Tom Cruise puts himself in peril to deliver authentic experience: Simon Pegg

Pic Courtesy: Movie Still

Paris: Actor-writer Simon Pegg believes the uniqueness of the 'Mission: Impossible' films lies in its lead star Tom Cruise's ability to deliver a real sense of danger through his death-defying stunts, an experience lacking in other CGI-filled Hollywood movies.

Cruise broke his ankle while shooting for 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout', the sixth film in the series.

Pegg's Benji Dunn has become a trusted aide to Cruise's Ethan Hunt in the franchise, which started in 1996 though the British actor joined the series only in the third film.

"It genuinely sort of weighs on Tom to deliver an authentic experience for the audience so that they feel the jeopardy and the peril. In this day and age, the easier it gets to create these sequences in a computer, the more important it is to actually do it because, otherwise, you will lose touch with the feeling that this is happening," Pegg told PTI in an interview.

The actor believes the stunts put the viewers on the edge as they know what is happening in the film has actually taken place in reality.

"When you watch these films, it's like watching fireworks. You kind of think that it's impressive and spectacular but also that there is no real danger. With Tom, it's like watching actual explosions where you might get hit by the shrapnel."

Pegg, who has made a name for himself by writing and starring in films such as "Shaun of the Dead", "Hot Fuzz" and "The World's End", believes Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie have gone a step further with "Mission: Impossible - Fallout".

"The stunt work and the action set pieces have been meticulously designed to occur in real life and Tom has become famous for doing his signature stunts in these movies, in which he genuinely puts himself in peril. That has only become more and more a part of each film. With this one, they've never been as crazy, as ambitious and thrilling."

If Cruise's Hunt is the wild one, Pegg's Benji has come to be known for humour and as the ever-dependable tech guy. 

The actor believes the equation between Benji and Hunt has become better as he and Cruise have developed a friendship beyond the films.

Tom and he have known for each other for 12 years and have developed a "sort of shorthand" that mirrors their real relationship. 

"When I joined the Mission Impossible film series, Tom was already Tom Cruise! And like Benji gets to work with Ethan Hunt, I got to work with Tom Cruise. 

"We joke about it even now because on one hand he is Tom Cruise, the actor, but on the other hand he is Tom Cruise, who has this mystique, this bizarre cloud of mystery. So, our relationship in real life is very much like Benji and Ethan and we kind of play on that a little bit," he says.

The film, which was shot around the globe in destinations such as Paris, London, New Zealand and Abu Dhabi, was recently premiered in the French capital.

A Paramount Pictures movie, "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" will be exclusively distributed in India by Viacom18 Motion Pictures. 

Also starring, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan and Alec Baldwin, the film releases on July 27.