Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible co-star Hayley Atwell reveals how he gave this useful tip to deal with social anxiety

‘Try doing the opposite,’ Tom Cruise told co-star Hayley Atwell which helped her deal with social anxiety.

Updated on: Mar 30, 2025, 14:16:44 IST

By Santanu Das

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Actor Hayley Atwell received a lot of praise for her action sequences along with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. She played Grace in the 2023 release. In her recent appearance the Reign With Josh Smith Podcast, Hayley opened up about her experience of shooting the film, and how co-star Tom Cruise's advice helped her deal with social anxiety. (Also read: Mission Impossible actor Hayley Atwell: ‘Tom invited me to watch playbacks’)

Hayley Atwell and Tom Cruise at the red carpet event for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One in Seoul, South Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) (AP)

What Hayley said

During the interaction, Hayley said, “If you walk into a room and you feel the anxieties coming, and it makes me want to retreat into myself, and I start to overthink and I start to go, 'Do I look weird? Do I seem awkward? I'm not speaking, I'm just muffling my words or I need something to do to numb me from this,' we go into ourselves. And he said, 'Try doing the opposite.' ”

Where does it live outside of me

She went on detail, "Try to look out, look around the room and go ‘Where is it? Where is the thing that I have attached on to my insecurity.’ 'Is it that person over there that reminds me of my school bully? Is it that person over there that didn't give me a job once? That person over there that I think was mean to me once? Where does it live outside of me and where do I feel like the source of it might be coming from?'”

Hayley rose to attention in Hollywood through projects such as The Duchess (2008), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Cinderella (2015), and The Pride (2013).

Meanwhile, Tom will return as Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. The film, directed by Christopher McQuarrie, is scheduled to be released on May 23, 2025.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Santanu Das
Santanu Das is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over 5 years of experience, writing on films, pop culture and film festivals. He has a keen interest in writing about South Asian independent films and has covered several film festivals, including Sundance and CPH: Docx. He also brings a sharp perspective to the monthly column called The Fault in Our Stars, where he writes about a recent film/series and what stops the ‘good’ from becoming ‘great’. A gold medalist from Banaras Hindu University, Santanu completed his postgraduate studies in English from Jadavpur University. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes-certified film critic. When not watching films or speaking to celebrities, Santanu can be found reading a book. Some of his favourite films are Aparajito, Ponyo and The Double Life of Veronique. His favourite books include The Corrections, The God of Small Things and A Room of One's Own. Santanu continues to write passionately about films and celebrity culture. He brings a relatable, as well as critically informed, lens to entertainment and culture for a wide audience. Find him on LinkedIn: santanudasfilm Instagram: @santupechaRead More

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