GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 27

HENRY CAVILL TAKES
ON TOM CRUISE

the idea and one conversation turned into several
and here we are. But making it feel different was
a condition of my returning. It was essential to me
that the movie have a different feel to maintain
the Mission aesthetic. I cleaned house, brought in
a whole new crew, with the exception of a few key
people. I also studied Rogue Nation as if it were a
template, then worked to smash that template."
Pegg looks to Ghost Protocol as the start of why
the films are connecting with audiences the way
that they do. "They happened upon the notion
when we did the fourth one and Tom did that crazy
stunt on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the people really
appreciated the authenticity of what's going on.
In an age where you can literally do anything with
CG, and not to decry CG in any way - I think it's a
spectacularly effective tool - but sometimes the
jeopardy involved in watching somebody hang off
a building can be diminished if you can see plainly
that it's either not them or it's been done on a
green-screen. Whereas if the stunts are absolutely
real, it just makes the whole experience more edgeof-the-seat and nail-biting because you're watching
it thinking, 'Oh, my God, Ethan is hanging off a
helicopter,' while you're also thinking, 'Oh, my God,
Tom Cruise is hanging off a helicopter.'
For his part, McQuarrie sees the appeal of the
films much more simply: "It's Tom Cruise's insistence
that the franchise rely on character," he notes.
"As much as Mission is dominated by stunts and
spectacle and exotic locations, it's ultimately
about character. We are looking for ways to infuse
every moment with it. And, of course, there's Tom's
willingness to do things no other actor would. It
allows us to create a far more subjective experience."

STRAIGHT FROM A KRYPTONIAN resurrection in Justice League, Henry
Cavill has turned his sights to Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt in Mission:
Impossible: - Fallout, playing agent August Walker, assigned to take
him in. "Walker is a blunt force-trauma style weapon," Cavill says.
"He's used as a preemptive strike or last resort by the CIA. He's Ordell
Robbie's AK-47, so is obviously not going to get along with Ethan
Hunt's scalpel-esque, no collateral damage approach. His journey is
fittingly simply: The Mission and the greater good at all costs."
With the accompanying high-octane action. "What's unique about
the action in every M:I movie?" he asks rhetorically. "It ups the ante.
We do things in this movie that have never been done before on
screen. The things that Tom and I went through were both extremely
exciting and excitingly dangerous. There was some discomfort, too. I
have to say, Tom is fascinating to watch and interact with on set. His
mind is constantly living in both performance and producing, even
in the middle of takes. It clearly makes for a better movie, but is an
incredibly difficult space to exist within for a performer or producer,
in my opinion. It's a space, however, that Tom seemingly exists within
effortlessly.
Cavill is effusive regarding writer/director Christopher McQuarrie and
what he's brought to the film. "He's a very talented director and, dare

I say, my favorite so far," offers Cavill. "He encourages collaboration,
he writes exceptionally well and without arrogance; he knows what
he wants and is open to discussion of that at any time of day or not
and, on top of that all, he is a lovely man. It's story first for McQ, and
his style is adaptive."
He does however add the surprising way he ended up cast in the
film: "Chris and I, while having conversations privately, also started to
have discussions very publicly on Instagram. That's the first time I've
been asked to be in a blockbuster movie on social media. Maybe not
the last, though?"-EG

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GEEK - Issue 3 2018