Teaching Tom Cruise about sealskin: Inuit star in new Mission Impossible movie

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 01, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

A mates of years ago, Lucy Tulugarjuk got a telephone portion she was moving connected a movie successful her location assemblage of Igloolik. 

It was a telephone asking the well-known Nunavut director and actress if she wanted to beryllium portion of the new Mission Impossible movie — The Final Reckoning. 

"Once I heard Tom Cruise's name, I accepted the connection without thinking," she said.

She said she didn't archer galore radical she'd acted successful the movie, isolated from a fewer household and friends. 

"It was truly breathtaking to beryllium astatine the theatre with my children and grandchild and to spot their look erstwhile they spot their mother," she said. 

Tulugarjuk plays Tapeesa, an Inuk who lives successful Alaska, wherever portion of the movie is set. 

She said she was primitively lone expected to beryllium successful 2 scenes, until a rehearsal in London, England, when the manager and shaper suggested putting her successful much scenes. 

Sharing Inuit civilization with Tom Cruise 

She remembers the archetypal clip she met Tom Cruise successful person. 

"I felt similar I was dreaming … I shook his manus and past pinched my feature due to the fact that I had to marque definite I was awake, that it was real," she said.

She said her favourite portion of filming was talking with different actors astir the Arctic portion moving successful Svalbard, Norway. Tulugarjuk taught them tricks to forestall their hands from getting excessively cold, similar sticking your thumb wrong your fist. 

"Giving them that proposal earlier we went to the crystal was thing that was precise neat to share."

They besides saw polar bears portion connected set, and Tulugarjuk said she saw it arsenic different accidental to thatch her chap actors, including Cruise, astir Inuit uses for polar carnivore and sealskin successful Nunavut.

"They learned archetypal manus however important it is to person a existent fur erstwhile you're surviving successful the North."

Inuit connected the large screen 

She said she hopes different Inuit who spot her connected surface admit that they tin bash it too. 

"Even if you don't person the acquisition successful acting, arsenic agelong arsenic you judge successful yourself and dedicate your full bosom ... you tin marque it work," she said. 

"Living successful a tiny assemblage does not bounds us, arsenic agelong arsenic you person a goal. Finish your school, bash what's close for you."

 Jacky Qrunnut, from Igloolik, besides has a relation successful the film. He said helium got the relation after Tulugarjuk contacted him due to the fact that the movie needed a few other shots of Inuit. 

"It's not overmuch of a large relation but it's a relation nonetheless," helium said.

He said 1 of his scenes was changeable successful a monolithic indoor excavation successful London to simulate the ocean. 

"The fake crystal was truthful real-looking," helium said. 

Qrunnut besides remembers the archetypal clip helium met Cruise. 

"The unit was similar 'hey, we got to amusement your something.' And erstwhile we got there, it was Tom Cruise," helium said. 

"It was nice. He flew successful with his chopper erstwhile it was clip to shoot. That was cool."

Qrunnut said large productions thin to get whoever is closest oregon whoever "looks the role," and usually don't take the clip "to spell up present and look for the existent radical that they're trying to portray." 

Tulugarjuk besides said she appreciated that the manager chose Inuit actors to play Inuit characters. 

"I deliberation it's astir clip that nine is really taking clip to intermission and look astatine Inuit," she said. "It's astir clip that we're being noticed and recognized."

"We haven't gone anywhere. We're here. And I emotion that."