After a number of COVID-induced production delays, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One is finally here. On Monday, July 3, Tom Cruise, along with Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff attended the Australian premiere of the film in Sydney. Ahead of the premiere, we sat down with Simon Pegg and Pom Klementieff to chat all things Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.
The film follows Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and the IMF team, who must track down a terrifying new weapon that will threaten all of humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than the mission — not even the lives of those he cares about most.
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One Trailer
As we sat down with Pom Klementieff and Simon Pegg for our interview, Klementieff visibly shudders, gasping in the process.
“Sorry!” she exclaims. “I have the shivers, I always have that!”
We’ve had it too, we assure her — often while watching Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, a film that’s tense from start to finish.
“You have it too?” she asks. “Babies have it, they do a little ‘whoop!’” — she says, imitating a baby.
We tell her that we’ve been told it’s someone walking over our graves.
“Yeah, it’s ghosts,” she replies.
“Does that mean they’re walking over your grave in the future, or they’re walking over where you’re gonna be buried?” Pegg asks.
“Does that mean that I’m dead?” Klementieff wonders aloud.
It’s not how we envisioned the interview beginning, but we love it.
On Filming Through COVID and What Pom and Simon Learned From One Another
Simon Pegg first joined the Mission: Impossible franchise for Mission: Impossible III back in 2006. Seventeen years later, he’s reprising his role as Benji Dunn once again. Pom Klementieff, on the other hand, is a newcomer to the franchise. She plays Paris, one of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One‘s villains.
With the mix of legacy characters and fresh faces, we were interested to know what the actors learned from one another.
“I learn from Pom everyday, mainly how to be effortlessly cool,” Pegg says.
Klementieff laughs.
“I was kind of like the Papa of the group,” Simon continues, “because we all stayed together in a bubble because of when we started the movie”.
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One Production Delays
Production on Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One was set to begin in Venice on February 20, 2020, just weeks before the World Health Organisation declared COVID a pandemic. After several delays, filming eventually began in September 2020, and concluded in September 2021. The film’s release, which was originally slated for July 23, 2021, was also pushed back several times.
Filming through the height of the pandemic was no joke, and the cast and crew were required to follow strict safety protocols.
“Tom and McQ (Director Christopher McQuarrie) were always off working after work, they’d be off planning the next day, because it was a heck of a thing to organise at that time,” Pegg recalls.
It was this, he says, that led to him becoming the film’s “Papa”, and the newcomers to the franchise would come to him with their questions.
“I’d be left and these guys would be like ‘so Simon, what, what what?’ all the time,” he says.
Klementieff agrees.
“We did become very co-dependent with you!” she says. “Like ‘hey! Let’s get lunch!’, or going on walks.”
“It was nice,” Pegg says. “It was a nice way to all get to know each other, and I felt proud to be in that position, to have been in the series for so long.”
He adds, “It’s always exciting when new people join, and this film was amazing for that”.
What Sets Mission: Impossible Apart From Other Spy Thrillers
Spy thrillers have been around for decades, but there’s one thing that sets Mission: Impossible apart from the rest, according to Simon Pegg.
“I love that if you take three characters like Hayley [Atwell]’s character, Pom’s character, Rebecca [Ferguson]’s character — and Vanessa [Kirby], actually! The four women in the movie are all very distinctly drawn characters,” Pegg says. “They don’t really fall into stereotypes… ”
He pauses.
“I feel like I’m mansplaining!”
Klementieff interjects.
“No but it’s true! You’re right!” she agrees.
“They’re just really well-drawn, they’re not there to just decorate the movie, like in some other spy franchises,” Pegg concludes.
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One is in HOYTS cinemas from July 8. Book tickets here.
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