The set of the Mission: Impossible franchise is known for its high-octane stunts and grueling dedication, but co-stars Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg are equally famous for their legendary, ongoing prank war. Pegg, who plays IMF technician Benji Dunn, delighted audiences by recounting one of Cruise’s most insidious practical jokes: secretly turning up his heated car seat to the highest setting while filming in scorching desert heat. The prank took place during the filming of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), specifically during the intense exterior location shoots in Casablanca, Morocco, where temperatures soared.
The Slow, Scorching Prank
Simon Pegg explained in an interview (including a famous recounting on The Graham Norton Show) that the location shoot required the actors to spend considerable time in the vehicles, often waiting for complex scenes to be set up. In the middle of the North African desert heat, Pegg began to feel increasingly uncomfortable, suffering in a way that seemed extreme even for the climate. He was slowly, inexplicably, melting. He recalled thinking, “I nearly died,” from the overwhelming heat and dehydration. The crowd erupted in laughter when Simon Pegg accused Tom Cruise of secretly turning his heated seat to the highest setting in the scorching desert heat, and Tom’s “innocent” response made everyone burst out laughing!
Cruise’s ‘Innocent’ Response
It took him an absurd amount of time to realize the cause of his suffering wasn’t the Moroccan sun, but the mischievous hand of his co-star. The car they were using had seat heaters, and Tom Cruise, sitting in the passenger seat (or nearby), had repeatedly reached over and cranked Pegg’s driver’s seat heater to the maximum setting. Cruise’s ability to maintain a straight face while subtly turning up the heat—making Pegg believe his body was simply failing him in the desert—was the final, hilarious detail that stole the spotlight. Simon Pegg bring the house down accusing Tom Cruise of cranking his heated seat to MAX in the desert—and Tom’s “innocent” smile triggers explosive laughter.
The Return Prank and the Payback
The crowd erupted in laughter as Pegg detailed how Cruise would play the innocent, concerned friend, all while Pegg was boiling alive: “Tom kept putting the heater in my seat on and was heating me up for a joke,” Pegg revealed. Cruise would pretend to be solicitous, asking, “Are you okay, Simon? You look really red!” Pegg, who plays the franchise’s tech expert, eventually retaliated with a clever counter-prank. Once he discovered Cruise’s scheme, he waited until Cruise was in the car, flipped the switch to turn on Cruise’s heated seat, and then used a small piece of black tape to cover the tiny indicator light that showed the heater was active. The entire set enjoyed watching Cruise suffer the same fate, subtly baking in the desert heat without knowing why. The incident cemented their dynamic as a beloved part of the Mission: Impossible franchise lore, proving that their commitment to pranks is nearly as intense as their commitment to hanging off cliffs.