Henry Czerny reprises his role as IMF boss Eugene Kittridge, 25 years after playing him in the now-billion dollar franchise’s first feature film. In an interview, the actor makes an interesting analogy and looks back over half a century of Impossible mission.
In 1996, Eugene Kittridge suspected Ethan Hunt of being the mole responsible for the annihilation of the IMF forces. Today in Mission: Impossible – Death Toll, Part One, the two men are still not friends. But hush!, no way to divulge the twists and turns that Tom Cruise has in store (Ethan Hunt dies or not???), the director and co-screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie and the production team at the fans.
A joke
AFP
In January 2020, when his agent called to tell him that Christopher McQuarrie wanted to bring Eugene Kittridge back, Henry Czerny – who “has only fond memories of Montreal” for having studied acting there – believed in a joke. But no…
“When I asked if there was a script, my agent said Chris wanted to talk to me about it. The next day, Chris phoned me. He was in Venice scouting locations. He explained to me that he first wanted to hire the actors and then adapt the script according to what we were going to bring to our characters”, he detailed during an interview with the QMI Agency.
“I accepted. But then something happened that significantly delayed the start of production…and I think we all remember what it was about. When I finally arrived in London, I chatted with Chris. I decided to build a past in Kittridge. I imagined that he had gone through all the government agencies for 25 years and studied how they worked. And the reason he did this exercise was because Ethan Hunt had taught Kittridge how to unmask a culprit.”
“What we see in Death toll, Part One, it’s a Kittridge who is much more serious because he better understands how the world works. And it’s not particularly pretty…although there’s always hope,” he added.
Henry Czerny shot his scenes in London before flying to Norway, but unfortunately “the scenes filmed there were cut in editing because they weren’t necessary for the plot.”
A gourmet meal
In Mission: Impossible – Death Toll, Part One, the places dictate the atmosphere. Abu Dhabi airport gives rise to rhythmic, efficient moments. The chase through the streets of Rome is filled with humor, Norway lends gravity and majesty to the stunt of Tom Cruise jumping down a ravine by parachute while on a motorbike.
Tom Cruise in New York on July 10.
Derrick Salters / WENN
“What we have on the plate of this Impossible mission is like the sauce of a French dish that has been reduced and can be enjoyed for 2h43 minutes. And not a nuance of taste, not a flavor of this plate is superfluous”, said Henry Czerny.
“As in a five-course French meal, each dish has its own personality,” he added of the filming locations. Each dish reinforces the meal as a whole. And I also encourage everyone to come and taste it on the largest plate possible, ”he then indicated, referring to the IMAX format.
Mission: Impossible – Death Toll, Part One has been in theaters across the province since July 12.