Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, New York, New Orleans, or London? Yes to any two of these questions will generally suffice.”

9. Joel David Moore

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Joel David Moore played Dr. Norm Spellman in both films. Ahead of the second film, he talked about his hopes for the franchise with People. "It's not about my small part of this big machine, it's about everybody coming together and finding the joy of filmmaking in a hybrid between tech and emotional quality. The third film is going to be even more [emotional]. We're just piling on every time with the emotions because every time that you take that next step with that family, it's going to be a more emotional journey. And the beautiful thing about that is Jim [Cameron] is never going to leave a question unanswered."

1. Tim Russ

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Tim Russ played Tuvok on the show. He shared his advice for other actors with DeathWishCoffee.com. “I tell them the first thing you got to do is look at the environment you got to work in and what's going on and what it's going to be like to try to make a living out of doing this as opposed to, like I said, doing it as a hobby. If you want to do it as a hobby, fantastic, but if you want to try to make a living at it, you are going to have a hell of a tough time just based on the fact that the production, the way the production is, where it goes on, most of it is run away and not here. The opportunities are fewer and their competition is just as fierce if not more than it was before. So it's that much tougher to book these things and get stuff.”

2. Jeri Ryan

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Jeri Ryan played the role of Seven of Nine, also known as Annika Hansen. She talked about her thoughts on how the character was perceived to The Huffington Post. “I say the same thing now as I said then: I don't have a problem with Seven's overtly sexual physical appearance, if only because of the way she was written and developed. If it was a crappy character, then OK. But she was so nuanced and beautifully written.”

3. Garrett Wang

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Garrett Wang played Harry Kim on all seven seasons. In an interview with Gay Calgary, he spoke out in support of equality for the LGBT community.“We still have issues with people not allowing themselves to be empathetic with gender and sexual orientation issues,” he said. “You know what I’m saying? We still have issues where people can’t see the other side or another’s perspective. When Voyager came out in 1995 we had bomb threats. People could not stand that we had a woman in command. And that’s 1995! And when it comes to issues of sexual orientation, there are still people getting beaten and killed because of their sexuality! Gay bashings are something that is still happening in 2014. It’s ludicrous! It’s like God dang it, everyone needs a dosage of perspective. I would love to take every single bigoted person that is racist and make them live with a black family or an Asian family or in another culture for a few months. Take every person who is anti-gay and make them live with a gay couple for a few months. Then you understand what these people are like. That they are like you. Perspective is the key to everything – whether it’s world peace, or understanding between people of different genders or sexual orientations. It’s all about perspective and understanding how the other half lives. That is the answer.”

4. Roxann Dawson

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Roxann Dawson played B’Elanna Torres on the show. However, she revealed to Film.com that she doesn’t see herself reprising her role, and wants to move forward. “I think there's such wonderful and modern work being done there right now that we really can't categorize it in the way that we might have in the '90s. But no, I haven't really wanted to go back. I feel like I've been there and I've done that, and I love moving on to other things. So that's where I am at with it."

5. Robert Duncan MacNeill

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Robert Duncan MacNeill played Tom Paris on the show. He also got the chance to direct, and shared how he convinced the director to let him have the opportunity with StarTrek.com. “I think that first day he thought it was just a lot of talk. But I kept speaking to him. I talked to Frakes and other people who’d done it. I started spending time in editing and screenings, particularly screenings when Rick was in the room. I wanted to hear what he liked, what he didn't, how he thought, how things could’ve been directed better... All of that.”

6. Ethan Phillips

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Ethan Phillips played the role of Neelix on the show. He shared what he thought of the character’s arc to StarTrek.com. “To tell you the honest-to-god truth, the first few seasons, I made some suggestions and gave some ideas, but they knew what they wanted to do and they had their agenda, and that was fine with me. My job was to show up and to bring to life the words they wrote, and that's what I did. But I was very pleased, though, with where Neelix ended up.”

7. Kate Mulgrew

Kate Mulgrew played Katherine Janaway in the franchise. She’s returned to the role, but is mostly doing voice work. Mulgrew talked about this with The Cosmic Circus. “Oh, it’s much, much easier. And it’s very freeing, very liberating. And I’m collaborating with Kevin and Dan Hageman. Not only genius-level creators or writers, but they’re so good, decent men, that when I’m working with them, I just feel that I could do anything. And that we’re in it together. And I’ve seldom felt this level of collaboration. Because in live-action, it’s very intense.”