Hayley Atwell’s ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ Screen Test Was ‘Two Hours of Stunt Choreography’ So the Team Could ‘See My Natural Abilities’
variety.comZack Sharf Digital News Director Everything is supercharged when it comes to the long-running “Mission: Impossible” franchise, and that extends to the movie’s audition process.
In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Hayley Atwell revealed that her screen test for the mysterious role of Grace in the two-part “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” required a two-hour screen test that was essentially a stunt training course.
Some actors screen test with dialogue, but not “Mission: Impossible” actors. “Who the character has become is a byproduct of the process,” the film’s writer-director Christopher McQuarrie said. “So when we went into the screen test, we’ve not written a character that we’re trying to find someone to fit with.
Rather, we’re looking for an actress who we want to work with and we’ll fit the character to her.”’ Atwell’s screen test was with stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood and was made up of “two hours of stunt choreography just to see where my natural abilities lay,” she said. “We did an unarmed combat sequence and mixed martial arts to see if I was someone who could grapple and trap or someone who was more into high kicks,” Atwell added. “[It’s to] ascertain my natural style.” Once McQuarrie and Cruise decided Atwell was the perfect actor to bring Grace to life, they went about constructing the character to fit Atwell’s stunt capabilities.
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