I think the coolest thing McQ did with Benji is make him so so competent as an agent while keeping his already established traits of being flustered and a little goofy. Bro can lie easily and pass a CIA polygraph, can figure out how to diffuse a nuclear bomb and has enough medical know-how to talk through an operation, but he also needs a few extra seconds to open the door on a plane with his tablet because he is under a lot of pressure and his loony toons ass friend is hanging on the side of it while its airborne
You know that audio from tiktok "please do it for me" I can picture it with Tom Cruise saying to a younger reader like in any way possible(spicy or not)...
Not Today
tom cruise x reader
warnings: age gap (not mentioned), fluff
wc: 1.2k
a/n: omg she’s back??? trying something new with this story, curious to see reactions 👀
Breathe in. Breathe out.
You stood at the edge of the platform, wind teasing your hair, eyes locked on the harness crew below as they prepped the rig. The drop was only forty feet, but it felt like a mile. This was supposed to be your big moment, a key action sequence in your first major film. You’d trained for it. You were ready.
At least, you thought you were.
“Hey.”
The voice was unmistakable. Calm, firm, and threaded with concern.
You turned. Tom stood a few feet away, arms crossed, jaw tight, aviator sunglasses hiding everything except the tension in his body. He was in full costume, but his mind was clearly anywhere but the scene.
“I just talked to the coordinator,” he said, walking closer. “You’re not doing the stunt.”
You blinked. “What? Why not?”
His sunglasses came off, and you saw it. The worry, written clear across his face.
“Because it’s too soon. You’re pushing yourself too hard, too fast. I’ve done this fall. It’s not just physical… it messes with your head. And I’m not risking you getting hurt. Not for this.”
“Tom,” you began, your voice soft. “This is part of the job.”
His hand reached out and gently touched your arm. “You are not just part of the job.”
“Tom,” you plead.
“I’m serious, you’re not doing it.”
Tom was standing there, arms crossed, eyebrows raised in that way that meant I’m pretending to be calm but I’m about five seconds from commandeering this entire set.
“Tom,” you said slowly, “I’ve trained for this. I’m literally wearing the harness. I passed all the safety checks. It’s forty feet, not four hundred.”
He squinted at you, like you’d just suggested casually wrestling a grizzly bear.
“Forty feet is forty feet too many when it’s you dropping.”
You tried not to smile. “You jumped out of a plane last week. Twice.”
“That’s different.” He strode closer, voice dropping into that warm, earnest tone that always managed to short-circuit your brain. “I’ve been doing this longer. And I don’t have… people worrying about me the way you do.”
You cocked an eyebrow. “Tom. You have an entire insurance team and half of Hollywood worrying about you every time you blink too hard.”
He faltered, just for a second, but his grin came back fast, cocky and boyish. “Okay, fair. But I don’t have me worrying about me. You, on the other hand…” His gaze softened. “You’ve got me.”
Your breath caught, but you masked it with a teasing smirk. “So you’re saying you’re worried about me because you’re better at stunts?”
“I’m saying,” he countered, stepping just close enough that you could feel the heat of him, “I’m worried because I happen to like you in one piece. And because if you get even a scratch, I’ll have to spend the rest of the shoot annoying you with ‘I told you so’s.’ You really want to live with that?”
You laughed despite yourself, rolling your eyes. “You’re unbelievable.”
“And yet, here you are. Still listening to me.” His smile curved softer this time, eyes holding yours just a second longer than necessary. “Please. Let the stunt double earn their paycheck today.”
You sighed dramatically, pretending to weigh your options, even though you already knew you’d cave. You always did when he looked at you like that.
“Fine. But the next time we work together, I’m doing the damn stunts myself.”
Tom chuckles as he walks away. “We’ll have to see about that.”
“Okay, I’m doing the stunt today!” you call after him, trying to hide your giggles.
“No you’re not!” Tom shouts back with the same energy as you.
You have to bite your lip to help hide your smile.
Tom shakes his head, laughing under his breath as he disappears toward the trailers. You try to refocus on the set, but your pulse is still skipping from the way his grin lingered on you.
A few minutes later, someone from production taps your shoulder - Tom wants to see you in his trailer.
You roll your eyes, though the warmth spreading in your chest betrays you. Of course he does. Of course he’s not finished making his case.
By the time you climb the steps and knock, his voice calls out immediately: “Door’s open.”
You step inside, greeted by Tom leaning against a counter with his arms crossed, waiting for you.
“You know,” you tease, hanging back a little, “you’re dangerously close to being bossy.”
He grins, but softer this time. “Dangerously close? I thought I’d already crossed that line.”
You laugh, shaking your head, but when your eyes meet his, the humor eases into something else. Something that lingers.
For a beat, neither of you speaks. He studies you in that steady, unflinching way of his, the way that makes you feel both completely exposed and completely safe. Finally, he exhales, his voice dropping low.
“I just… I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
The words are simple, but they land heavy. His hands fall to his sides, restless, like he doesn’t know what to do with them. You’ve seen him freefall from planes, cling to helicopters, hang off cliffs, but this… you.. makes him nervous.
Your chest tightens. You step closer, close enough to catch the faint scent of his cologne. “I know you don’t. But you don’t have to carry that weight for me, Tom. I can handle myself.”
“I know you can.” His mouth quirks like he almost wants to smile, but his eyes stay earnest. “That’s not the point. The point is… I care. Probably more than I should.”
The admission hangs between you, charged and fragile.
You swallow hard, trying to will your heartbeat into something less obvious. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
His gaze flickers to your lips for just a fraction of a second before coming back to your eyes. “Bad for me, maybe. Not for you.”
Silence falls over the trailer. Your eyes dart to the floor, shifting your weight. Unsure what to do in the uncomfortable silence, you resort to humor to lighten the mood.
“You know, for someone who does crazy stunts all the time, you seem to worry a lot,” you say, trying to ease the tension that has been growing since day one on set.
Tom smiles softly, looking away. “Stunts are nothing when it comes to you. You… scare me more than any stunt could. I… I feel things around you I haven’t felt in a long time.”
Pause.
“You don’t have to say anything. I needed to get it off my chest.”
Tom steps closer to you, taking your hand in his, but giving you a chance to pull away. He’s always given you a choice, never forces anything.
You don’t pull away.
Instead, you step forward, closing the gap between the two of you. You wait a moment before leaning up and you press your lips against his, hesitantly.
After one second, his hand comes up to cradle the back of your head, and you feel the tension release from both your bodies.
When you finally pull back, your foreheads rest together, both of you smiling, both of you a little stunned and a little relieved.
“So,” you whisper, still catching your breath, “do I still have to listen to you about the stunts?”
Tom grins against your lips, his thumb brushing your cheek. “Now more than ever.”
In a recent interview with Virgin Radio UK, Michelle talked about working with Tom Cruise and expressed all the affection, gratitude, and respect she feels for him.
She also mentioned how working on Mission: Impossible 3 sparked her love for action and adventure, and she jokingly blames Tom for it.
Michelle also mentioned that ever since they worked together on the film, she receives the famous cake from Tom Cruise every year. She said it's become a family tradition, as the cake is delivered every year-end, and her children are excited to eat it.
Reflecting on how a weary, missionless Ethan in Dead Reckoning would've looked like (and why him retiring post TFR is all the more possible)...
The original structure of the movie was, you went to the Sevastopol and came out of the Sevastopol and found Ethan. [...] You found him in another version of what we imagined to be Amsterdam. [...] In the very first trailer, there's a shot of Tom standing with red lights behind him, kind of looking very mysterious. [...] We are Establishing Ethan having refused multiple missions. [...] It was us trying to do the idea of Ethan refusing a mission. [...] I am fascinated with Ethan in between. Where does Ethan exist when he is not on a mission? And he ends up - it's a very solitary existence of a man waiting for a mission. And most importantly, it was a scene that showed Ethan walking among society and yet distinctly not part of it.
Tom had his thing about sleight of hand and wanting to bring back practical magic into the story. [...] We had a scene with the cigarette lighter In Venice. [...] He's sitting at the beginning of Venice. You're just alone with Ethan in a room. He's - you're thinking, you're with him, in a quiet moment, and while he's doing it, he's doing these magic tricks with the lighter. And he fucks up. And it's all Tom telling a story of how Ethan's just a little bit off his game. And it was beautiful. It was really well done.
Deleted footages from here. Commentary from Empire Spoiler Podcast with McQ.
one thing that i loved hearing mcq point out on spoilercast is that every single person in this movie matters and saves the world. if president angela bassett doesn’t help them, the world ends. if admiral hannah waddingham doesn’t help them, the world ends. if the submarine crew doesn’t help them, the world ends. if donloe doesn’t help them, the world ends. and so on. every single person is important. and i love thinking about that in the micro too. this movie is very sad and very harsh on ethan but at each step he’s found and given warm clothes
Hey! Idk if you take requests but if you do can you make one where tom and the reader are in a huge age gap relationship and it's just him noticing him much she babies him around because he's "old" (fluff)
Well this is fun to write! Hope you enjoy thiss🩷
My Baby | Tom Cruise (fluff)
At first, it was sweet. The little things he did—holding doors open, walking street-side, texting you to drink water mid-day like you might forget you were a human being with basic needs. He brought you snacks when you were working late, carried an extra sweater in his car just in case you got cold, and knew your coffee order better than you did.
But somewhere along the way, Tom Cruise had gone from sweet to full-on babysitter.
You started to notice it one afternoon when you were out shopping and he knelt down in the middle of the sidewalk to tie your shoe. Tie your shoe. In front of a group of tourists who definitely recognized him and were absolutely taking pictures. You just stood there, frozen, cheeks burning, while he tugged the laces into a neat bow like it was the most normal thing in the world.
“Tom,” you hissed afterward, once you were around the corner, “I can tie my own shoes."
“Yeah,” he replied with a casual shrug, grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, “but this way, I get to look up at you and say ‘yes, princess?’”
You nearly tripped over the sidewalk.
Another time, he tried to cut your steak for you at dinner—in a restaurant. The waiter paused mid-pour and everything. You’d snatched the knife from him with a glare, muttering that you had hands, thank you very much.
And yet… when he slipped his hand into the small of your back to guide you across a crowded crosswalk, or adjusted your scarf before you stepped into the wind, or held your face gently while brushing something off your cheek—it made your heart squeeze in ways you didn’t want to admit. Even when you were embarrassed, you were also quietly, deeply flattered. Babied, yes—but also adored.
You were strolling down a quiet street that morning, coffee cups in hand, when he reached over and tugged your jacket’s zipper up to your chin with that familiar, annoyingly gentle touch.
“You don’t have to do that,” you grumbled, shrugging your shoulders up to your ears. “I’m not a baby!”
Tom glanced down at you with that unmistakable gleam in his eye. “No,” he said, voice slow and teasing. “But you’re my baby.”
Your face lit up like a stoplight. Immediately. Violently. You tried to hide it behind your latte, practically inhaling foam as you ducked your head.
“You can’t just say things like that,” you mumbled into your cup.
“Why not?” he smirked. “It’s true. And you like it.”
You looked up with a warning glare, trying to appear annoyed, but it was betrayed by your flaming cheeks.
“I’m grown up,” you insisted. “I have responsibilities. And a retirement plan, remember?”
He chuckled. “You only said that after googling what a 401(k) was.”
“Still counts,” you huffed, trying to look dignified, which was hard to do when your cheeks were practically glowing.
Tom stepped closer, bumping your arm gently with his. “You can be all grown up,” he said, leaning in a little too close, that cocky grin playing on his lips, “and still be the girl I want to tuck into bed, feed soup to when you’re sick, and remind to wear socks.”
“I wear socks!”
“Uh-huh.” He raised a brow. “That one time?”
You groaned, burying your face in your hands as he laughed, completely unbothered. And then, the final blow:
“Still my baby,” he said again, this time with a wink, just as he reached down and tied your other shoe again.
You stood there, frozen, caught between laughter and utter humiliation, cheeks hotter than the sun.
Thanks to a post I just saw I realized that McQ really likes to make Tom happy because what do you mean he put a horse scene that didn't need to exist on his movie just because he knew Tom liked a similar scene from another movie?
Like, he had to thought about it, write about it, find or have someone to find a facility that trains horses, shoot the scene (all which is expensive, make no mistake) for again, a scene that could have been written five hundred different ways.
Mission: Impossible movies are fun to watch because you know Tom Cruise is having the time of his life doing those stunts. Meanwhile, Ethan Hunt is having one of the worst weeks of his life and really needs a hospital.
for all its faults FR really is Ethan "clothing thief" Hunt at his peak. snatching that suit jacket the guy who just tried to torture him pulled off to cover his own bloodstained shirt. somehow acquiring the blue pullover while he's literally captured and headed for trial by fire with the President. making puppy eyes offscreen at sailors on the aircraft carrier until someone lends him the USS George H. W. Bush cap and bomber. Bledsoe's crew cobbling together an outfit and some of their spare (tight) underwear after he soaks through his own clothes jumping into the Bering Sea. his team - probably Benji - fussing and tugging a spare cable knit over his head on the plane to South Africa, and then supplying him with safari clothes before they head up to the Doomsday Vault. he's a fashion icon. he's the moment. his accessory of choice is looking cold and exhausted and vulnerable until someone offers him additional layers.
Christopher McQuarrie: In that first test, when I walked into that theater in Paramus, New Jersey, I turned to my wife and I said, This is not a test of the movie for me. This is a test of the audience. Because the audience can quite rightly reject this ending. 15 year old boys can quite easily reject this ending. I'm waiting for the cards that say there's just too much fucking talking at the end of the movie, that voiceover. It's just like, you know, we just want to see people kick ass. And they embraced it. I came away from the first test knowing, you know, first act was still a real struggle. But I was quite moved. I was because I really felt with Dead Reckoning I'd lost my connection to the audience. I understand every movie I make is flawed. I understand, I've been there. There are very few movies that aren't but I was, and there are things that just kill me with Dead Reckoning that we just - because with these movies you don't just make a plan and go shoot the plan. You're wrestling with these movies all the time. You're struggling and you're fighting with them and you're pushing and you're pulling and it's pushing and pulling you....
And no Mission: Impossible doesn't have some level of flaw. It doesn't have some level of convolution. That's all because of the ambitions of this movie. The shit that works in the movie works because of the shit that doesn't. And so when I walked into that theater, I knew, and I accepted that the audience could reject this ending. And I knew there was no arguing with that. If all those people in Paramus, New Jersey, had said What the fuck is this, it'd be gone. You'd never have seen it. I didn't know what I would put in its place. I didn't know what it would put in its place. And I didn't know if I'd ever make a movie again. Because it contains within it things that I felt were important to say and more importantly things that were important to feel and say. And when the audience embraced it, I was - I knew - I knew this journey had been worth it. And I knew, I knew I was. I knew I still had a future.
That didn't mean that the movie was a slam dunk. It didn't - I didn't go out like, Yeah, now everything's working. I was just like, Thank God they accepted this. I was so grateful. I had such gratitude that the audience accepted it and accepted it in such half-baked form at that stage. That was like, that's what got me through it. That got me through a very very very difficult post: the fact that they're hearing it, they're actually listening. And you know I've been talking to you [Chris Hewitt] for years about how the audience isn't listening and I don't trust them to listen to the dialogue and I don't trust them to respond emotionally to words, nor have I expected to since everything post The Usual Suspects, which is entirely about words, it's essentially a stage play. I've gotten further and further away from my reliance on the word as an emotional conveyance.
And i remember very distinctly when I read Tom that ending - which was at that point the denouement, not the coda. And when I read him that ending….[I saw] how it hit him because he's really my………..you know Tom will not feel something he doesn't feel. Tom won't talk himself into feeling something. Eddie [Hamilton] won't talk himself into feeling something. If those guys don't feel it, it doesn't work, and it's never going to. And movie-making a lot of times is you talking yourself into shit just 'cause you gotta, you just want to finish. You just want to make your day and you just want to get out of here. And you reach what Ed Zwick's called 'the great fuck-it'. These guys don't have that. They just don't have it. So that became - so those stakes and that emotionality and all of those things that are at the end of the movie are there because of that and are really there because of - you know, if you're listening to this and you were sitting in that test audience in Paramus, New Jersey, once upon a time: thank you. Thank you for believing in the movie.
[Empire Spoiler Special - Christopher McQuarrie On Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (Part One), 36:06 - 41:22]
they can be injured by us, they can be wounded; they know all our penitence, all our aching sense that their place is empty, all the kisses we bestow on the smallest relic of their presence.
