Hayley Atwell responded to rumors of an affair with Tom Cruise and shared her answer

Published: Jul 10, 2023 4:40 am PT.

Hayley Atwell clears the air when it comes to her dating rumors The task is impossible co-star Tom Cruise. The 41-year-old actress will star in the upcoming seventh installment of the franchise. Dead Reckoning, Part Oneresponded to rumors that she and 61-year-old Cruise were having a secret affair.

Talking to IndependentAtwell says she looks up to Cruise and Mission director Chris McQuarrie (a.k.a. McCue) as the “two uncles”, noting that this made subsequent romance rumors between her and Cruise even more troubling.

“I’d be like, ‘Oh, there’s some weird rumors going around and it seems primitive, a little dirty, sleazy, that’s not what I’m about,'” she explains. “Why are things being assumed or projected onto me about my relationship with my co-worker and boss?”

Atwell calls the rumors “upsetting” because “they involve people in my real life, my personal life, who are going to be affected by this. It gets aggressive.”

The Marvel star said she talked to Cruise about it and he gave her some advice.

“When I talked to him about it, he said, ‘You know exactly who you are. You know what you mean. And that’s the only thing that matters. It doesn’t matter what people think.” of you, if you are honest with yourself, if you know what your value system is,” she shares.

She adds that Cruise and director McCoo encouraged her to play Grace in the film as a strong woman who has more of a sisterly relationship with Cruise’s Ethan Hunt.

She says Cruise and McCue enjoy “being surrounded by really strong, smart women,” adding that the couple “love seeing women thrive and be in their power, so if I ever try to play a small, flirty or play a damsel, they’ll probably say, “What are you doing? That’s not you!””

She also had kind words about Cruise’s skills, noting that while many may think the action star is manipulative or “self-centered,” she doesn’t think that’s the case at all.

“Over time, you just watch him and think: he really works hard, he really cares, he’s really interested in people and wants to interact with people, and he believes in the power of cinema as much as he did when he was a kid. five years,” Atwell says of Cruise, praising him for making her feel “safe” entering the wildly popular franchise.

As for Cruz, he focused on his craft. He recently told Sydney Morning Herald what he hopes to do The task is impossible films through the decades.

“Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope that I will continue to perform. I have 20 years to catch up,” Cruz said. Ford turns 81 on July 13. “I hope to continue to earn

The task is impossible movies until I’m his age.”

Mission: Impossible: Counting the Dead, Part 1 hits theaters Wednesday, July 12th.

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