Tom Cruise Covid rant: what actor said during outburst on set of Mission Impossible 7 - and film release date

Tom Cruise has made headlines by embarking on an expletive-filled rant against crew members breaking Covid-19 protocols on the set of his latest movie.

The Hollywood A-lister was shooting Mission Impossible 7 in London at the weekend when he took issue with the behaviour of some of those present on set, telling them “If I see you doing it again, you’re f***ing gone.”

According to The Sun, Cruise was irked when he spotted two crew members not standing two metres apart. Filming was taking place at the Warner Bros Studios Leavesden in Hertfordshire which, as of 16 December, is located within a local authority subject to stricter Tier 3 Covid restrictions.

Here is everything you need to know.

What happened?

As reported by the paper, Cruise has been working hard to ensure that filming can go ahead on his latest project in accordance with social distancing rules.

A source told The Sun: “Tom has taken it upon himself, along with the health and safety department, to try to force the safety precautions, with a view to keeping the film running.

“He does daily rounds to make sure that everything is set up appropriately, that people are behaving and working as safely as they can. He is very proactive when it comes to safety.”

The 58-year old reportedly even bought a retired cruise ship at a personal expense of £500,000, on which the cast and crew can isolate while filming, and is regularly pictured on set wearing a mask.

In the three-minute rant, which was captured on tape and is thought to have taken place in front of around 50 crew members, the actor can be heard explaining how he’s “on the phone with every f***ing studio at night, insurance companies, [and] producers” in an effort to keep things moving smoothly.

“They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us,” he exclaims. “We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf***ers.

“That’s it. No apologies. You can tell it to the people that are losing their f***ing homes because our industry is shut down. We are not shutting this f***ing movie down. Is it understood? If I see it again, you’re f***ing gone.”

Why did Cruise get angry?

Cruise reportedly lost his temper when he spotted a couple of crew members standing less than a metre away from each other at a computer screen.

“Everyone was wearing masks,” said the source. “It was purely that these people were standing under a metre away from each other. It isn’t known whether he saw those guys breaking the rules before or whether this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

In the clip, Cruise says: “I care about you guys, but if you’re not going to help me you’re gone. OK? Do you see that stick? How many metres is that?”

“When people are standing around a f***ing computer and hanging out around here, what are you doing? And if they don’t comply then send their names to [production safety supervisor] Matt Spooner. That’s it.”

When is Mission Impossible 7 released?

Mission: Impossible 7 is due for release on 19 November 2021.

Filming was scheduled to begin in February 2020 in Venice for three weeks, before moving to Rome in mid-March for 40 days, but production in Italy was halted due to Covid-19.

In July, crew arriving in the UK were given permission to begin filming without going through the mandatory 14-day quarantine. In October, after production had resumed in Italy, it was put on hold once more after 12 people tested positive for Covid-19 on set.