How a person handles the idea that Thandie Newton was scared to work with Tom Cruise really depends on what perspective they’re using in order to figure out whether she was coming from a place of outright intimidation, or if she simply had such low self-esteem that it took a simple push for her to believe that she wasn’t good enough to be in the second Mission: Impossible movie. The absolute intensity that Cruise brings to any role is well documented and known to many people, but it’s also a known fact that some people can weather that intensity while others might find themselves overtaken by it. It’s also a fact that Cruise is a very demanding person even if he’s not trying to be and this appears to be what Thandie is getting at as she describes the idea that he was a bit difficult at times not so much because he was a bother, but because his intensity actually frightened her and she wasn’t certain if she could keep up. That type of feeling has to be difficult on any set as it requires a person to take a good look at their own performance and wonder if they can measure up, though it can also lead to other extremes when it comes to whether or not they will blame another person for their perceived failure to match the energy of their costars.
On one end it does sound as though Thandie was simply too worried about Cruise’s intensity and didn’t worry enough about her own role in the movie, though the fact is that she was a veteran actress at that time and had worked with plenty of people that had a high level of energy and were a little more intimidating than Cruise. It’s a wonder then that she couldn’t simply move through the movie and perform her part to the best of her ability while taking on the idea that Tom would be a bit intense at times but would also be seeking to give a performance that was convincing and ultimately the best he could do in the given circumstance. It does sound as though she was far more concerned about Cruise’s level of stress that was created from his desire to make as convincing a movie as possible than she was about her own presence on the set, but that’s one perspective. Had Cruise bullied or truly sought to intimidate her then the headlines would have been far different and it’s likely that Tom Cruise’s reputation might have taken a hit at some point for the perceived act.
As it stands this case sounds as though Thandie went into the project with a little too much timidity and wasn’t fully prepared for the intense and off-putting manner that Cruise was using in order to get the job done. All in all, it does sound as though he was making an attempt to create blockbuster when Thandie might have seen this as just another action movie and acted accordingly. Given that her character is thought by some to be one of the least effective characters in the MI series it could be that she might have been better off staying away from the set, though she was convinced that it was the role for her by Tom’s wife at that time, Nicole Kidman. It does sound a little awkward that the lead actor’s wife would be the one to select the woman that her husband would be getting close to and intimate with for the duration of the movie, but it also feels likely that many stars and their spouses have to find a way to simply shrug this notion off and remind themselves that it’s a job, they’re not expecting their spouse to fall in love with their costar. This is one of those times however that it’s obvious that some people are meant to act and others can’t always find it in them to give this level of commitment to a job that requires such intimacy. The fact that Thandie thought that she was the problem at one point, that she was the one causing Tom to be so stressed, is kind of amusing since it does make one believe that her level of self-esteem was dangerously low at this point.
That’s hard to equate when it comes to Thandie, isn’t it? After all, this woman has played some of the strongest roles in the movies and has appeared to do just fine when tasked with becoming an individual that is adept at taking control and exerting some form of authority. It could be that she’s learned from her time with Cruise or it could be that she’s matured as an actress throughout the years. But at this time the reality is that she’s doing just fine when it comes to the roles she fills.
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