Tom Cruise arrives to film car chase scene with Hayley Atwell for Mission Impossible 7 in Rome

He has thrown himself into filming the latest instalment in the high-octane and iconic film franchise.

And Tom Cruise looked dapper as he arrived to film a car chase scene for Mission Impossible 7 in Rome alongside Hayley Atwell on Tuesday.

The Hollywood legend, 58, transformed into Ethan Hunt in a white shirt, grey waistcoat, metallic tie and trousers before climbing into a car to film.

A heavily equipped camera car as well as a motorcycle was seen following Cruise’s vehicle as shooting continued on the film.

Actress Hayley Atwell also joined Cruise in his car and was seen gripping onto him in apparent terror as they filmed a gritty scene. 

The star, who is renowned for doing his own stunts, looked focused as he drove the car through the winding streets of Rome in the latest dramatic scene.

The Oscar nominee looked in good spirits as he joked around with crew members on-set, after donning a black face mask to protect against COVID-19 in the city. 

Keeping in line with coronavirus regulations, the crew members also wore face masks as they shot the eagerly anticipated action scene. 

Tom has been spotted filming lots of exciting scenes in the last few months, including taking on motorbike jumps, parachuting and riding on top of moving trains while on set in Norway. 

 After production for Mission Impossible 7 was moved to Norway when cases rose in Italy, it was reported that Cruise hired a £500,000 ship for the film’s crew to avoid any coronavirus-related delays.  

Filming was already delayed for five months after COVID-19 spread across Italy, where production had been based in March, leading the release date to be pushed back to November 2021. 

‘They are terrified of further delays. Tom is determined not to see any more hold-ups. The studio believes it will keep everyone safe and get this shoot wrapped up’, a source told The Sun earlier this summer.

It was recently claimed that Tom was ‘exempt from Norway’s quarantine rules’ as he restarted filming in the Scandinavian country.   

The media personality revealed how ‘excited’ he was to start shooting the latest instalment of the franchise in a phone call with Norway’s Minister of Culture Abid Raja. 

Speaking about his return, he said: ‘It’s a gorgeous country, I can’t wait to get back there. I’m very excited, as is the whole crew, about coming back.’   

During the call, the minister told how Norway is ‘looking forward to having [Tom] back’ and insisted how the Hollywood star and crew are allowed to shoot in the country without having to quarantine at home first, Norwegian publication VG reported.    

However, cast and crew had to pass two tests for coronavirus within 48 hours of landing in Norway and a series of daily rigorous health checks were in place.

Abid added that the film production team wouldn’t not have contact with anyone that is not part of the set.

The films focus on agent Ethan and will be directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who previously worked on 2015’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible – Fallout in 2018.  

Previously,  CEO of Paramount Pictures Jim Gianopulos said that it’s impossible to prevent Tom – a ‘force of nature’ – from defying the odds to make his blockbuster movies.

Gianopulos says the Mission Impossible star refuses offers to use stunt doubles or green screens to fake action scenes and does it ‘because he needs to’.

And the powerhouse studio executive admits that he tries not to think about the insurance premiums should anything go wrong.   

Asked about the stress of working with Cruise constantly risking his life with stunts, Gianopulos said: ‘I try and stay out of the insurance issue, but there is no stopping Cruise.

‘Tom is his own great force of nature. It was invented for Tom.He does it, because he needs to. He feels the need to show practically how committed he is to the films, to the work, to doing it in a way that you can’t replicate.

 ‘We can do all kinds of green screen and effects, but there’s nothing like seeing Tom hanging from the top of the tallest building on the planet Earth, or driving a helicopter, which even the helicopter company was unsure the craft could do. I mean the man is extraordinary.’

Gianopulos admitted that he ‘of course worries’ about Cruise’s well being, but insists that the three time Oscar nominee meticulously plans for his death-defying work.

‘Well you just hope for the best… but you know that he’s prepared. I can’t prepare the way he does. He prepares so meticulously, working so closely. He’s the first one on the set, he’s the last to leave, he’ll go through all the stunt coordinators.’  

Mission Impossible 7 will be released on November 19, 2021.