:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(948x206:950x208)/mission-impossible-cast-main-052225-e42d249cafa74b939f08bdf6d9e8857e.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "Impossible’ in Their First Appearances vs Now")
NEED TO KNOW
- The first Mission: Impossible movie was released in 1996
- Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames have appeared in all eight entries of the film franchise
- Simon Pegg has been with the series since 2006’s Mission: Impossible III
It has been nearly 30 years since Tom Cruise chose to accept his mission in the first Mission: Impossible movie — and audiences have been along for the thrilling ride ever since.
Now, three decades and eight movies later, the Mission: Impossible film franchise continues to be a series stuffed with stunt spectacles and jaw-dropping action sequences featuring Cruise and his fellow Impossible Mission Force agents as they try to save the world.
Cruise and Ving Rhames have appeared in all of the Mission: Impossible entries, while many other notable names have been part of the rotating roster of secret spies.
The latest installment, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, which hit theaters on May 23, continues the story set up in 2023’s Dead Reckoning, weaving together elements from the previous seven films, for what is possibly the last Mission: Impossible movie.
In a February 2025 interview with Empire, Cruise said that he hopes The Final Reckoning is “the satisfying conclusion to a 30-year story arc. I’m pretty confident that people are going to feel that the title was appropriate.”
As the latest — and last? — Mission: Impossible movie hits the big screen, take a look back at some of the biggest stars who have joined the IMF in the action-packed film franchise.
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt
Paramount Pictures / Murray Close; Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic
Tom Cruise has been one of the biggest stars in Hollywood since the ’80s. He made his film debut in 1981’s Endless Love, but two years later he had his breakout role in Risky Business.
The actor has been the face of the Mission: Impossible franchise since 1996, when he first played secret agent Ethan Hunt. Cruise has starred in all eight Mission: Impossible movies, the most recent being 2025’s Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.
Outside of Mission: Impossible, over the past three decades, Cruise has been nominated for four Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor for his turn in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s Magnolia (1999).
He also reprised his role of Pete “Maverick” Marshall in the 2022 high-flying blockbuster, Top Gun: Maverick.
Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell
Paramount Pictures ; Matthias Nareyek/Getty
Ving Rhames plays computer and tech expert Luther Stickell. Aside from Cruise, Rhames is the only other actor to have appeared in all eight of the Mission: Impossible movies.
Outside of the Mission: Impossible series, Rhames has appeared in multiple other notable TV and movie projects including Pulp Fiction (1994), Con Air (1997), Out of Sight (1998), Bringing Out the Dead (1999) and Don King: Only in America (1997), for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture.
“Thank God for Tom Cruise,” Rhames told PEOPLE about working with his Mission: Impossible costar in May 2025. “We became good friends in a very positive relationship. We have a nice chemistry with each other.”
Michelle Monaghan as Julia Meade
Paramount Pictures ; Stefanie Keenan/Getty
Michelle Monaghan first played Julia Meade, Ethan Hunt’s wife, in Mission: Impossible III. She later reprised her role in Ghost Protocol and Fallout.
In addition to Mission: Impossible, Monaghan is also known for her roles in True Detective and the third season of The White Lotus.
In 2021, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Mission: Impossible III, the actress shared a series of images on Instagram of her and Cruise in the movie.
“I mean, WOW. 15 years since the release of #MissionImpossible III! 😍🔥 This franchise brings back so many amazing memories and I’m so grateful to have been along for the ride,” she wrote in the caption. “Happy anni @tomcruise, forever the Ethan to my Julia. ❤️.”
Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn
Paramount Pictures ; Simon Ackerman/FilmMagic
Simon Pegg made his first appearance as Benji Dunn, a technician for the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), in Mission: Impossible III. He has been featured in every Mission: Impossible movie since.
When not supporting Ethan Hunt on death-defying missions, Pegg is a favorite of comedy fans for his films Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007), and bringing levity to sci-fi action blockbusters like J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek trilogy.
When discussing the latest Mission: Impossible movie with The Hollywood Reporter, Pegg said that the 2025 installment felt like “a really satisfying culmination of these films. It feels like an end to me. It wraps up so much of what’s gone before.”
Jeremy Renner as William Brandt
Industrial Light & Magic/©Paramount Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection ; Daniele Venturelli/Getty
Jeremy Renner played William Brandt in Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation, but did not reprise his role in the three most recent Mission: Impossible movies.
Renner is also known for his roles in The Hurt Locker (2008), The Town (2010), The Mayor of Kingstown and for playing the superhero Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In a 2024 interview with Collider, the actor gave a reason for not returning for more Mission: Impossible, citing that filming “requires a lot of time away.”
“I had to go be a dad. It just wasn’t gonna work out then,” he continued, referring to his daughter, Ava.
“I love those guys. I love Tom [Cruise] so much. We had so much fun, and I love that character a lot,” he continued. “I’d always jump into a Mission: Impossible anytime and back into Brandt. It’s great.”
Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust
Paramount Pictures/Entertainment Pictures ; Katie Jones/Variety via Getty
Rebecca Ferguson played MI6 agent Ilsa Faust in three Mission: Impossible movies: Rogue Nation, Fallout and Dead Reckoning.
Ferguson has also appeared in The Greatest Showman (2017), Apple TV+’s Silo, Dune and Dune: Part Two.
Even though she left the franchise, in an interview on WrapWomen’s UnWrapped podcast, Ferguson said she still loves her Mission: Impossible character Ilsa “beyond words. I think she’s the most awesome, fantastic character.”
Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis
Paramount Pictures ; Ian West/PA Images via Getty
Vanessa Kirby portrayed Alanna Mitsopolis, aka the White Widow in Fallout and Dead Reckoning. Alanna has ties to the first Mission: Impossible, as she is the daughter of Max Mitsopolis, played by Vanessa Redgrave in the 1996 original.
Kirby has been part of the Mission: Impossible family since Fallout, and she has called her costar Cruise “the most passionate actor.”
“He knows more about cinema, cares more about it, than anyone I have ever met,” she said in a 2023 Harper’s Bazaar interview. “He also believes anything is possible, and that really inspires everyone around him to believe in what their own mission is.”
This summer, Kirby will be part of another film family when she suits up as Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
