Josh Holloway's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Death Was Almost Way More Gruesome

by Nick Staniforth-May 24, 2025

Josh Holloway's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Death Was Almost Way More Gruesome

The "Mission: Impossible" franchise, while not backed by exact science, has undeniably thrived on the sheer adrenaline coursing through Tom Cruise's veins. In every installment, Ethan Hunt dances perilously close to danger, leaving audiences with racing pulses that make even smartwatches question their wearers' well-being. Yet, amidst these death-defying stunts, there remains a surprisingly minimal amount of gore for those who don't quite make it out alive. Emilio Estevez met an untimely demise, and Henry Cavill faced a propeller threat to his almost $3 million mustache, but one character narrowly escaped what could have been one of the most harrowing deaths in the series: Josh Holloway's Trevor Hanaway, a briefly seen IMF agent in "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol."

In a recent interview, the former "Lost" star recounted how his character's departure in the fourth film was originally scripted to be far more ruthless. On "The Julia Cunningham Show," Holloway divulged, "In the original script, Paula Patton comes upon me as I'm dying, but I'm not quite gone yet. As I begin to whisper the codes to her, I succumb. To retrieve the information, she must cut me open, place her hand into my chest, manually pump my heart to bring me back to life momentarily. Only then do I reveal the codes, after which she allows me to die once more." The grim nature of this scene ultimately led to its exclusion from the final cut.

While the franchise has occasionally flirted with moments of blood and gristle, Holloway's account underscores how witnessing his character die, live, and die again might have crossed a line. Interestingly, the ex-IMF agent revealed that the scene was fully shot, complete with a "full body cast" used during filming.

"We filmed it," Holloway confirmed. "After reviewing it, they decided, 'It's just too harsh,' and 'The audience will despise Paula for reviving you merely to extract information, then letting you die again—despite your supposed love.' Even the actor destined for this cinematic exit admitted it might have been too much: 'Right. Thanks a lot. Revive me just to get the information, you know?'"

Director Brad Bird's decision to omit this intense sequence appears to have been a wise one, setting the tone for the direction the "Mission: Impossible" franchise has taken. There is simply no room for bleak and bloody instances involving makeshift heart surgery when such scenes would detract from the time needed for iconic moments like Tom Cruise dangling off the Burj Khalifa—a spectacle thrilling enough to breathe new life into the star's already remarkable career.

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