Simon Pegg may have started Mission: Impossible as the comic relief in a cluttered tech van, but in the franchise’s upcoming swan song — The Final Reckoning — he’s suiting up once again, this time as a fully-fledged agent. And it’s all thanks, in part, to Tom Cruise.
In a candid interview with Variety, Pegg reflects on how J.J. Abrams handpicked him for Mission: Impossible III — a dream come true that masked a painful reality.
"It was the apotheosis of my life ambitions… being in Hollywood, where they made the films that I grew up loving," he says.
But behind the scenes, Pegg was battling depression, numbing himself through dependency. "I remember not being particularly present… because I was so inside my own head."
It was Cruise, ever the mission commander, who demanded more from Pegg as the character of Benji evolved. "You're going to get in shape for this film — you're an agent now!" Cruise insisted. That challenge became a turning point for Pegg. “I credit Mission with rescuing me — because it gave me real focus at a time when I needed focus,” he says.
With The Final Reckoning on the horizon, Benji isn’t just back — he’s transformed. And so is the man who plays him.
