What Is Tom Cruise Like On The Mission: Impossible Sets? ‘The One Thing’ Rebecca Ferguson Took With Her

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) hanging off a train in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1
(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Tom Cruise is one of the biggest movie stars in the world, but based on reports from those who have worked with him, the man can get…intense on the set. He puts his body on the line to make stunts in his films as real as possible, and while he may not expect others to do the same, Rebecca Ferguson says that Cruise is the hardest working person on the set who does expect everybody else to give what they can.

Speaking with Deadline, Rebecca Ferguson talked about what it was like making the Mission: Impossible movies with Tom Cruise. She says that above all he always expects others to do their best, but more importantly, he matches that expectation by always trying to do his best. She explained… 

He expects the best of everyone. That’s probably the one thing I’ve really taken with me. If you can’t deliver, that’s fine, you always look for other solutions. But he’s the first one on set and the last one out. If you ask that everyone be their best selves, you need to deliver that for yourself. And he does.

It seems Tom Cruise leads by example in his movies by always doing whatever he can. It’s just that in his case what he can do includes jumping off cliffs on motorcycles and Cruise scaling sheer buildings. It does seem Cruise doesn’t expect everybody to do the best that he can do, just what they can do. Ferguson’s comment about looking for “other solutions” seems to indicate Cruise is okay if there are things people truly can’t do, but he just wants everyone to deliver the best of what is possible.

It honestly sounds pretty nice. Certainly not everybody is truly capable of doing some of the stuff Tom Cruise does, but he doesn’t seem to have the mentality that just because he does it, everybody else should as well. There are lines, and Cruise just wants people to give a project their all, whatever that happens to mean for them. 

The team is certainly giving their all right now considering they’re in the middle of a massive two-film shoot. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One came out earlier this year, and Part Two is coming up. What crazy thing Tom Cruise and company will do to make the next, and possibly last, Mission: Impossible movie something special remains to be seen, though we can guess Cruise will make sure everybody brings their A game.  

Based on how Mission: Impossible 7 ended for Ferguson, it seems unlikely she's actually part of the Mission: Impossible 8 cast, but stranger things have happened. At least she knows what's expected of her by the star. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.