Tom Cruise confronted Paramount executive to stop being replaced in Mission: Impossible franchise, co-star claims

by

According to Simon Pegg, who stars alongside him, Tom Cruise had to personally convince Paramount’s chairman, Brad Grey, to keep him in the Mission: Impossible films. It involved a direct and intense meeting between the two.

According to Simon Pegg, the 63-year-old actor flew from Vancouver to Los Angeles to confront Brad Pitt at a party. He wanted to stop the studio from considering Jeremy Renner to take his place in future projects.

Simon, known for playing Benji Dunn in the last six spy movies, was a guest on Rob Lowe’s Literally! podcast on Thursday.

He shared surprising claims about Tom Cruise’s efforts to stay on as the main character, Ethan Hunt, while filming the 2011 movie Ghost Protocol.

‘Paramount were trying to position Jeremy Renner as a replacement for him in a way,’ Pegg said. 

Tom Cruise traveled to Los Angeles from Vancouver and confronted Brad Grey at a party, firmly stating his disapproval of a particular idea. He then brought in Christopher McQuarrie to revise the script, and Cruise remained steadfast in his stance throughout the process.

The Daily Mail has contacted Cruise, Renner, and Paramount for a statement, but they haven’t received a response yet.

The original script was written by Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec. 

Paramount was taking a cautious approach with Tom Cruise, as his reputation had suffered recently. This was due to two highly publicized incidents: first, his memorable jump onto Oprah Winfrey’s couch while professing his love for Katie Holmes, and second, a heated debate on the Today Show where he criticized psychiatry and the use of antidepressants, calling them ineffective and harmful.

Jeremy Renner, almost ten years younger than Tom and fresh off his success in The Hurt Locker, appeared to be the perfect choice to step into the role.

Oh my gosh, can you believe they almost ruined Ethan Hunt?! Apparently, the first draft of Ghost Protocol had him getting seriously injured – like, career-ending leg injury injured! They were going to move him to an office job as the head of the IMF and introduce a new field agent! A new lead! Can you imagine?! Thankfully, Tom Cruise absolutely refused to let that happen. He just wouldn’t stand for it, and honestly, good for him! It wouldn’t have been the same without him out there saving the world.

Gregg Smrz, the stunt coordinator, remembered a moment when the actor, while preparing for a stunt, firmly declared he wasn’t going to leave. He was buckling into his harness when he looked at Smrz and said, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

Lawrence McQuarrie’s revisions were crucial to the film’s direction, keeping the character of Hunt involved in active missions instead of promoting him to a desk job.

Ghost Protocol was a huge success, earning almost $700 million globally and firmly re-establishing the Mission: Impossible franchise as a blockbuster series.

Simon noted that making big-budget movies is tough these days, but Tom remains a powerful figure in Hollywood thanks to his long career and smart business decisions.

Simon described him as a living history of the studio system. He’s seen more and knows more about how things work than anyone currently in a position of authority, simply because of his extensive experience.

Rob Lowe, age 61, shared a story about a neighbor who works at Paramount. The conversation highlighted how much influence Tom Cruise can have when it comes to a movie’s budget.

‘One of the heads of Paramount lives up by me, and we run into each other in the gym,’ Rob said. 

During the recent film production, I was really curious about how things were progressing and eager to see the finished product. Someone told me Tom Cruise had called, requesting an additional $30 million, and that, given how much money had already been invested, refusing was simply not an option.

Simon expressed worries about how Hollywood makes money long-term, pointing out that even huge films like Mission: Impossible need to earn a lot just to cover their costs.

He believes the current filmmaking approach isn’t working and that we need to focus on creating movies at a sensible cost to ensure they can actually turn a profit.

Hollywood needs to seriously reconsider how it operates financially. If it doesn’t, it risks becoming too expensive for audiences and losing business.

Following Ghost Protocol, Tom Cruise has appeared in four additional Mission: Impossible movies, and each one has raised the bar for incredible real-life stunts and visual effects.

As a lifestyle enthusiast, I’m always amazed by dedication! The Mission: Impossible films have become a global phenomenon, earning over $4 billion worldwide. And honestly, watching Tom Cruise tackle those incredible stunts – even now, well into his sixties – is just inspiring. It really shows what’s possible with commitment and pushing your limits!

Jeremy appeared in one last Mission: Impossible movie, Rogue Nation in 2015, before leaving the franchise.

He later explained that he refused a role in the 2018 game Fallout because his character was supposed to die at the very beginning. He stated he wouldn’t allow them to simply kill off his character and insisted that if they were going to use him, it had to be done properly.

Simon hinted that even though the newest book, The Final Reckoning (released earlier this year), was advertised as the last one, there might be more to come, surprising fans.

He explained they’d hinted to the media that it was the last movie, but he wasn’t sure that was actually the case. He doubted Tom would agree to it being the final one.

Read More

2025-12-20 04:21