Simon Pegg on ‘Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning’ & Friendship With Tom Cruise
For two decades, English actor Simon Pegg has been a constant, evolving presence in the Mission: Impossible franchise as the lovable IMF tech specialist, Benji Dunn. With the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning this Friday, Pegg reflected on the unparalleled privilege of shaping a character over such a long span, his collaborative process with director Christopher McQuarrie and the unique bond he shares with co-star Tom Cruise.
“It’s such a privilege to be able to play a character over 20 years,” Pegg enthused in a virtual interview. He explained that with each new instalment, he looks back at Benji’s past experiences and how they might have changed him. In Dead Reckoning Part One, Benji remains true to himself, as he’s still the first to highlight the inherent craziness of their missions, but he’s undeniably matured. “He’s grown up a lot. He’s been through a lot of stuff. He’s a lot more capable, a lot more serious.” This time around, Benji is entrusted with a greater responsibility than ever before, a development Pegg clearly relished. “I enjoyed playing Benji more in this film than any other,” he admitted.
Pegg credits a significant portion of Benji’s development to his ongoing collaboration with director McQuarrie, who joined the franchise as a writer on Ghost Protocol. “It really is a collaboration between, mostly between myself and Chris McQuarrie,” Pegg stated. He recalled that in the original script of Ghost Protocol, Benji ended up doing something that was “very superheroic and kind of cool, but it just wasn’t quite in character really and McHugh kind of paired it back, and he kept Benji’s powder dry.” This deliberate pacing led to Benji finally donning a mask in Fallout, after years of anticipation. “For me and McQ, we’ve kind of modulated the character together,” Pegg explained, highlighting McQuarrie’s receptive and collaborative nature.
“My relationship with Tom [Cruise] is very similar to Benji’s relationship with Ethan. There are things that I can say to Tom that no one else can. There are things that Benji can say to Ethan that no one else can.”
Simon Pegg
Final Reckoning picks up after the events of Dead Reckoning, where Ethan Hunt and his team (Pegg, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff) struggle to retrieve the only possible weapon that can defeat ‘The Entity’ — one that sits under the polar ice cap at the bottom of the Bering Sea in the wreck of a sunken Russian submarine — The Sevastopol. The stakes in this film are higher than ever with Cruise climbing to new heights — literally and figuratively — in what is the final entry in the franchise. The jaw-dropping stunts done with practical effects and without CGI makes this an edge-of-the-seat thriller.
For his part, Pegg sees a strong parallel between his own journey within the Mission: Impossible franchise and Benji’s evolution within the IMF. “My journey in these films is like Benji’s journey in the IMF,” he says. Just as Benji found himself in the field alongside the legendary Ethan Hunt, Pegg, coming from smaller British films like Shaun of the Dead, found himself in Hollywood working with the iconic Tom Cruise. This parallel extends to their on-screen and off-screen relationships. “My relationship with Tom is very similar to Benji’s relationship with Ethan. There are things that I can say to Tom that no one else can. There are things that Benji can say to Ethan that no one else can.”
When asked what exactly he can say to Tom Cruise that others can’t, Pegg grinned, revealing a playful dynamic. “Me and Tom have a very playful relationship. Like, we’re always teasing each other, and I say things to Tom that people are like, ‘You can’t say that!'” He describes Cruise as “way more easy going than I think a lot of people assume,” often leading to moments of sheer hilarity on set. “We’ve had days when it’s been impossible because we’ve just been laughing too much.”
“At the end of every film, it just feels like we can’t do it again, and we always do.”
Simon Pegg
Reflecting on Tom Cruise’s unparalleled dedication, Pegg’s admiration is evident. “It’s just an absolute tireless 100% dedication to what he does. He literally eats, sleeps, lives, breathes movies.” Pegg attributes Cruise’s enduring success not to a mystical quality, but to sheer application and unparalleled vigor. “Most days, I’ll give 80% maybe. But Tom is 100% all the time, and that’s why. That’s the secret to how he’s got where he is. He never ever half-asses it, ever.”
The conversation inevitably turns to the franchise’s legendary stunts, each seemingly outdoing the last. Pegg admits to always questioning how they can possibly top themselves, from the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol to hanging off an A400 in Rogue Nation, and the motorbike jump in Fallout. “At the end of every film, it just feels like we can’t do it again, and we always do.”
Among the myriad of on-set anecdotes accumulated over two decades, one particularly vivid memory stands out for Pegg, a “classic Mission: Impossible day” in South Africa during the filming of Final Reckoning. After a successful driving scene followed by a helicopter ride with Tom Cruise, who was “verging on aerobatics,” they finished early. “Tom said, ‘Do you guys wanna go diving with sharks?'” Pegg recalled. He, Cruise, Hayley Atwell, and Greg Tarzan Davis immediately agreed, flying to the coast for an impromptu shark dive.
If given the chance to perform a Tom Cruise stunt for the sheer joy of it, Pegg’s choice is the Burj Khalifa climb. “That’s like a good entry-level stunt,” he quipped. While acknowledging the inherent danger, he believes it offered a more controlled environment compared to the other stunts. “Tom was basically just having fun… running around on the outside of that building waving to tourists, having the time of his life.” It seems even for an “old hand” like Simon Pegg, the thrill of Mission: Impossible remains as potent as ever.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is in theatres and IMAX this Friday.
Feature photo by Lorenzo Agius, courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
