Hong Kong actress Maggie Q says working on Tom Cruise's upcoming
movie "Mission Impossible III" has taught her combat skills -- including how to
rescue a hostage.
"This is not a kung fu movie where I have to spend a lot of time
kicking and punching. This is Mission Impossible so I was trained by hostage
negotiators and military experts -- people who actually did this for a living,"
the 26-year-old model-turned-actress told Malaysia's Star daily.
"It was no joke. What I did in the film is real. I actually know
how to rescue a hostage now. It was unbelievable and pretty surreal. That was
the part that made me nervous," she added.
The Honolulu-born actress, whose full name is Maggie Quigley, said
working with Hollywood heavyweight Cruise was a doddle in comparison.
"Tom was a sweetheart compared to these military guys who killed
people for a living," she said, adding that she has now developed a taste for
action.
"I like being a tough girl. I like whacking people," she told the
paper.
In the movie directed by J.J. Abrams, Quigley is part of the
crack Mission Impossible team alongside Cruise, Ving Rhames and Jonathan Rhys
Meyers. Recent Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the villain.
Born to an American father and a Vietnamese mother, Quigley has
previously had brief roles in "Rush Hour 2" and "Around the World in 80 Days"
with Hong Kong action hero Jackie Chan.