If Thandie Newton were asked whether she’d do it all again, she’d probably scream out a ‘NO!’
Working with Tom Cruise in a billion-dollar franchise isn’t as dreamy as it might sound, at least for Newton, because the role also held its fair share of cons or more. From a makeout scene gone wrong to Cruise’s unbridled control issues, there was a lot that rendered the British actress terrified. No wonder she never came back for another Mission: Impossible film.
Thandie Newton Freaked Out While Filming An Intimate Scene With Tom Cruise
Even though John Woo’s Mission: Impossible 2 made a fortune at the global box office after grossing a colossal sum of $546 million, there’s no doubt that the film was the most underwhelming out of all the other installments in the action-spy series. Turns out, things behind the scenes weren’t exactly charming either, especially for Thandie Newton.
The Westworld star undoubtedly admired Tom Cruise; nothing says ‘fangirl’ quite like hanging Top Gun posters in your room. But for all the high regard she had for the Oscar nominee, it was still Newton’s very first time collaborating with Cruise. So, when she witnessed her co-star get turned on by her, something which, as it turned out, wasn’t just for the cameras, Newton was positively horrified. And it certainly didn’t help that she’d never filmed an intimate scene wherein the opposite star actually ended up getting an erection.
“There was the love scene between Tom and I, where we were in bed all day. We laughed till we cried. As soon as he got into the bed, I thought he was really aroused. It was terrifying. He was wearing one of those modesty cups. And it was massive. It was almost more distracting than if he’d actually had an erection. Which I certainly didn’t expect him to have – I’ve never done a love scene where that’s even been a remote possibility. So hysteria seemed a perfectly logical response.”
Even a simple kissing scene with Cruise was uncomfortable for Newton after she described it as “slightly icky and sort of wet.” Sounds like something straight out of a nightmare.
Working With Tom Cruise Was Scary for Thandie Newton
It wouldn’t be the most pleasant experience to have someone boss you around all day and displace their frustration on you when things fail to work out their way. So, Newton was naturally miserable while filming Mission: Impossible 2 because Cruise couldn’t seem to let neither himself nor anybody else catch a break.
“I was so scared of Tom. He was a very dominant individual,” the 2012 actress revealed in an old interview with Vulture. The situation on set was so atrocious that Newton called it an absolute “nightmare.” “It just pushed me further into a place of terror and insecurity. It was a real shame,” she said. Thandie Newton clearly didn’t have the time of her life while shooting the movie.
Mission: Impossible 2 can be streamed on Netflix.
Source: Showbiz Cheatsheet
