June 3, 2000
Cin City
Scoops from the Movie Beat - Dougray Scott
By Cindy Pearlman

Dougray Scott yawns loudly into his cell phone, as if staying awake one more minute is an impossible mission. He's trying to tell me about the glamorous Mission: Impossible 2 premiere party, but the poor guy can barely keep his eyes open.

"It was a massive and exciting event, but I was so tired," says the Scottish-born actor, who plays a renegade secret agent in the megahit movie. "I just sort of sat my friends around me and laid low. I didn't even mingle. I went to the movie, sat on a chair and then went to the hotel to get some sleep."

So why is Scott so wiped out? Maybe he's still recovering from the long, arduous M:I 2 shoot.

"First of all, we were on this set in Australia for M:I 2 for eight months, which is a really long time," Scott says. "It is hard to maintain your concentration for that long. Certain scenes were done over and over again for weeks. In fact, it took six weeks to shoot the big fight scene because our director, John Woo, is so incredibly precise.

"Then again, it is called 'Mission: Impossible,'" he adds, sounding a bit like spymaster Anthony Hopkins in the film. "I didn't expect it to be a three-week shoot."

One of the things that helped make Impossible bearable for Scott was the star, Tom Cruise.

"Tom's really down to earth and generous. He's lovely and I'm happy that I really got to know him well," says Scott, who joined Cruise in the gym every morning for marathon three-hour workout sessions. "Actually, I started training 16 months before shooting for our big fight scene. I went on this strict regime of running and lifting weights and boxing."

All that running and lifting and fighting would've come in handy on another big summer flick: X-Men. Scott was originally slated to play Wolverine in the film, but he had to bow out when M:I 2 continued to shoot (and shoot and shoot) past the point of no return. Though Australian actor Hugh Jackman was eventually tapped to replace him in the role, Scott says he's not bitter.

"Oh well," he says. "Everyone tried to work it out, but we couldn't -- and not for lack of trying. You just have to move on."