‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning’: Shea Whigham & Greg Tarzan Davis on Getting to Run With Tom Cruise in a Movie

Davis, who previously worked with two creatives on last year’s summer blockbuster, Top Shooter: Maverick, discusses how this team was different from the 80s sequel and why. We also get to know which scenes made them wonder how much more they could give, and what it was like to watch the finished product for the first time at the premiere in Rome.

COLLIDER: I love this movie. You’re both new to the franchise, so what really surprised you about joining a franchise like Chris? [McQuarrie] and Tom [Cruise] work because the way they collaborate is unique among many directors and actors?

SHE WIGHAM: Come on, take this. Have you collaborated with them on Best shooter [Maverick].

GREG TARZAN DAVIS: It was very different from Best shooter in filming. I think since they did Mission impossible two or three times before they had this type of rapport and they know each other like the back of their hand. It’s very interesting to watch when McCue says something like “Hey Tom, I need you,” and Tom is already like, “Yeah, I got it,” and he does it. It’s like, “Wait, did he say…? No, he didn’t. Or Tom is like, “Hey McCue, I think…” and he says, “It’s on. I told him to put the camera right here.” He’s like, “Thanks, McCue, got it.” They just know what they’re doing, you know?

WIGHAM: [To Weintraub] I mean, you and I knew each other from small films, independent films, and you go to something like this, but this huge, these things. The tapestry is huge, but they love the story and the characters. So you get there and I was blown away by how much we went into character and story and they give each character a moment in that part. I like this aspect.

I love that Tom accepts the fact that he’s been in movies since ’86 or ’96, whatever that is. You guys should be running in this movie. You have the crazy train scene and also the Abu Dhabi airport scene which is incredible. As for both of you, which one were you more nervous when filming, or more excited because both were memorable?

DAVIS: Probably the train scene, because that was the first thing we filmed, it was the train. You know, you show up on the first day of filming for both of us, and it’s like, “Hey guys, get on top of the train.” How is that, “Oh, Fine. Of course, we signed up for it.”

WIGHAM: Yes, I mean, but you didn’t mention Venice. Venice is where we ran the most, although we did quite a lot of driving through the airport in Abu Dhabi. But it was the one because we were filming at night, I remember, and we were running all night, let’s say from 9pm to 6am. muscle. Do you remember it? I said to Tarzan, “I don’t have anything else,” and then McCue comes up and says: “Listen, then I don’t understand this. Do you have another one?” It’s not Hollywood, I really made it up and [to Davis] you said, “Yes, let’s just try to get it,” and we went again. I saw this episode last night in the movie and it was intense. It’s really intense, beautiful stuff.

Besides, it wasn’t about the two of you, but that fight scene in Venice with Tom and the two of them in that little alley, oh my god, you know what I mean? I have to ask the two of you, what was your reaction to seeing the finished movie inside or making something like that, because the spectacle is insane?

DAVIS: It’s huge. When you’re in it, you’re so focused and you have this laser beam focusing on what you’re doing. You don’t really know what everyone else is doing, and you start asking questions, asking McCue, like, “How do you tie it all together? I don’t get it, it doesn’t make sense to me, this big thing. You have old characters, you have new characters. How do you put it all together?” And you look, and it’s like, “Oh, that’s what you were doing. Oh, it’s a genius that you put on screen for the audience to watch and be entertained.” And he did a fantastic job with it.

WIGHAM: I went out and wrote to McCue and Tom and him and said ‘proud’ like I’m proud of this piece. For the last 40 minutes, I couldn’t… I held my breath and knew what was going to happen. And I still, you know… I think it’s a brilliant action movie with characters that you care about.

I told people when the movie was over that it was probably the fastest 2.5 hour movie I’ve ever seen. It just never slows down.

DAVIS: And you want more after.

Speaking of which, what are you allowed to tease about a certain second part?

DAVIS: There’s a second part?!

I believe it can be, in fact.

DAVIS: Well, then someone has to get my agents involved! Goddang. I don’t know, I just find out about it. I thought this was just the first part.

I had a long interview with McCue this morning and he said that you guys will be filming before early next year. And yes, I’ve heard rumors, though obviously I don’t know how big your characters’ involvement in the sequel is.

DAVIS: We? Well, this is news to me. Early next year? This is news to me.

[Laughs] Okay, I’ll move on. One of the things I think is crazy is when McCue and Eric [Jendresen] worked on the script years ago, they couldn’t have known how much they would talk about AI when this movie came out. It’s a little Nostradamus because he wrote it four years ago or so. Tell us a little about this aspect and how it looks at the moment in this film.

WIGHAM: Yes, in hindsight, it was pretty prophetic. I mean, we didn’t know, you know what I mean? But the thing is, these guys are history. They’re hooked on the story, but I don’t want to get too caught up in even the AI ​​of it all, because these guys want to have some fun at the end of the day. They want you to come to the theater and watch it and have fun, and then it turns out to be something they’ve been hooked on, and now it’s in the foreground.

DAVIS: I agree. [laughs]. Look, I think it’s interesting. Perhaps they will see it in the future.

Mission Impossible - Death Wages Part One in theaters July 12. See what McQuarrie had to say about the second part below.