Original TV Stars Slammed Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible Films
The actors who made the original Mission: Impossible TV series famous weren't happy when Tom Cruise transformed their beloved show into blockbuster movies, calling the changes insulting and crazy.
Tom Cruise builds movies for massive audiences. That's his rule. Since he's Tom Cruise, studio executives and nervous writers can't mess with his vision. Sometimes it backfires spectacularly, like The Mummy proved. But he sticks to his approach.
The action star collaborates well with directors and co-stars, who often praise his openness to fresh ideas. Yet creating blockbuster entertainment means breaking some eggs along the way. For Cruise's Mission: Impossible franchise, those broken eggs were the original TV show's stars.
Original Cast Felt Betrayed
The movie series has earned nearly $5 bn worldwide. Directors like Brad Bird and Christopher McQuarrie delivered some of the century's best action films with Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation, and Fallout. But the original television cast wasn't impressed.
Peter Graves exploded when Jon Voight's Jim Phelps turned traitor in Brian De Palma's first film. "I am sorry that they chose to call him Phelps," Graves said. "They could have solved that very easily by either having me in a scene in the very beginning, or reading a telegram from me saying, 'Hey boys, I'm retired, gone to Hawaii. Thank you, goodbye, you take over now.'"
Stars Refused to Participate
Martin Landau, who played Rollin Hand, told MTV that killing the entire team in the opening act disgusted him. "I was against that," he explained. "Why volunteer to essentially have our characters commit suicide? I passed on it. I said, 'It's crazy to do this'. The script wasn't that good either!"
Barbara Bain, known as Cinnamon Carter, refused to watch any movies because they had "nothing to do with the show." She described Cruise's stunts as "a one-man thing, not a team," saying a guest appearance "wasn't of interest to me one way or the other."
Success Despite Criticism
The eight-film series shares little with the seven-season TV show beyond the IMF organization and Lalo Schifrin's theme music. Cruise transformed team-based espionage into personal spectacle.
The original stars' complaints didn't matter. Audiences flocked to theaters anyway. Maybe the old guard had a point about teamwork versus solo heroics. But box office numbers don't lie.