Rolf Saxon Thought He Was Being Pranked When ‘Mission Impossible’ Asked Him to Return

Three decades ago, Rolf Saxon worked for just a few days on Mission: Impossible. Seven films and nearly 30 years later, he was getting a call to return for a major role in director Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning. It couldn’t be real—could it?

“I thought it was a friend making a joke,” Saxon admits in an interview. “I got a call from one of my agents: ‘There’s a European film company that wants to speak with you about a project. They won’t say what it is.’ And then I got another call saying it’s [Mission production company] Skydance. I went, the Skydance?

“I’ve got a buddy in Scotland, and we play pranks on each other. So I’m like, ‘okay, Bill.’” He mimes giving Bill the middle finger.

Saxon didn’t believe the call was legit until he grabbed himself a drink, sat for a Zoom at the designated time—and was greeted not by Bill, but McQuarrie. “Holy shit. I put the wine aside and thought, why didn’t I put a real shirt on?”

In Saxon’s defense, it’s pretty shocking that what might be the very last Mission: Impossible film would circle all the way back to a character who appeared in just one scene, 29 years ago. On the other hand, Saxon’s closeup came in the iconic franchise’s signature sequence.

Directed by legendary filmmaker Brian De Palma, the 1996 Mission: Impossible—a reboot of the ‘60s TV show—introduced Tom Cruise as IMF agent Ethan Hunt, who must break into CIA headquarters to steal a list of undercover agents. The man protecting that information is CIA analyst William Donloe, played by Saxon. As Saxon runs in and out of the vault that holds the list, Ethan drops in from the air duct above. He escapes completely undetected — until a knife falls down and lands in front of Donloe. Fortunately for Ethan, he disappears before Donloe can look up.

Since his small role in Mission, Saxon’s career as a “jobbing actor” has included an appearance in Saving Private Ryan, plenty of stage work, and serving as the narrator on Teletubbies. But with his very real opportunity in Final Reckoning, Saxon had the unexpected chance to find out what happened to Donloe after Ethan escaped that vault. In a welcome twist, it turns out that the heist might have been the best thing to ever happen to Donloe — and perhaps Saxon as well.

“C’mon, I had two lines. I was onscreen for all of five minutes,” Saxon says. “Never in a million years would I have thought this could happen.”

Vanity Fair: Is it a relief that your return hasn’t been kept top secret?

Rolf Saxon: It started out being a secret. I had 16 pages of NDAs! Chris made it really clear that I could tell my immediate family, but that was it. That was in Jan. 2022, and then, in maybe Sept. 2022, he said, “I put you on my Instagram and said you’re in it.” And I said, thank God, because all I could think about was that I’m going to get sued. So this is much better.

All these years later, what do you remember about Donloe coming into your life?

I was in Wales, doing a tour of a play, and I got a call from my agent: “They’re doing a Mission: Impossible movie, and they want you to audition for it.” They sent me the script, and I took a three-hour train ride to Pinewood Studios, outside of London, and met Brian De Palma. Was in the room for about three minutes. As I walked out with the casting director, I said, “Well, that was a waste of time.” She said, “No, no, no, you were in there the longest of anybody. He really liked you.” I took the train back to Wales, got there just in time for the half-hour call [of the play], and I had a message from my agent: “They’ve offered you the job.”

Tell me about filming your big scene.

I was on the film for about three weeks, off and on. I had almost nothing to do, which is a really great lesson for young actors. The one you think, ah, this is nothing, don’t think that — every one of them is important.

Mr. De Palma is not a people person, so my communication with him was primarily through the first AD, Chris Soldo. It was pretty much up to me what I wanted to do. The vomiting was not in the script. There was a lot of downtime, and one day I was just joking with the crew. I got a tap on the shoulder from Chris: “Mr. De Palma wants to see you.” I thought, shit. I walked up and he said, “[Very monotone voice] You were really funny; everybody really liked what you’re doing. Could you do that again?” So we filmed all the vomiting that afternoon after lunch and the next day, and all that was just me messing around. After we finished, one of the crew said, “Your agent has to get ahold of Tums, because you’ll make a fortune.” And I should have! [Laughs.]

How much thought did you put into your character at the time?

Suzanne Doucette, who played the woman in my office, is the real deal — she’s ex-FBI and CIA. She was there as an advisor as well, and some of her stories were unbelievable. She filled me in a lot about what Donloe does.

Technically, you and Tom are in the same scene, but Donloe doesn’t know it. What were your interactions like with Tom on the first film?

There wasn’t a huge amount. He’s such a focused guy, doing the job at hand, and so when I was on set, it was always, “Hello,” “Good afternoon,” and then he’d work. My penultimate day, he came up, shook my hand and patted me on the back: “Great job. Really appreciate you being here.”

When did you realize the legacy of your scene?

My first day on set of Final Reckoning. Because I didn’t think it was that big a deal. My friends and family went, “Oh, it’s a great scene,” but you think, yeah, they’re my friends and family. Of course they’re going to say that. But in our [initial] conversation, Chris said he’s always asked about Donloe. I thought he was blowing smoke. And then, on my first day, one of the other actors went, “Oh my god, you’re William Donloe!” Chris just stood there, like, I told you so. That’s when the penny sort of dropped.

To be honest, this is still like a dream. I don’t get it. I went and did some work 30 years ago, and suddenly I’m being interviewed by Vanity Fair — are you fucking kidding me? This is just nuts.

Over the years, were you thinking at all about Donloe?

When either 3 or 4 was being written, I thought, why not bring Donloe back? I drafted this letter to Tom Cruise, “Dear Tom, I have this idea…” And it was like, not a fucking chance. I threw it away and never thought of it again.

After your experience on the first film being short and isolated, what was it like stepping onto this Mission set and fully being part of the team?

My first day, I was being brought to see where we were going to [film]. It was an intricate set, a large sound stage, and they were recreating a tunnel section. I had to walk through this tunnel area into the room where Ving [Rhames] was doing his filming, and there was Tom, McQ, and a number of the crew. I got a big round of applause. And Tom gave me a hug: “Welcome back.” I felt 10 feet tall.

This time around, you actually get to act with Tom. How did it compare?

I’ve worked with a number of stars in my career, and some have something about them that—when they walk in, you know you need to bring your A- game. He is No. 1 on that list. He’s positive, focused, knows what he’s doing, and he’s one of the best filmmakers alive today. Yet he’s another actor and we’re working together on the scene. We had some long and very arduous days…I mean, nothing like his stunt days. But you’re on set for a long time, and as much as I loved coming to work on this, there were a couple of days when it was tough. You walk in, and there’s Tom, and you think, fuck it, I can do this — let’s go. I’ll feel tired tomorrow. He brings that into a room.

In a world of IP and spinoffs, have you allowed yourself to picture the further adventures of Donloe?

Mission: Donloe! Impossible: Donloe! I’m loving this. I think one of the strengths of Donloe is that he’s not the lead. And Donloe doesn’t do stunts. “Sorry, can Agent 12 do that?” No, that’s not going to work so well with Mission.

In my screening, there were literal gasps when you arrived on screen. Have you been feeling that when watching the film with an audience?

I’m old and deaf, so I haven’t heard gasps, but I have heard, “Oh!” I think people appreciate the nice button — not for me, but for the character and story. He’s just a regular guy. Chris said that a lot of the questions asked were, “He did everything he was supposed to do. So why did he get screwed for it?” Some of the reaction still genuinely surprises me. For me, that’s like three minutes on the screen, and it’s not that big a deal.

I’ve seen the [first] movie a couple of times, and there are things that I wish I’d done differently. But what’s happening now is just insane. I don’t know that this has ever happened, with a part that small, to come back and be given what I have here. I’ve had bigger parts, but never in a movie this size. And some of the stuff I’m getting now, like you wanting to talk to me, has never happened to me before. Am I enjoying it? Fuck yes.