Mission: Impossible’s Rebecca Ferguson Reveals Biggest Lesson She Learned From Tom Cruise

Actor Rebecca Ferguson starred alongside Tom Cruise in three Mission: Impossible movies, with the effectiveness of the pair’s on-screen dynamic offering Ferguson plenty of her own major acting opportunities, as she recently recalled how she was inspired by Cruise’s work ethic and how she carried that with her to other projects. Cruise has a reputation for immersing himself in his projects, both in how he partakes in thrilling stunt sequences and in his various behind-the-scenes contributions, with Ferguson recalling how she implements what she saw in him on her other projects. The pair last appeared together in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.

“He’s a happy, excited, professional movie star. He’s kind, wonderful, and driven, and gave me the most incredible opportunities,” Ferguson shared with Radio Times magazine, per Deadline. “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.”

Ferguson joined the franchise with Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and returned for Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Dead Reckoning. The actor’s Ilsa Faust proved to be so compelling that some audiences have wondered if she could get her own spinoff, with Ferguson herself addressing the idea earlier this year.

“When I started Mission, I fell in love with Ilsa so much. I thought, ‘Yeah, f-ck yeah she’d have a spinoff,’” Ferguson confirmed with Ilsa’s future to ComicBook.com. “And then gradually, I don’t know if I became humble or if I realized it has nothing to do with Ilsa, it actually is a team thing, it is Ilsa and Ethan and [Simon Pegg’s] Benji and — I was gonna say Ving [Rhames] — all of the characters together that makes it so good.” 

She did note that, were a spin-off project to be developed by the minds behind Mission: Impossible, it could still be effective, expressing, “The idea of Ilsa alone — it would always work, you would need [director] Chris McQuarrie and you would need Tom to produce it. Maybe Tom’s Ethan can dip in and out, he can be a guest star in my show. My point is, it’s not needed, I think. I think we’re good as it stands.”

Stay tuned for updates on Ferguson’s possible Mission: Impossible future.

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