Michelle Monaghan reveals that she kissed Tom Cruise on the day that was supposed to be her honeymoon during Mission: Impossible 3 shooting. Cruise’s Ethan Hunt had love interests before, but the J.J. Abrams-directed third Mission: Impossible film gave him his first legitimately serious relationship, with Monaghan’s Julia Meade. Things went predictably wrong for the engaged couple, however, as Julia was kidnapped by the film’s villain Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an ordeal that prompted Julia’s later fake death, a move designed to spare her from further harm.
With Monaghan about to appear in The Family Plan alongside Mark Wahlberg, the actor had occasion to talk about her work alongside Cruise and Abrams on Mission: Impossible III, and related a fun story about how she ducked out on her own honeymoon to star in the movie, and her husband’s surprising reaction to her kissing Cruise on a day when she was supposed to be celebrating their new marriage. Check out her remarks below (via Collider):
It was J.J. Abrams. It was just such a big film. I had just gotten married and kind of skipped my honeymoon to start the film right away. Then I remember going to work, and Tom and I had kind of an intimate scene, and of course that was the first scene. Then I came home from work, I was so nervous, and my husband was like, “Don’t worry, you’re gonna follow his lead. You’re gonna have a great time. It’s going to be wonderful.” I come home at the end of the day, open up the hotel room, and he said, “How was it?” I was like, “Oh my god, it was amazing. He was so nice. It was great.” He goes, “How cool is it that you were making out with Tom Cruise on our honeymoon?” Because we’re just such fans. [Laughs]
Love Interests Never Work Out For Ethan Hunt In The Mission: Impossible Series
Ethan Hunt’s first love interest in the Mission: Impossible series was Thandiwe Newton’s Nyah Nordoff-Hall, a thief who joined forces with Hunt on a mission, and wound up going on vacation with him when the action was over. Nyah did not return for Mission: Impossible III however, and instead, Hunt became engaged to Monaghan’s Julia, a nurse who had no idea about his life as a secret agent. Happiness was not in the cards for Julia and Ethan however, as they were forced to part for her own safety, and she later married another man (as revealed in Mission: Impossible – Fallout).
Maybe the most tragic instance of Hunt being cursed to experience only sadness in love came in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, when long-time series character Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) had a fling with Cruise’s character, only to die at the hands of Gabriel (Esai Morales). Compared to what happened to Ilsa, Julia got off lucky after the events of Mission: Impossible 3. It remains to be seen whether Julia makes an unexpected return appearance in the upcoming Mission: Impossible 8, but anything is possible in the long-running Cruise-led action franchise.
