Tom Cruise is one of the world's biggest movie stars, but you don’t reach that level of stardom without some level of controversy attached to your name, and Cruise certainly has that. However, say what you will about Cruise off-screen, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two co-star Hannah Waddingham has nothing but good things to say about Cruise, and director Christopher McQuarrie for that matter.
Hannah Waddingham has joined the Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two cast in an as-yet-unknown role. Last month she appeared on TV and spoke about her time filming with Tom Cruise, with Waddingham calling him one of the “loveliest” people she has met, and saying she had “no time” for his detractors. Speaking with Deadline before the Golden Globes she reiterated those comments while also indicating she’s seen some backlash herself for having made them. She said…
He’s a fabulous person, great to work with. It’s hilarious to be fractionally vilified for saying something nice. What have we become if we can’t say something nice? He’s gorgeous, as is Chris McQuarrie, the director.
It does sound like Hannah Waddington and Tom Cruise did get to know each other pretty well on set. Waddington said their scenes together for the next Mission: Impossible movie involved spending five days together on board the USS George HW Bush, which had to be an incredible experience, though also an intense one. It sounds like Waddingham plays one of the good guys, teaming up with Cruise following the cliffhanger ending of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.
Tom Cruise has had some high-profile marriages, to both Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes, that have both ended and been fodder for tabloids. Cruise is also the single most prominent member of the Church of Scientology, an organization that has been the subject of numerous controversies of its own. As such, not everybody loves Tom Cruise, but Waddingham does.
And to be fair, when speaking about Cruise strictly professionally, most of his co-stars tend to have glowing things to say. He’s been called the hardest-working person on any given set. His willingness to put his own body on the line to get incredible stunts on film is very well known. Most of the people who work with Cruise tend to avoid talking about his personal life, and it doesn’t seem that life intrudes much on any given film set, so there’s not a lot that anybody could say even if they wanted to do so.
Fans of Tom Cruise will have to wait a bit longer than anticipated to see the Waddington and Cruise together. The Mission: Impossible: Dead Recking Part Two release date has been pushed back to May 2025. The planned back-to-back shoot of two M:I films crashed up against a global pandemic which has made this one of the longest productions we've seen in a long time. Check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie.
