Mission: Impossible 7 - Are Tom Cruise And Hayley Atwell Friends In Real Life?

"Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" features quite a few major firsts for the long-standing action franchise. That includes Marvel alum Hayley Atwell's debut in the series as the intriguing new thief named Grace, who finds herself at odds with Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt for a solid portion of the film's runtime. While the two characters may not always seem eye to eye, fans may be wondering whether their respective actors get along well in real life. As it turns out, the answer is a heartwarming 'yes.'

In an interview with Country & Town House, Atwell said that she was impressed by Cruise's humility while working with him for "Mission: Impossible." "I suppose it's rare because, you know, we are operating on such a high level of stakes in terms of the size of this movie and the fame that he already has," the actor explained. "But I think that's where I see a lot of his courage as a human being – he retains that sort of childlike wonder, which has a wisdom to it, which is, 'I don't know, and I don't know what I don't know.'"

It didn't take long into the run-up to "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" for rumors to start circulating that Hayley Atwell and Tom Cruise were romantically involved. However, Atwell has clarified on several occasions that the two have a completely platonic friendship.

In an interview with Heart Evenings, Atwell explained her distaste for the rumors. "When those rumors came out, I was like, 'Oh, how reductive that stories have been made up because they see a woman who has worked hard to develop a chemistry and a rapport and a work ethic that has met the intensity of someone like Tom and has found a place beside him. And, therefore, let's reduce it immediately to assuming that it was running on a romantic agenda,'" she said.

Atwell has also spoken of her appreciation for the friendships she has built with Cruise and the rest of the film's cast and crew. "What I feel is the truly extraordinary power of platonic love, which seems to be sometimes under-represented," she told Country & Town House. "And my love for Tom, my love for [Chris] McQuarrie, my love for the process of this [Mission], and also the people who they keep very close to them and who are very present on set, has a wholesomeness to it."