Simon Pegg got punched in the face on Mission Impossible 5
But Cruise wasn't the only one getting involved with stunts, including co-star Rebecca Ferguson and returning player Simon Pegg. The British actor, best known for comedy roles in the likes of Spaced and Shaun of the Dead, got in serious shape for the part of Benji Dunn, training alongside Tom Cruise and really throwing himself into the action. And that didn't always work out as planned.
"I got thumped in the face!" said the 45 year old actor when we asked him if there was any particularly cool action moment we should look out for. He may have misunderstood the question.
It turns out one of his biggest action beats involves laying down some smack on a much larger opponent, and one take resulted in a bit more contact than expected:
"There was a slight miscommunication and I didn’t move quick enough. And Robert [Maaser] who was my extremely burly adversary managed to cock me right in the face!" he tells us, semi-grinning at the recollection.
"And the whole crew went ‘Aaaaah’! I was ok. I think Robert felt worse. I’ve done that before, I’ve punched someone on set by accident and you feel terrible. The person with the bruise feels kind of cool! They have no guilt or anything!"
Sounds like he managed to come away with some passing scars, which is pretty much what you expect from a Mission Impossible movie. And certainly one where you're starring opposite Tom Cruise in a much expanded role as one of a team of elite agents set on restoring the name of the IMF.
Naturally we asked if we're going to get to see any of that footage in the final film. And maybe not so much: "It’ll probably be in the out-takes. In the film I will seamlessly dodge the punch!" laughs Pegg. "That fight was great and I’m really happy to get a fight in the movie because Benji is generally the guy who is doing the computer hacking and stuff. But I’m excited for people to see that because it’s kind of bad-ass."
Simon Pegg as a bad ass. You will believe it.
