If Tom Cruise has learned anything from his nearly 30 years in the Mission Impossible franchise, it's how to make a sneaky entrance -- though this time, he left the rappel at home.
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Cruise has been appearing at theaters across the country to surprise fans of Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part One -- the seventh entry in the action spy series. The theaters included AMC Georgetown in Washington, D.C.; AMC Sunset Place 24 in South Miami, Florida; Regal Atlantic Station in Atlanta; and Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto.
Cruise addressed the crowd alongside the film's director Christopher McQuarrie. He thanked fans for the support and posed for plenty of photos.
"You definitely dream of moments like this. This is amazing," he told one audience. "Hope you enjoy the film, 'cause we made it for you."
Derek White/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Cruise, who is reportedly involved with every aspect of a film he's in, brings his audience-first attitude with him on set.
Costar Hayley Atwell, 41, told The Times that during a script reading for a different Mission: Impossible film, Cruise had the creative power to cut a line he felt the audience "wouldn't get."
"He doesn't want to make movies now to punish an audience," she told The Times. "He doesn't want films with the message that if you do not understand this, you're not smart."
Costar Simon Pegg, 53, added that Cruise is "just a guy" who happens to be a world-famous movie star.
While Cruise brings a humble presence to fans and costars alike, his pedigree paints him as anything but typical. The 60-year-old actor is known to do all of his own stunts in the high-octane action thriller series. In behind-the-scenes footage as ubiquitous as the films themselves, Cruise dangles from a helicopter, holds his breath underwater for 6-and-a-half minutes, scales the tallest building in the world, and drives a motorcycle into a canyon before parachuting to safety.
The dangerous work has clearly paid off. Dead Reckoning Part One topped the box office last weekend and put up a stellar 96% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. Catch it in theaters everywhere today.
