20 Declassified Facts About The Mission: Impossible Series
3. The TV Actors Hated The Series From The Start
De Palma wasn't kidding about the changes. Though the first M:I is pretty low-key by action-movie standards, it's still pretty actiony compared to the cerebral TV series. Most of the TV characters die pretty early, too, putting much more of the focus on Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). Finally, Jim Phelps, a beloved figure from the original series, turns traitor in the movie.
Peter Graves therefore turned down an offer to reprise his role as Phelps, and the other TV actors followed suit. As Martin Landau put it, "Why volunteer to essentially have our characters commit suicide?" Greg Morris, whose role on the TV series was somewhat analogous to Ving Rhames' in the movies, walked out of a showing of the film after 40 minutes, calling it "an abomination."