Working with Tom Cruise on any movie has to be a wild ride. It’s not often that you see a movie star of that magnitude hanging from an airplane or riding a motorcycle off the edge of a cliff.

However, the Mission: Impossible series is on an entirely different wavelength, as this feels essentially like Cruise’s baby. He’s starred in the franchise and been a producer of all eight films, dating back nearly 30 years, to the first movie’s release on May 22, 1996.

Even factoring in Cruise’s lengthy experience in the Mission: Impossible franchise, it seems he remains as grounded as ever. Hayley Atwell, who played Grace in the two most recent films, including the latest release, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, sounded off on Cruise while offering behind-the-scenes insight on working alongside him.

As Atwell told DiscussingFilm, Cruise is a “one-man studio,” but he sincerely focuses on ensuring others succeed.

“He is a one-man studio,” Atwell said of Cruise. “He’s across every department… [but] he has an ability to celebrate other people. He wants other people to thrive.”

It’s lofty praise from Atwell, and a sentiment echoed across many movies Cruise has starred in. That approach from Cruise has worked throughout his career, and it’s helped the likely final edition of the Mission: Impossible series trend quickly toward becoming one of the most popular movies of all.

After the first weekend in theaters, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning checks in with a critic score of 80% from Rotten Tomatoes and 89% from fans while being dubbed as “certified fresh.”