Shea Whigham on the Common Thread Between ‘Mission: Impossible’ and ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’
Shea Whigham thought his pursuit of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker would forever be his toughest assignment, but then Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt quickly proved him wrong in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.
In Christopher “McQ” McQuarrie’s critically acclaimed seventh chapter of the spy action franchise, Whigham plays Jasper Briggs, a foot soldier for the CIA’s Clandestine Services, and together with his partner Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis), he’s tasked with the tall order of chasing Ethan Hunt around the world. And while his similar role in Todd Phillips’ box office smash hit Joker (2019) would seem like the inspiration for his Mission casting, it was actually his DOD bureaucrat character from the Sam Esmail-directed and Julie Roberts-led Homecoming that piqued McQ’s interest.
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“Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Homecoming were nominated for some stuff at one of those functions [24th Critics’ Choice Awards]. And [McQ and I] happened to be behind each other,” Whigham tells The Hollywood Reporter. “And McQ said, ‘I’m gonna write something for you.’ And then all the way in December [2019], I got a very cryptic text from him, saying, ‘Answer in five minutes. I’m calling from a European phone.’ So it was him and Cruise on the other end, and together, they buckled me to my knees.”
In June’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Whigham had another notable role as Gwen Stacy’s (Hailee Steinfeld) father, Captain George Stacy. And in a manner that’s similar to Mission: Impossible’s brain trust of McQ, Cruise and co-writer Erik Jendresen, Across the Spider-Verse’s creative team didn’t begin their process with a fully formed script either. Instead, they followed the story wherever it led them, meaning they wrote and rewrote along the way.
“You don’t have a script either way, but both films, Mission and Spider-Man, let you explore and bring something of your own,” Whigham says. “They encourage that process, and I think that’s why they’re both so good.”
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Whigham also discusses his personal highlights from each of Dead Reckoning Part One’s various locations and sequences.
So what’s the beard for?
I just came off of something called American Primeval. It’s directed by Pete Berg and written by Mark L. Smith, who did The Revenant. So I’m in that world.
Shea Whigham with a full beard? Sold!
(Laughs.) It’s good, man. I’m not gonna lie.
So once you found out that you’d have to do the impossible and chase after Tom Cruise for an entire movie, what was your first order of business?
To be honest with you, I didn’t think I would be chasing him. We don’t work off of a script per se. So that was McQ and Tom at the last minute. We were in Venice, and they were like, “You know what? It feels like you need to chase Ethan all over Venice.” So I was not prepared, let’s say.
You probably don’t audition anymore, so did McQ come to you?
Yeah, I had done this piece called Homecoming with Julia Roberts, and serendipitously enough, Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Homecoming were nominated for some stuff at one of those functions [24th Critics’ Choice Awards]. And we happened to be behind each other. And McQ said, “I’ve seen Homecoming.” And I said, “I’ve loved your stuff ever since The Usual Suspects.” And he said, “I’m gonna write something for you.” And I said, “Great!” That was in January of [2019], and then all the way in December, I got a very cryptic text from him, saying, “Answer in five minutes. I’m calling from a European phone.” So it was him and Cruise on the other end, and together, they buckled me to my knees.
There’s a video from the first day of shooting, which was Tom’s motorcycle jump. And once he went over the edge of the cliff, most of the cast started laughing as a way to cope with the terror of the moment. How did you handle it?
First of all, I was really surprised, because he rode by us while hanging off of a helicopter, with this look of relaxation. Then I had to walk away and be by myself during the actual jump itself. That’s when the enormity of the ramp and the actual jump really hit me. My heart was really pumping for Tom in that moment. I was palpably nervous.
What’s your impression of Tom and McQ as a duo?
They’re exactly what I want out of collaborators. They are cinephiles. They love cinema. And the only director I’ve heard talk about film as much as them is Marty [Scorsese]. I did Boardwalk Empire and The Wolf of Wall Street with him. So we ended up talking cinema all the time.
Well, in most action movies with a famous character, there’s often another character who delivers a line or a speech about the mythic hero of the story. David Strathairn’s “Jesus Christ, that’s Jason Bourne” comes to mind. And early on, you get to do that by delivering the myth of Ethan Hunt. So did you recognize right away what your purpose was?
First of all, McQ and Tom were very excited because we had access to an Osprey through the military, and that’s the first time it’s been used in a film. But I knew that someone had to try and track down Ethan. I said to them early on, “Look, I love Midnight Run and The Fugitive because I cared about those somewhat left-of-center characters.” Every guy trying to chase the “bad guy” is usually straight down the [middle], and I was interested in obtusely trying to nab Ethan. To keep me interested, I wanted to make it personal and not have to divulge that in some soliloquy. But it’s there. So, yeah, I had a feeling that was gonna be my lot in this film.
Jasper Briggs, along with his partner Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis), eventually recognize, to varying degrees, that Hunt may not be the enemy here. Did you look at Tommy Lee Jones’ character in The Fugitive as an example to follow?
We talked about it, and like I said, I talked about Midnight Run quite a bit. [Charles] Grodin and Dennis Farina. But it was definitely brought up because we’re in a chase film. And you’re right, the audience knows that Hunt is Hunt. So how are you gonna keep that interesting if you’re not able to fully catch him? But, yeah, he starts to show himself to me as it progresses. This was no different than Boardwalk Empire or Silver Linings Playbook. You start with copious amounts of information, and then you whittle it down. You basically answer those big questions of, “What do I want? And how do I serve this story?”
Briggs was the name of a character on the ‘60s TV series [Steven Hill’s Dan Briggs], so did McQ give you any indication if your character’s name is more than just a tip of the cap?
I better not say anything right now.
The film was obviously shut down early due to Covid, but then it resumed later that summer. Did you work steadily until it wrapped?
I worked steadily. We were in a strange time, obviously, as the world was. We pulled up stakes in Venice and had to split because of Covid. So we didn’t know what was gonna happen, but then we got the call from Tom who said, “We’re going in. We’re gonna try to be the canary in the coal mine and figure out how to do this.” So we stayed in place in Norway, and when we went to Rome, we stayed, even if you weren’t working. I wasn’t supposed to be in the Venice portion of it, but as it went along and we uncovered things, it blossomed into more of a role. So we stayed wherever we were, and we had some starts and stops. We had a two-week hold in Venice when we went back there again. So it was tough to actually complete this piece.
So I’d love to go through each location and just do a travelogue of sorts. What was your personal highlight from each location’s sequence, starting with Abu Dhabi International Airport?
That was massive. That’s when Tom’s influence really hit home. He had the Prince give us access to this airport that’s about to be the largest in the world, I believe. They weren’t open yet when we shot there. So we had the full run of it, and that’s when I felt the immensity of the place and what these films mean to the world.
And what about the zany insanity on the streets of Rome?
Rome holds a special place. I’ve been to Rome several times, and to be on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, looking at what was the [Roman] Forum and thinking of the history …. To shut that down and have the ability to do my own driving through the small streets, that’s when I knew I was in a big film again.
Night shoots in Venice …
Venice was quiet. No one was in Venice when we were there [the second time]. When we were there initially, there was going to be a big party and we were going to use this festival that was going on. And so these guys pivoted off of that, but the party still took place there [in the club]. It was lovely because we actually got a chance to explore Venice with no one there. So it was beautiful and somewhat haunting. While we were there, we would island hop, and that was a really special time. It was a bonding time as well because we all stayed together as a group.
And the pièce de résistance of your experience, standing atop a moving train in Norway.
(Laughs.) That was right away at the start of filming. We filmed that first, and I just remember the inherent beauty of the valley that we were in. McQ was on top of the train, directing us in what we called a clamshell. And then I stepped up there and tried to take Ethan down. And I remember Tom looked at me and said, “Is this as good as it gets?” And I said to him, “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, but right here, right now.” But that was tough, filming on that speeding train. It was cold. Another thing I’ll never forget is McQ saying, “This was one of the top-three days of filming I’ve ever experienced in my life.” So I knew that was pretty profound because of what they’ve already been through together.
Dead Reckoning Part Two is nearly halfway complete. Do you still have a ways to go before you finish your role in all this?
Oh yeah! I go back in August and shoot all fall. We’re gonna be in London and a place yet to be named. I don’t believe they know yet, but it’ll be somewhere sexy, as usual. (Laughs.) So, yes, I have a lot to do, and we have quite a bit to do still. Like I said, these guys are cinephiles. They love to shoot and they love being on the floor, as we say. They’ll shoot [Dead Reckoning Part Two] right up until the release date just to make it better. They’ll drill down on it and keep making it better and better.
So Tarzan [Davis] told me last year that you helped him out with his various self-tapes during filming and that you really made a difference in his approach to acting and auditions. And my theory at the time was that your inclination to help the next generation of actors began with your own kid’s [Giorgia Whigham] self-tapes. Is that somewhat accurate?
No, to be honest with you, I don’t really even talk about acting with my kid. It’s her own journey, and she wants it to be that way. I’ve said, “I’m there if you need me,” but I stay out of the way. And it’s probably best that it be her journey, her struggle and her triumphs.
But Tarzan came out of the gates in Top Gun: Maverick, and now he’s doing back-to-back Mission: Impossible movies. And I’ve told him, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” I’m not talking down to him; you just don’t know how hard it is to actually be an actor and have success. And to come out of the gate with these three films, I laugh all the time about it with McQ and Tom. He’s three for three with these three films. So he really wants to be a good actor, and I’ve passed on whatever knowledge I have.
Do you think you wanted to help him because you somewhat miss the grind of those early days?
Well, it’s not because I miss it. When I’m working, I see a lot of this younger generation, and I have a real reverence for people who came before me. When I worked with De Niro, Hopkins and some other heavies, I always made sure they knew that I knew their stuff and that I knew they paved the way. And I felt like Tarzan wanted to have some of that. He wanted some of the stories about when I was working with De Niro and Buscemi and Hopkins, and so it just became an organic process. He had some tapes, I looked at them and I said, “I think we can tighten them up a little bit.” And he got something good off of one of them. I think it was Grey’s Anatomy.
So I first said this to Hailee Steinfeld last month, but your scenes together in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse were the best scenes in the movie. She said the two of you recorded your stuff separately at first, but then you eventually re-recorded a lot of it together. Could you feel the difference once you were together?
Yes, we really found something there. Lord and Miller brought us in and it was just so smart. With me having a 25-year-old daughter, we found some really good organic stuff in there. To tell you the truth, I didn’t really know what I was getting into with Spider-Man. I’d seen the first one. My kids were into it and had me watch it. And when Across came along, I didn’t realize how gratifying it would be to do it. I loved it. So we would go back in and tighten it, and then I would bring stuff in. But at the heart of it, they let me do what I would normally do in live-action. So I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.
Hailee also said that she never really got a proper script, which sounds a lot like Mission in that both stories are written and rewritten on the fly. Does each process feel similar to you?
Yeah, I didn’t even think about it like that. Mission is like nothing I’ve ever done before and will ever do again. I’m sure of it. When I worked with Terry Malick and Christian Bale, there was no script, but it had parameters of what it was going to be. The Mission guys talked about this film for two-and-a-half years along with Erik Jendresen, who helps write with McQ. But you’re right. You don’t have a script either way, but both films, Mission and Spider-Man, let you explore and bring something of your own. They encourage that process, and I think that’s why they’re both so good. They don’t make films like Mission: Impossible anymore, where it’s that practical and every character gets a moment. You actually care about the characters in this big action film, and they just don’t make them anymore like Tom makes them. His love of film just comes through, and you can feel it emanating off of him and McQ.
Lastly, before you were chasing after Ethan Hunt, you were chasing after the Joker. Are you back for more in Joker 2?
I am not back in Joker 2, no. I don’t think things ended well for me in Joker. There was a pummeling going on when they panned off of me.
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Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One is now in movie theaters. This interview was edited for length and clarity.
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