Rebecca Ferguson Spills the Shocking Reason She Called Tom Cruise for a Helicopter

When most people get sick while on vacation, they usually call the front desk or look for a local doctor. However, Rebecca Ferguson is not like most people, and her contacts list includes some of the biggest names in Hollywood. The actress recently revealed that when she found herself stranded and ill on an island, her first instinct was to call Tom Cruise.

Ferguson opened up about the scary medical situation during a new interview with The Independent. She explained that she was visiting the Maldives when she suddenly fell very ill. The situation felt desperate, and she needed a way off the island quickly.

She told the publication, “I called him once when I was in the Maldives when I had a really bad stomach.” At the time, she was not sure what was wrong with her and feared it was something serious. She admitted that she initially “thought was a big worm” inside her system.

Her husband, Rory St Clair Gainer, was the one who actually suggested reaching out to her famous co-star. He told her, “Tom can get a helicopter.” Taking his advice, she made the call to see if the action star could help her out of the bind.

Ferguson recalled the conversation, saying, “I was like, ‘Can I get a helicopter?’ It was quite a funny thing.” It turned out that her self-diagnosis was incorrect, and the issue was a common but painful travel illness. “I actually had gastroenteritis,” she explained, before joking, “I’m giving you too much information.”

The friendship between Ferguson and Cruise was built over years of working together on high-octane action films. The Swedish actress, who is now 42, first joined Cruise’s world as MI6 agent Ilsa Faust. She made her debut in the 2015 blockbuster Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

She continued to play the character in Fallout in 2018 and Dead Reckoning in 2023. This long working relationship clearly established a level of trust where she felt comfortable asking for an emergency airlift. She is not the only co-star who has praised Cruise for his supportiveness.

Rebecca Ferguson has been incredibly busy outside of the Mission: Impossible franchise as well. She gained massive acclaim for her role as Lady Jessica in the Dune series. She starred in both Dune in 2021 and its massive sequel, Dune: Part Two, in 2024.

Her filmography includes a variety of genres, such as the horror sequel Doctor Sleep and the sci-fi horror Life. In 2025, she appeared in the political thriller A House of Dynamite on Netflix. She has also found success on the small screen with Apple TV+.

Since 2023, she has led the cast of the dystopian series Silo. The show is about a subterranean city with 144 floors where residents are locked away from the outside world. The citizens believe they will die if they leave, creating a tense and mysterious atmosphere.

Currently, Ferguson is promoting her newest film, Mercy, which is a thriller produced by Sony Pictures

We are curious to know if you would have the courage to ask Tom Cruise for a helicopter ride if you were sick, so please share your answer in the comments.