Tom Cruise reportedly surprised NHS staff to thank them for working on the coronavirus pandemic.
The movie star, 58, is said to have secretly visited the ExCel Center in East London last Thursday to “ pay personal tribute to primary care health workers. ”
It comes after Mission Impossible 7 finally wrapped up after a series of delays and amid allegations that the star had scolded the crew for breaking social distance rules on set.
Kind gesture: Tom Cruise reportedly surprised NHS staff at the ExCel Center in East London to thank them for their work on the coronavirus pandemic (pictured in 2018)
A source told The Sun: ‘He told his team he wanted to pay his personal tribute to primary care health workers who have helped put movies back on track.
‘They were really shocked to see such a great movie star. Tom wanted to keep it a secret and make sure it was a nice surprise for them.
“The world had heard his tirade on the crew on set and it showed how seriously he took the pandemic.”
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Tom Cruise and the ExCel Center for further comment.
Take it seriously: The actor, 58, recently wrapped up his own film Mission Impossible 7 after a series of delays, claiming he ‘raged’ on the crew when they broke social distance rules on set (photo filming in Rome in October )
The ExCel Center is now a major vaccine center and another part of the site is used for the NHS Nightingale Hospital’s new rehab facility.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in January: ‘I would like to thank our brilliant NHS staff who transformed the Excel Center to be used as a new large-scale vaccination site, as well as preparing the NHS. Nightingale Hospital opens as a new rehabilitation center for patients in a different part of the center.
“This will be crucial to free up much-needed beds in London hospitals, while speeding up the roll-out of the vaccine.”
Cruise’s visit comes after filming on Mission: Impossible 7 wrapped up under a global marathon program interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nice gesture: A source claimed that Tom wanted to ‘pay his personal respects to primary health care workers who helped put films back on track’ (photo filmed in Venice in October)
Filming on Mission: Impossible 7 was set to begin in Italy in February 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed it until July 2020.
Filming began in the UK, moved to Norway and then back to Italy, where it again came to a halt after 12 crew members tested positive for the coronavirus.
The film was also hit with allegations that five crew members ‘quit’ after Cruise was ‘released in a second rant’ following his anger over staff violations of COVID rules.
Cruise allegedly gave the staff a costume party after he caught them violating British COVID-19 rules at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden.
A source claimed after news of the initial outburst was made public that there was ‘more anger’ over the already ‘tense’ production.
The star was also previously reported to scold workers who disregarded social distance distribution rules while filming in Warner Bros. Studios.
A Wrap: Mission: Impossible-7 suffered a series of filming delays amid the pandemic (Tom Cruise is filming with co-star Hayley Atwell in Rome in October)
Appealing to the no-nonsense attitude of his character, Ethan Hunt, the actor is said to have told them, ‘If I see you do it again, you’re fucking gone’.
The paper said the dressing was recorded on an audio tape, in which he would hear adding, ‘And if anyone in this crew does it, that’s it – and you too and you too.
And you, don’t ever fucking do it again. We’re not stopping this damn movie. ‘
The American actor was reportedly upset after seeing the couple standing less than a meter apart behind a computer screen.
MailOnline contacted representatives of Tom Cruise at the time.
Last month, director Christopher McQuarrie posted on Instagram that the production of Mission Impossible had finally ended in Abu Dhabi and that he was on his way ‘back to London for some finishing touches’.
However, the delays due to the pandemic mean that Star Cruise’s plan to immediately film an eighth movie had to be shelved, Deadline.com reported.
M: I-7 is scheduled for release on November 19. But before that, Cruise has one more big movie opening – his sequel to Top Gun.
Top Gun: Maverick opens in theaters on July 2, and Cruise should be available to promote the film worldwide.
That means he can’t immediately start making the eighth movie in the Mission: Impossible franchise as he would have liked.
The eighth movie is listed by Paramount for release on November 4, 2022, but it looks like that date has to be rescheduled now.
Nearly Completed: McQuarrie posted a stunning photo, saying that filming was completed after a stint in Abu Dhabi and that he was on his way to London to do a ‘few finishing touches’ on the project