There is one extreme way to meet Tom Cruise that even the “Mission: Impossible” star had to admire: in disguise at a gala premiere.
YouTube star Michelle Khare, the risk-taking host of “Challenge Accepted” (5.1 million YouTube subscribers), went old school spy in her quest for a memorable face-to-face meeting with Cruise at the London premiere of “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” on May 15.
Khare, 32, changed into an elaborate old man disguise, complete with a realistic mask, in a nearby phone booth before entering the premiere as a guest, as revealed in her TikTok and Instagram videos.
“Tom Cruise is my idol; he is Hollywood’s last action star,” Khare tells USA TODAY. “I’m known as a YouTube daredevil, so I wanted to make a strong impression and re-create one of Ethan Hunt’s most iconic moments. But it all could have ended up pretty embarrassing.”
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Khare went to the respected Immortal Masks for the impressive mask and worked with a movement coach to mimic the slow walk of a 75-year-old man. The YouTuber alerted “like three people” at Paramount Pictures about the plan. But the security team checking invitations, waiting photographers, and hundreds of fans in attendance were in the dark.
“Obviously, my nightmare walking up was to have security ask, ‘Can we see your photo ID?’ ” says Khare, who made it past several layers of security. She was surprised to hear fans calling out for the shuffling senior with a cane to come over for selfies. They thought the man could only be Cruise undercover.
Khare ambled over to a spot in front of photographers and made the big reveal, pulling off the mask as Cruise’s Hunt has done in the “M: I” franchise many times before. The YouTube host had Mission-Impossibled the “Mission: Impossible” premiere.
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The impressed action star, 62, walked over for a one-on-one conversation that lasted an eternity by Cruise standards: eight minutes.
“Most people might get a photo and move on,” says Khare. “But we really talked. I was very nervous about looking crazy meeting Tom Cruise like this, but it was worth the risk.”
The meeting ended in classic Cruise fashion.
“He looked me in the eye, shook my hand, and said, ‘Be competent, not careful,’ ” says Khare. “That’s such a fun way to end your moment with Tom Cruise. We can all learn from that.”
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Khare spoke about her Cruise stunt during a Los Angeles For Your Consideration Emmy event on May 18. The YouTube show, which Khare produces, directs and hosts, features the former professional cyclist undergoing grueling training regimens for various professions or impossible tasks – from attending military boot camp to a paramedic academy.
The “Challenge Accepted: 90 Day Black Belt” episode, which depicts Khare training for a martial arts black belt, is the show’s first Primetime Emmy submission, eligible in the outstanding hosted nonfiction series or special category.
Khare, who is finishing a full-length “Challenge Accepted” YouTube video of the “Mission: Impossible” stunt, has her sights set for an even bigger homage: The classic plane caper from “Rogue Nation.”
“I got to tell Tom that I’m planning to re-create his ‘Mission: Impossible 5’ stunt where he’s hanging off the side of a military aircraft as it’s taking off,” says Khare. “Sometimes you just have to go for it.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Mission: Impossible’ Tom Cruise meeting unmasked by YouTube star
