Nicholas Hoult, perhaps best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Emperor Peter in The Great, reveals why he was unable to play the villain role in Mission: Impossible with Tom Cruise. In 2020, Hoult was teased about being the antagonist in Mission: Impossible 7 by the then director Christopher McQuarrie who wrote on an Instagram post: “Care to raise a little hell?” Hoult then responded: “Though why stop at a little?”

Unfortunately, this was not meant to be, as Hoult stated in an interview with The Guardian, that he had to back down on the role due to scheduling conflicts with The Great. Relating to this point, Hoult describes his frustration of not having the success he would have hoped for with specific roles. He states, “I screen-tested for Batman and didn’t get it. Screen-tested for Top Gun, didn’t get it. Then I got the call from Tom Cruise: ‘Hey, how about Mission Impossible?’ OK. Got it. Then I had to drop out because I was already attached to do some more of The Great.”

Despite this, Hoult’s horror-comedy film Renfield is currently in theaters, where he stars alongside Nicholas Cage. Additionally, he is expected to star in Juror No. 2 and Nosferatu.