With Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning — Part One less than a month away, action fans everywhere don’t have to wait much longer to see one of the year’s most anticipated films. Actually… To hell with anticipation, you just want to watch Tom Cruise run all over the world. Admit it. So do I, for that matter.
It’s true that the Mission: Impossible franchise is no stranger to upping the ante, and if the stunts on-screen for this latest installment weren’t enough, a slew of new characters are being introduced around them.
One such character comes by way of Shea Whigham‘s mysterious Jasper Briggs, an adversary of Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. As Whigham prepares to take on Tom in what’s sure to be a mind-melting thrill ride, the actor sat down with GQ to discuss the upcoming movie and his illustrious career — and all the crazy stunts he thought he’d never do.
“It’s amazing, because they don’t make films like this anymore. When you see the train, I had a buddy that came with me (to the premiere) asked, “Was that you really up on top of the train with Tom?” I said, “Yeah, that’s us in Norway, going 65, 70 miles an hour on top of the speeding train.” Everything is practical with these guys. And you know Tom does his own stuff, everything.”
Whether he’s lending his voice to the likes of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse or ripping around in The Righteous Gemstones, is there anyone quite like Shea Whigham? When asked about preparation for his stunts, Shea kept things short, and by that he meant — there wasn’t any.
“They just threw me right on it, man. With something that kind of had me anchored that looked like a piece of dental floss.”
Traversing countries like Norway, Rome, Venice, Abu Dhabi, and London — the cast of Dead Reckoning Part One had their work cut out for them. Still, when your job descriptions includes chasing Tom Cruise around the streets of Rome, who can really complain? Shea Whigham certainly isn’t.
“We went to Norway, Rome, Venice, Abu Dhabi, London. That’s one of the coolest things, is the travel. In Rome, there wasn’t a stunt driver. I was a little kid chasing after Tom in the streets, the Via Imperiali and landmarks. It’s as good as it gets.”
With a larger cast including icons like Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, and many more, Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning — Part One is shaping up to be this summer’s best film. Why shouldn’t it be? Tom Cruise took Top Gun: Maverick to the literal top of the charts. It stands to reason he can do it again.
Published: Jun 20, 2023 10:32 pm