Maggie Q comes to “Mission: Impossible III” as one of Asia’s most popular actors after starring in such motion pictures as Hong Kong’s box‐office smash “Gen-Y Cops” and “Naked Weapon.”
Born in Hawaii, Maggie was busy working in Hong Kong when the “M:i:III” call came. “I’ve been living in Hong Kong for eight years and wasn’t planning to do an American film,” she says. “Now, my first American starring role is in a huge Tom Cruise movie. The scale of everything is so much bigger than in Hong Kong. Coming back to America has been a real culture shock.” “Zhen is a very tough, hard woman – a doer, not a talker,” Maggie says of her character. “She works behind-the-scenes; Ethan is the front man of the operation and Zhen is part of the team that helps make everything work.”
To prepare for her role, Maggie underwent a rigorous training regime. In addition to cardio and toning, she underwent some strength training to gain muscle. She also went through martial arts training and boxed. “In movie fighting, you have to be a jack-of-all-trades,” she says. “You can’t specialize – you’re often called upon to chameleon into different kinds of fighting.”
After witnessing Jackie Chan and other Asian martial-arts stars willing to put their bodies on the line for their films, Maggie Q was impressed with Cruise’s willingness to perform his own stunts. “I’ve worked with Jackie Chan, and watching Jackie, you know he grew up in a Kung Fu school, he was in the circus – he had a tough upbringing and he’s a tough guy. There’s no doubt he can handle it. When I see Tom do the same things, that, I think, is amazing. Tom earns a lot of respect from the action director and the stunt people who know just how difficult everything is. Tom has an undying energy – when he’s acting, of course, but really, all the time.”
Keri Russell, who previously starred for Abrams on his first television series, “Felicity,” takes on the role of Lindsey Ferris, the only trainee that displays the high skill level and abilities to be confirmed by Ethan to become a member of IMF.
“Keri’s the absolute greatest,” says Abrams. “I haven’t worked with her since ‘Felicity,’ so having this opportunity is an absolute joy. It’s inspiring: she’s never done anything like this before, so watching her pick up the gun work and the stunts really showed me that she’s capable of anything. Tom was really helpful in showing her the ropes of action and stuntwork: the timing of it, the rhythm of it, and getting the confidence to do it.”
In the movie, Russell’s character, Lindsey, spars with Ethan using stick-fighting techniques. “The training was really fun,” says Russell. “I spent about four and a half months training with the stunt guys – they’re incredible athletes. We boxed and I learned to stick-fight. It was pretty cool.”
For Laurence Fishburne, joining the cast of “Mission: Impossible III” was the realization of a childhood fantasy. “When I was a kid, it was the show we ran home to watch,” he says. “We’d play Impossible Mission Force and pretend to be secret agents, play with the gadgets, sing the cool music, all of that. Now I’m the boss, the guy above Mr. Phelps – I’m the guy who sends the envelopes. Who could pass that up?”
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