ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Rolf Saxon reprises his role as William Donloe inMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, 30 years after appearing in the 1996 original The actor, 70, says he at first thought it was a prank when a casting meeting was arranged For veteran character actor Rolf Saxon,Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoningis the completion of a path he first walked nearly 30 years ago. The actor, now 70, makes a return to theMission: Impossiblefranchise in its eighth installment as William Donloe, a character fans may remember as CIA analyst William Donloe, whomTom Cruise's Ethan Hunt nearly comes into contact with in the original 1996 film when he infiltrates CIA headquarters to steal a list of undercover assets around the world. While Saxon only appears briefly in the original movie, Cruise and directorChristopher McQuarriebrought the actor and his character back forThe Final Reckoningin a pivotal role. "I got a phone call in January of '22 saying a European film company was interested in seeing you for a part," Saxon told PEOPLE at the May 18 New York City premiere ofThe Final Reckoning, when asked how he made his way back toMission: Impossible. "I said, 'Okay, they legit?' They said, 'Yeah, we think so.' So we set up a meeting and then they said it was Skydance, Tom Cruise andMission: Impossible, and I thought, it's a buddy of mine. He's winding me up, he's playing the game." Paramount Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. When Saxon actually took the meeting over Zoom, he was still surprised to find out Cruise, 62, and McQuarrie, 56, actually wanted him to rejoin the franchise for the new movie. "I thought, 'Oh, he's good. He's done a great job,' " Saxon says of the recruitment process. "I'm in a T-shirt and shorts. Flip it on, there's McQuarrie, and it's like, whoa. I had no idea." In the newMission: Impossible, Ethan Hunt's team — including characters portrayed byHayley Atwell,Simon Pegg,Pom KlementieffandGreg Tarzan Davis— meet Saxon's character Donloe when they travel to St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea in an effort to help Ethan locate the whereabouts of a sunken Russian submarine. Donloe, it turns out, was exiled by the CIA to work at its station on the remote island shortly after Ethan's heist in the originalMission: Impossible. "I was on that for about three weeks. So you know, we weren't bosom buddies, but he's very good on set," Saxon says of working with Cruise three decades ago versus on the latest movie. "He gives a hundred percent. To be back, I got a big hug and a cheer as soon as I walked on the set. So it's great. It was wonderful." Saxon joins Henry Czerny as one of the few cast members from the originalMission: Impossiblewho rejoined the series for its most recent films. (Czerny, 66, portrays Kittridge, the Impossible Mission Force's director in the original movie who returned in 2023'sDead Reckoning, now as CIA director.) Paramount Pictures and Skydance "I always want to work with the actors that I work with," Cruise recently told PEOPLE, when asked about bringing back cast members from past films. "I really have always had such great experiences, and it's just: 'What is the story?' … that's what we're always thinking about: What is the story? Story is king." Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningis in theaters now. For more onMission Impossible, including exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes photos,PEOPLE's special editionon the franchise is out now. Read the original article onPeople
