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By the time the seventh installment arrives in September of next year having recently been delayed once again, 26 years will have passed since the Mission: Impossible franchise launched. That’s incredible longevity for any brand in modern Hollywood, with star and producer Tom Cruise remaining almost the sole constant throughout.
Ving Rhames is the only other cast member to have appeared in each entry, while the director’s chair has been filled by Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, Brad Bird and Christopher McQuarrie, who looks to have made it his own after tackling four consecutive globetrotting action blockbusters.
McQuarrie and the longtime Ethan Hunt have been virtually inseparable for over a decade, collaborating on almost every one of the A-lister’s projects since Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie back in 2008, but everyone knows that Mission: Impossible is The Tom Cruise Show at the end of the day.
In a new interview, Mission: Impossible III alum Maggie Q praised her former co-star for his leadership qualities on set, something that’s come to the fore more than ever as the latest chapter continues to struggle with the effects of the pandemic.
“Tom’s a leader. And again, when you work with people at his level, there is a reason they are where they are, period. There’s no question. He’s not my best friend so I’m not talking about him personally, but I am talking about him as a professional. On set his enthusiasm never waivers. I’ve never seen it waiver. I’ve never seen somebody who loved what they did more and I’ve also never seen somebody who was so encouraging of those around him in the thing that he loves.”
Cruise may have gone viral for the tirade launched at a couple of crew members for breaking protocol, but he kept putting food on everyone’s table by ensuring that Mission: Impossible 7 powered through a global health crisis to keep everyone gainfully employed, which is what leaders do.