Hayley Atwell Takes Pride in Her Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Scars

Hayley Atwell chose to accept her mission and all the physicality that went with it. And the actor takes pride in the modest battle scars she received while filming Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Atwell portrays the thief Grace in the film, but the actress is arguably best known for playing the love interest of Captain America, aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Now, the actor has teamed up with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. And while her co-star is renowned for doing his own stunts, Atwell arrived on set ready to do her share of the heavy lifting. And Atwell has the bumps and bruises to prove she didn’t shy away from her own stunt work, even if they are insignificant wounds. Atwell admitted in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:

“The bruises here and there that I would get were so minor. And yet I would be very proud of them. I would be like, ‘I’ve got proof of my battle scars!'”

One of Atwell’s most memorable moments comes in Dead Reckoning Part One’s final act when her character Grace and Ethan Hunt (Cruise) race to escape the Orient Express before it derails.

Related: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Cast and Character Guide

Minor Scars or Not, Atwell Showed Up in Shape

Atwell took her stunt work very seriously in the latest installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise. And the thespian showed up on set ready to do the labor-intensive work along with knowing her dialogue — Atwell prepared vigorously for the physical requirements by embarking on her own exercise program.

“It transformed my body in terms of my energy, my clarity of mind, and the natural by-products that come from living an incredibly healthy way and understanding about nutrition and rest and recovery and injury and prevention and mobility,” Atwell said during the same interview.

And even though Atwell is now a bona fide member of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), the actor doesn’t have a clue where the next Mission: Impossible will take her. So, aside from the IMF pursuing the hidden submarine containing The Entity, who knows where Grace will end up next. Atwell revealed:

“I don’t know what happens. So much of 7, we weren’t following a set script. We were finding things in the moment and then seeing what the scene owed in terms of the plot and the exposition and the character dynamic. That’s their process. It’s a very unique one that clearly works for Tom [Cruise] and McQ [Christopher McQuarrie] because of what they’ve been able to deliver. What’s great for me as an actor is everything is sort of up for grabs in terms of what happens next.”

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two is currently slated to hit theaters on June 28, 2024.