It’s been nearly 30 years since the Tom Cruise-led Mission Impossible franchise debuted its first movie in 1996. Cruise is known for doing his own stunts as his character Ethan Hunt, but his co-star Hayley Atwell is revealing that a lot of the scenes are executed on the spot.

Per Deadline, Atwell, who played Grace in 2023’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and is reprising her role for this year’s eighth installment, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, said she thought up an idea for her character. Atwell, who has also appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and Paddington in Peru (2024), said her idea that Grace is a pickpocket was included in the script for the movie. Improvisation was a key part of the movie, she said.

They Aren’t Made Like Him Anymore

“There’ll be Tom going: ‘From five years old I’ve always wanted to jump from a cliff on a motorbike,’ and realizing his dream. But with the rest, they’re kind of making it up as they go,” Atwell said. She said actors like Cruise who do their own stunts “aren’t made like him anymore.”

“When I started, I was very aware of the rarefied air around him and how there’s no one like him. And there never will be because actors aren’t made like him anymore. He is a one-man studio and, to me, very kind, very professional. And because of that, I felt I was able to try lots of different things. There was never a risk of failure or being unsafe. Tom really likes people to thrive on set,” Atwell added of her experience on the Mission: Impossible movies.

Cruise is a Perfectionist When it Comes to Mission: Impossible

Atwell said Cruise, who is also a producer on Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, is such a perfectionist when it comes to his movies that even though the film wrapped shooting last year, the team is still tweaking things. Atwell said they are still “fleshing out scenes or changing things around. They’re always tinkering and looking to make things better.”

Another Standout Performance is Anticipated in the Movie

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the eighth movie in the franchise, could possibly be the final outing for Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. However, the film’s director, Christopher McQuarrie told Empire recently that the new movie will have some of the “best moments” of another character and that Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn could be the “standout” in the movie.

“I don’t think I’m exaggerating to say it contains Simon’s best moments in the franchise,” McQuarrie said. Pegg’s Benji has been a good friend to Cruise’s Ethan throughout the film franchise. The Shaun of the Dead actor said recently that the movie is the “best ever” in the franchise.

The Final Reckoning will pick up where Dead Reckoning left off as Ethan’s team battles an AI-powered villain called the Entity. The film also stars Vanessa Kirby (The Fantastic Four: First Steps), Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), Angela Bassett, Ving Rhames, Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), and Esai Morales.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning hits theaters on May 23.