Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise have been “Mission: Impossible” co-stars and friends since meeting during the production of J.J. Abrams’ third installment, which opened in theaters in 2006, but that doesn’t mean the two discuss Cruise’s ties to Scientology. During an interview on BBC’s “Desert Island Discs” radio show, Pegg said he does not ask Cruise about anything related to his “personal beliefs” because “that would be me abusing my privileged access that I get to him.” That means Scientology questions are off the table.
So what does Pegg talk to Cruise about? Cruise’s mega-fame, for starters.
“We joke about it,” Pegg said. “I mean, I always make fun of him for it, you know, about the things that he can access. We were filming in South Africa recently on this mountain and then he decided he wanted to swim with sharks. He flew us in a helicopter to this seaside part and we dived with sharks. At the end of the day we said, ‘That was a real Tom Cruise kind of day.’ He kind of appreciates the ridiculousness of it sometimes.”
“My relationship with him is just very simple and amiable,” Pegg also said. “It’s always been a very easy relationship. I think you realize, when you meet the person rather than the thicket of mythology that’s built up around them, it’s a different experience. I mean, he loves [the fame] and he really relishes it, it’s all he knows. It energizes him and spurs him on. I don’t think I would appreciate that particularly. I’d find it very stressful and overwhelming and it would make me want to retreat. I’m happy where I am.”
Pegg and Cruise are back together for this summer’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” which marks their fifth “Mission: Impossible” movie together. Paramount is opening the tentpole in theaters July 12.
