Time and time again, Tom Cruise’s co-stars have talked about just how helpful the actor with a big heart is. Known for his fearless stunts and unwavering dedication to his work, Tom Cruise isn’t just a superstar who brings in the big bucks at the box office, but a man who constantly looks out for those around him. In a recent interview, his Mission: Impossible co-star Hayley Atwell opened up about how he helped her battle her social anxiety.
Instead of running away and hiding, Tom Cruise gave her a brilliant piece of advice, which she then used to face her social anxiety head-on. In a world where setbacks often cloud our vision, his advice proves that sometimes, all it takes is the courage to keep our eyes open and move forward.
Hayley Atwell’s social anxiety
Hayley Atwell went surprisingly well with Tom Cruise when she made her Mission: Impossible debut with 2023’s Dead Reckoning. However, she wasn’t always the confident woman we saw on our screens.
During a recent appearance on the Reign with Josh Smith podcast, Atwell revealed that social anxiety is something that a lot of people struggle with, and it shows up in different ways for different people.
Luckily, Cruise was right there to help Atwell out when her anxiety started rearing its ugly head. She told Josh Smith all about the “pep talk” given to her by the actor, stating that when anxiety makes you want to overthink yourself, just try and do the opposite.
Social anxiety tends to be something that people talk about a lot at the moment, right? And how a lot of people do have social anxiety at some point. It manifests in different ways, but the pep talk [Tom] gave me helps that. If you walk into a room and you feel the anxieties coming, and it makes me want to retreat into myself, I start to overthink, and go: ‘Do I look weird? Do I seem awkward?’ We go into ourselves, and Tom said: ‘Try doing the opposite.’
Seems rather simple, right? Atwell went on to elaborate on Cruise’s little technique, which helped her tremendously on the set of Dead Reckoning.
Tom Cruise advises Hayley Atwell to pinpoint the problem
Instead of hiding and running away from the problems, Cruise told Atwell to try and figure out exactly what or who is bothering her. She recalled him advising her to look around the room and find that thing that is “attached to my insecurity.”
He added, “Is it that person over there that reminds me of my school bully…That person over there didn’t give me a job once? That person over there that I think was mean to me once?” Once she figures it out, she can then go on to name the problem instead of struggling with “free-floating anxiety.”
She repeated his wise words to Smith, stating,
Try to look out, look around the room, and go… Where is it? Where is the thing that I have attached to my insecurity? Is it that person over there that reminds me of my school bully? That person over there didn’t give me a job once? That person over there that I think was mean to me once?
Atwell then explained how labeling the problem helped her deal with social anxiety and actually do something about it rather than letting it overpower her:
If I look at it for long enough, the anxiety then can have a name. It can have a label or what will happen is, I’ll go: ‘Oh, you’re really jealous’ or ‘I’m really lonely’ or ‘I’m really intimidated by the talent or the confidence of that person.’ As soon as I can name what it actually is, the general sense of free-floating anxiety goes and then I actually have an opportunity to do something about it.
As for Cruise’s life-changing advice, it’s simple – keep your eyes open at all times and don’t run away from the problem, and you’ll soon know how to overcome it.
Atwell stated,
So he was just like: ‘If you are scared of something just keep looking at it. Just try not to close your eyes or turn away. Just keep looking at it and it will often give you information about what to do to overcome it.’
Thus, amidst the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, where action heroes are often perceived as larger than life, Cruise continues to prove that his strength doesn’t only lie in daring stunts but also in uplifting others.
His words didn’t just help Atwell navigate social anxiety on set but are also a reminder for all of us that fear and doubt can only hold us back if we let them.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is available to stream on Paramount+.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will be released on May 23, 2025.
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