The Mission: Impossible franchise has a separate fan base all thanks to lead actor Tom Cruise. However, the films are undoubtedly a team effort, and without the rest of the ensemble, it would have been impossible to pull off such a huge franchise, one film after the other. One of the many actors and actresses who became a part of the Mission: Impossible team is American actress Maggie Q.
Maggie Q played the role of Zhen Lei in J.J. Abrams’ Mission: Impossible III. And as it turns out, Tom Cruise and the director had a tough time casting the role as they auditioned about 200 people for the role before, finally, Maggie Q managed to wow them with her talent.
How Maggie Q Became a Part of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible
In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Maggie Q opened up about everything from being mentored by Jackie Chan to lobbying for her character using only hand-to-hand combat in her latest film, Fear the Night. During the extensive conversation, Q recalled her audition for Mission: Impossible III and how she was almost immediately selected for the role. She also stated that Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams had auditioned a couple of hundred people for the role but didn’t find the one.
“My audition was with [director J.J. Abrams]. Tom, I think, was there for certain auditions for people who had to audition. But he was on tour promoting War of the Worlds at the time. So he wasn’t there that day that I came in to read for J.J. And J.J. really offered me the movie pretty much immediately at the audition. ’Cause I think he had been looking for a long time. And the rumor was he had read a hundred people, 200 people at that point. And J.J.’s very specific about his casting. … And so when we read, I think ’cause he’d been searching for so long, he was like, ‘OK, this is my girl.’”
Well, when you’re creating a film that’s going to be a part of an insane franchise, you get the right to be picky and choosy when it comes to the characters. Ultimately, Q was the right choice for Zhen Lei, wasn’t she?
Maggie Q’s Experience Working with Tom Cruise
Add Q to the ever-growing list of celebrities who fell in love with Cruise’s kind demeanor and welcoming nature on set. The Divergent actress recalled how Cruise came up to her and hugged her the first day they worked together and told her just how happy he was to have her there.
“I had my camera test and Tom shows up to the camera test. I didn’t know he’s showing up to the camera test…And he’s so excited and he gives me a big hug and he’s like, ‘I’m so happy you’re here. J.J. told me all about [the audition] and I wish I could’ve been here for that.’ And I remember thinking like, ‘I have seen this face so many times. I’ve heard this voice, I’ve indulged in the experience of this person, but it was never directed back at me.’ So it was the oddest thing to be in a conversation with him when I grew up watching him.”
You could say Q was simply star-struck at that moment! Well, can you blame her? The actress also went on to state that while people are free to have their own opinions about Cruise, her experience was just extremely positive and she truly felt like a part of the team. She recalled how Cruise went out of his way to make her feel special.
“People can say what they want based on their experience, it’s their right to. But for me, I have only ever had positive experiences with Tom…It was inclusive. Mind you, on that movie, I was at the bottom of the call sheet. And Tom, I’ll never forget, went out of his way to make sure that I never felt that way. And that to me was so huge because it is the opposite with [most] people at his level. They don’t want you to feel special or included.”
There are far too many positive on-set stories about Cruise for us to believe otherwise. The actor has proven time and again that despite his superstar status, he is as down to earth as one can be.
You can stream Mission: Impossible III on Paramount+.
Source: Yahoo! Entertainment
