If most people were suddenly struck down by a mystery illness while vacationing on a remote island, their first instinct would be to call a doctor or hotel staff. For Rebecca Ferguson, however, the solution was far more Hollywood: she picked up the phone and called Tom Cruise—to ask if he could get her a helicopter.
The candid and humorous revelation came during a new interview with The Independent, as Ferguson promoted her upcoming thriller Mercy. Recounting the incident, the actress explained that she became seriously unwell while staying in the Maldives, suffering from what she initially believed might be something far more alarming than it turned out to be.
“I called him once when I was in the Maldives when I had a really bad stomach,” Ferguson said. “I was like, ‘Can I get a helicopter?’ It was quite a funny thing.” At the time, she feared she had contracted a parasite. “I thought it was a big worm,” she added, before laughing off the overshare.
It was Ferguson’s husband, Rory St Clair Gainer, who reportedly made the now-infamous suggestion. “‘Tom can get a helicopter,’” he told her—apparently without irony. As it turned out, Ferguson was suffering from gastroenteritis rather than anything more sinister, but the episode underscored just how close she remains with Cruise after years of collaboration.
Ferguson first joined the Mission: Impossible universe in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, portraying MI6 agent Ilsa Faust. She went on to reprise the role in Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, becoming one of the franchise’s most popular modern additions.
Beyond the spy series, Ferguson has built a formidable résumé, starring in Dune and Dune: Part Two, as well as Life, Doctor Sleep, and Netflix’s political thriller A House of Dynamite. Since 2023, she has also led the Apple TV+ series Silo, set in a dystopian underground society sealed off from the outside world.
Ferguson isn’t the only Mission: Impossible alum to publicly praise Cruise. In 2023, Hannah Waddingham defended him passionately on James Martin’s Saturday Morning, describing Cruise as “one of the loveliest and most inspiring human beings” she had ever met after filming aboard the USS George H. W. Bush.
While Cruise remains one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, his off-screen persona has long attracted intense scrutiny, from his infamous 2005 sofa-jumping moment on The Oprah Winfrey Show to ongoing debate surrounding his ties to the Church of Scientology. Yet stories like Ferguson’s suggest that, behind the spectacle, Cruise is also a fiercely loyal friend—one who might just be able to arrange a helicopter when you need it most.
Ferguson’s new film Mercy, co-starring Chris Pratt, is set for release on 23 January, with her full interview dropping tomorrow.