Not only does Tom Cruise do his own stunts, in at least one case who also penned his own monologue. The “Mission: Impossible” actor sat down with BFI Southbank’s Edith Bowman to discuss the franchise’s latest installment, “The Final Reckoning,” as well as his storied career. During the conversation, he revealed an anecdote about the famous “respect the cock” scene from 1999’s “Magnolia,” which writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson once called “the best movie [he’d] ever make.”
“The whole monologue wasn’t there at the beginning. That wasn’t there,” Cruise said. “There was a couple of sentences. And I said, ‘Look, just come over to my place. Let’s do the wardrobe fitting.’ And I remember [Anderson] wanted me in, like, IZOD shirts and khaki[s].”
But that wasn’t how Cruise saw Frank T.J. Mackey, and he invited the “Boogie Nights” filmmaker over to his screening room and set the stage for a performance.
“And I lit it … and I had the whole music, and I basically wrote the opening monologue … my version,” Cruise remembered.
“[Anderson was] like, ‘What the fuck?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know, this is Mackey to me,’” he said, and the pair then worked together on the character and his monologues throughout production.
Cruise explained that while he does research, he, “creates characters just like that” — with a snap — which is necessary when switching from film to film, especially considering the impressive canon of the “Top Gun” megastar.
“You get an instinct,” he said. “When you’re when you’re shooting a film, it’s like you prepare, you prepare — and believe me, I prepare everything — and we’re going through it, and there’s a lot of communication and dialog about character [and] story. But then it’s just … we’re in the moment, the camera’s rolling, and for me, I’m rehearsing … it’s there every take. It’s like, ‘It’s now, it’s now, it’s now.’ And I just can be the character,” he said.
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” has amassed nearly $354 million as of June 1, marking the latest box office success for Cruise, whose movie star reign has lasted four decades.
“It is my honor, my absolute pleasure,” Cruise said in the BFI interview. “And I thank you all for allowing me to entertain you and live my dreams.”
Watch his “Magnolia” monologue below:
