Josh Holloway reveals that his fleeting appearance in "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol" was originally intended to be a much more extended, profoundly dark, and tragic segment. He portrayed IMF agent Trevor Hanaway in the chilling opening sequence of the 2011 blockbuster, where Hanaway was fatally shot by an assassin (Lea Seydoux) and expired in the embrace of his beloved and IMF colleague, Jane Carter (Paula Patton).
While Hanaway's demise in the final cut was swift, the initial version featured a starkly contrasting scenario. During an interview with Sirius XM's The Julia Cunningham Show, Holloway unveiled, "In the original screenplay, Paula Patton discovers me clinging to life; I'm not quite deceased yet. As I whisper the codes to her, I expire. She then resorts to drastic measures, slicing through my shirt, placing her hand into my chest, and attempting to revive me by manually pumping my heart. Once I relay the codes, she reluctantly lets me slip away again."
He continued, "We immortalized the entirety of the scene on film. Upon meticulous examination, those in authority deemed it as 'unjustifiably severe,' fearing that the audience might harbor a grudge against Paula—a sacrifice made solely for the sake of extracting information, only to condemn me to another demise, despite the professed and profound love that once existed between us."Holloway's revelations coincide with the imminent release of the latest "Mission: Impossible" installment, "The Final Reckoning," poised to witness the franchise's most successful opening weekend at the box office. Currently, the actor is in the public eye, promoting his new Max series "Duster," where he stars as a getaway driver for the mob during the 1970s.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Holloway reflected on a tumultuous period where he took a step back from acting. "It seemed like I jinxed myself by tossing a penny over my left shoulder while breaking a mirror – I endured seven arduous years," he confessed. "Nothing seemed to materialize. I had to redirect my focus to my family, took up piano lessons, and embarked on various endeavors. I even told my agents, 'Just bring me any work; I need to get out of the house. It's absurd – I'm only working for the Holloways now. I must do something different.' They started forwarding me an assortment of scripts, many of which were unpromising projects I had to decline, but some gems emerged."
Then, out of the blue, J.J. Abrams, who also produced "Ghost Protocol," called with an opportunity to star in "Duster." "He called unexpectedly and asked, 'Do you have a minute?'" Holloway recounted. "I responded, 'Yeah, I think I have a minute, J.J. Abrams!' He immediately pitched the show, and I was astounded by what I was hearing. He said, 'You're a wheelman for the mafia in 1972' – after that, I struggled to concentrate on anything else he said. It was a Jerry Maguire moment – 'You had me at hello.'"
