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 retu
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.”
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