The British actress, who co-stars with Cruise in the upcoming action thriller “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” opened up about past speculation that she dated Cruise in an interview with The Independent published Saturday.
Atwell, who is engaged to music producer Ned Wolfgang Kelly, said she views Cruise and “Dead Reckoning” director Christopher McQuarrie as “sort of two uncles.”
“I would be like, ‘Ooh, there’s some weird rumors, and it feels base. It feels a little dirty,” Atwell told the British outlet. “It feels grubby. It’s not what I’m about. Why are things being assumed or projected onto me about my relationship with my work colleague and boss?”
Atwell added that she found the rumors “upsetting” because of the scrutiny it brought to her private life.
“It’s involving people in my actual life, my personal life, who have to be on the receiving end of that,” Atwell said. “It becomes invasive.”
Marking the seventh installment in the iconic “M:I” franchise, “Dead Reckoning Part One” follows Cruise’s secret agent Ethan Hunt as he faces off against “The Entity,” an evolving form of artificial intelligence that threatens global security. Atwell plays enigmatic thief Grace in the film. The pair becomes an effective duo, navigating a wild car chase through Rome in a tiny Fiat and a hellacious train trip on the Orient Express.
“Dead Reckoning” has earned rave reviews from critics for its stunning action sequences and compelling performances. Erik Davis of Fandango called the film an “impeccably made action film that does not stop entertaining.”
“Each action sequence is long, crazy and intense,” Davis wrote on Twitter. “The story is big and sprawling, but I like how it both felt complete and left you dying for what comes next.”
Perri Nemiroff of Collider said the film is “another winner for the franchise,” including the addition of Atwell’s character. “She can do it all. Action, comedy, a capable hero in many respects while trying to get her sea legs in others,” Nemiroff tweeted.
USA TODAY film critic Brian Truitt gave the film three out of four stars, writing that while “Dead Reckoning” is chock-full of gloriously bonkers stunt sequences, its technological villain introduces some narrative obstacles.
“If you choose to accept this ‘Mission’ – and what action-movie fan or Cruise nerd wouldn’t, really – it’s the first half of a man vs. machine epic that doesn’t skimp in the thrills department,” Truitt wrote. “Just don’t think too hard about it, though you’ll probably still give serious side-eye to your laptop.”