Tom Cruise Refused to Kick Pom Klementieff in the Stomach During ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ Fight: ‘I Kept Telling Him to Just Kick Me’

Tom Cruise will ride a motorcycle off the edge of a cliff, but kicking a co-star is apparently where he draws the line. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cruises Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One co-star Pom Klementieff said she practically begged him to kick her in the stomach for real while they were filming a fight scene. Cruise refused to do so.

I kept telling him to just kick me here, Klementieff said while pointing to her stomach. I was squeezing abs. [I said], You can just go for it. He was like No, no, no, no, no. I was like, But its going to help me! But he wouldnt do it.

Klementieff, best known for playing Mantis in James Gunns Guardians of the Galaxy movies and the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, is joining the Mission: Impossible franchise in its seventh installment as Paris, a dangerous hench-woman with ties to the films villain, played by Esai Morales. The actor described Paris as very, very, very much a chaotic element in the story.

It doesnt matter how deep in the background she is, youre going to be watching her at all times and wondering what shes going to do, Klementieff said. [She] destroys everything in her path. Shes a rebel, shes a killer, shes extremely skilled and quite lonely too.

While Cruise refused to kick Klementieff in the stomach, he did start filming Dead Reckoning by riding a motorcycle off the edge of a cliff. The stunt marked the most dangerous one of Cruises career thus far. The actor recently toldEntertainment Tonightthat he wanted to film the stunt on the first day of filming so that his cast and crew would know if rewrites were in order because he didnt survive.

Well we know either we will continue with the film or were not. Lets know day one! Cruise said. Let us know day one what is going to happen: Do we all continue or is it a major rewrite?

I was training and I was ready, Cruise added. You have to be razor sharp when youre doing something like that. It was very important as we were prepping the film that it was actually the first thing. I dont want to drop that and go shoot other things and have my mind somewhere else. Everyone was prepped. Lets just get it done.

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One opens in theaters July 12 from Paramount Pictures.