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Hannah Waddingham is in Tom Cruise‘s corner.
Waddingham, 49, appeared on the British cooking show James Martin’s Saturday Morning for its special Christmas Day episode on Monday, where she touched on working with Cruise, 61, on the upcoming eighth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise.
“I have to say, I have a real problem with anybody that goes at [Cruise] now,” Waddingham said, after noting she has yet to complete filming for additional scenes in the film. “Having met him and spent five days intensely, on [a U.S. aircraft carrier during filming]… Five days, no fineries, all of us mucking in for five days.”
“He is, without doubt, one of the loveliest and encouraging, positive and inspiring human beings I have ever met. Isn’t he gorgeous?” she told host James Martin. “I have no time for anyone saying anything about him.”
Cruise has been filming the new Mission: Impossible film onboard a U.S. aircraft carrier, which Waddingham identified as the USS George H.W. Bush, dating back to at least March of this year, per reports from Variety. Cruise, Waddingham and Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie were on board the aircraft carrier on March 3, per a Navy press release issued March 9.
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It is unclear what role Waddingham will play in the upcoming movie, which expects to directly follow up on the conflict between Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and villain Gabriel (Esai Morales), who are at odds over ownership of a key that unlocks control to a supremely powerful artificial intelligence system referred to as the Entity in the movie.
The next Mission: Impossible was scheduled to release in June 2024, but this year’s months-long Hollywood actors strike resulted in delays that will ultimately push the film’s release back to May 2025.
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Waddingham’s praise of Cruise echoes what Hayley Atwell, who joined the Mission: Impossible franchise for its most recent release, told PEOPLE of working with the action star back in July.
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“[Cruise’s] reputation precedes him with actresses in that he makes them feel very safe, very seen, really respected,” Atwell said at the time. “He loves people to thrive, he loves intelligent women. He wants people to engage and be part of this process. And so when I read with him on the screen test, it already felt like we were workshopping it.”
Atwell, 41, is expected to reprise her role as Grace in the next installment, with Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Henry Czerny, Ving Rhames, Pom Klementieff and Shea Whigham also expected to reprise their roles.
