‘M:I’ star Rolf Saxon makes comeback to finale after 30 years

Mission: Impossible actor Rolf Saxon was the final piece that completed the Final Reckoning casting.

Saxon made a surprising return to Mission: Impossible franchise in its eighth instalment as William Donloe the CIA analyst, who first appeared in the original 1996 film.

Despite the artist only made a short cameo in the debut film, the lead actor Tom Cruise and the director Christopher McQuarrie brought the him and his character back for the last instalment.

During the New York City premier of the film, Saxon in conversation with the People magazine recalled how he got the role three decades later.

"I got a phone call in January of '22 saying a European film company was interested in seeing you for a part," he shared.

The 70-year-old star continued, "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 and Mission: Impossible, and I thought, it's a buddy of mine. He's winding me up, he's playing the game."

However, he was left surprised when he had a Zoom meeting with Cruise and McQuarrie, who asked him to re-join the franchise.

In the film Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and his team meets Saxon’s 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.

Saxon went on to praise Cruise, saying, "I was on that for about three weeks. So you know, we weren't bosom buddies, but he's very good on set."

The Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning is now playing in theatres.