Mark Gatiss Tells What It's Really Like Working With Tom Cruise On Mission: Impossible 7 - Exclusive

Mark Gatiss is no stranger to appearing in noteworthy TV shows and movies opposite big-name actors. After all, he's been a part of everything from the beloved TV shows "Game of Thrones" and "Doctor Who" to the critically lauded films "The Favourite" and "The Father." Plus, as the co-creator of "Sherlock" and the actor who depicts Mycroft Holmes, he watched as the show launched Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman to stardom.

But the upcoming action film "Mission: Impossible 7" may mark the biggest project he's starred in yet, and he does so with one of the most popular actors on the planet: Tom Cruise. While the movie has been delayed several times due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gatiss hasn't lost his enthusiasm for it or the particular joys of working with Cruise. Gatiss spoke exclusively with Looper about his experience on "Mission: Impossible 7" and the awe he felt at spending time with Cruise.

After accepting the mission to appear in the seventh installment of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, Mark Gatiss found that, just like one of the agents of the Impossible Mission Force, he was sworn to secrecy about the details of the movie. "All I could tell you," Gatiss confessed, "which is really funny, is that we had to sign an NDA. Really, there was lots of back and forth — it was like 'Mission: Impossible,' disappearing ink and all these things."

Yet it seems some members of the cast and crew kept things quieter than others. "On the third day on the set, [director] Chris McQuarrie was taking pictures of us and said, 'Do you mind if I put this on Instagram?'" Gatiss laughed. "I thought, 'Well, I thought we were secret.' Anyway, that's how it happened. All the pictures are out there."

Despite having to stay tight-lipped on plot details — even after the movie has wrapped — Gatiss is still in awe of the size of the production. "I can't say anything else except it was a lovely experience and intimidating in the sense that the scale of the movies is absolutely mind-blowing," Gatiss shared. "It was like being in a 'James Bond' movie. It was so huge."

However, Gatiss reserved his most complimentary comments for Cruise, whom he said was wonderful to work with. "Tom Cruise was so completely available and lovely that you pinch yourself when you realize that you are actually talking to him every day for quite a long time," Gatiss revealed, "and then you go, 'But it's Tom Cruise.' Every now and then, you go, 'Hang on, that's Tom Cruise.' It's not a little thing to say that he has been part of my moviegoing life since I was about 14, and to actually then be doing a scene with him, it really is amazing ... It was lovely."

Mark Gatiss can next be seen in "The Road Dance," which had its U.S. debut at the 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival; "Operation Mincemeat," which will be available on Netflix sometime in 2022; and "Mission: Impossible 7," which is scheduled to be released in 2023.