‘Mission: Impossible 7’ star Simon Pegg: ‘We didn’t know if Tom Cruise would survive’

“Mission: Impossible 7” star Simon Pegg
“We didn’t know if Tom Cruise would survive”

Hollywood star Simon Pegg (53) is an old hand in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise. In “Dead Reckoning Part One,” the Briton, best known for the cult sitcom “Spaced” (1999-2001), takes on the role of former lab technician Benji Dunn for the fifth time. Together with the agent Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise (61), Pegg once again has to do nothing less than save the entire world.

In an interview with the news agency spot on news, the star reported fear of death for his leading man Tom Cruise, his own, comparatively harmless stunts in “Mission: Impossible 7”, as well as the worldwide pandemic, which presented major Hollywood production with enormous tasks.

In ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ Tom Cruise jumps off a cliff on a motorcycle. Have you seen this first hand on the film set?

Simon Pegg: Oh yes, all the main actors were there for it. We all stood there and looked at it. And it was horrific because we didn’t know if Tom would survive the day. But my god, was it exciting.

What were your craziest or most breakneck stunts in this film?

Pegg: Well, on ‘Mission: Impossible’ we all have our roles to play. Ethan Hunt is, of course, the frontman of the group. So he’s the one doing the really dangerous stuff. My character Benji and Luther are also often threatened – especially in this film – and we have to do things like defuse bombs, but none of that is our job as often as it is for Tom Cruise.

In fact, I don’t think anyone in the world could do what Tom is doing. He is unique in his dedication to the physical aspects of our work, but also in his dramatic work.

I myself had to jump into a boat in Venice, which was actually not at all safe because the ground is very slippery there. But if I were to complain about it now – given that my good friend and leading man jumped off a cliff on a motorcycle – I think that would be pretty disingenuous.

A question for long-time fans of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise: has your character, Benji, become a full-blown agent who also works in the field?

Pegg: Benji has always been a cross between an everyman and a superhero in my opinion. In the beginning he was a lab technician, now he is one of the longest serving team members. He is incredibly skilled and good at his job. But at the same time, he will always be the one asking, ‘Why are we doing this?’ and ‘Why are all these things happening to us?’.

In a way, he represents the human side of the team. In the meantime, however, he has undoubtedly become a full-fledged agent. He’s a leader now, and more of a super spy than ever before.

This is your fifth ‘Mission: Impossible’ film. You will also appear in ‘Dead Reckoning Part Two’. Why do you keep coming back to this film series?

Pegg: I just love doing these films. I really enjoy working with Tom and [Regisseur] Christopher McQuarrie together. I also love McQ’s relationship with Tom, but also with us. He’s great as a person and as a director, and I feel like he’s also an incredibly talented storyteller.

So every time the call comes, I jump at the chance. It’s a privilege to be in these films. For that I feel a lot of gratitude.

Was this production the longest and most complex of your career?

Pegg: 100 percent. That was because of the pandemic. We really wrote the rule book for how to make a film in a global pandemic. This often slowed down filming. We also had to interrupt them completely in between. So we had to be very careful and not rush anything.

For us it became part of the mission. We always say that these films also reflect real life to a certain extent. There’s always real-life drama running alongside the plot of the film, and that helps the film feel even more authentic by the end. So ultimately that added to the quality of the film and also really bonded us as a team.

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