Tom Cruise enjoys a Chicken Tikka in Birmingham as Mission Impossible filming continues
Hollywood star Tom Cruise has once again been spotted in Birmingham, this time at one of the city’s premier Indian restaurants amidst reports of ongoing filming for the next Mission Impossible film.
A photograph on social media appears to show actor Tom Cruise posing outside Asha’s Birmingham, a restaurant in Newhall Street which serves contemporary Indian cuisine.
In the snap, taken yesterday (August 21), the 59-year-old movie megastar is all-smiles alongside venue staff outside the fine dining establishment, owned by famous Hindi actress Asha Bhosle.
In a tweet accompanying the image, the restaurant team commented: “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Tom Cruise to Asha’s Birmingham yesterday evening.
“Tom ordered our famous Chicken Tikka Masala and enjoyed it so much that as soon as he had finished, he ordered it all over again – The greatest compliment.”
This isn’t the first time in recent weeks the star has been spotted in the city.
It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Tom Cruise to Asha's Birmingham yesterday evening 🌟
Tom ordered our famous Chicken Tikka Masala and enjoyed it so much that as soon as he had finished, he ordered it all over again – The greatest compliment 😋 pic.twitter.com/gemd7QJUEg
— Asha's (@Ashas_UK) August 22, 2021
On Saturday, July 31, Cruise was reportedly snapped at the Pho Vietnamese restaurant above New Street Station, where he was speaking to colleagues, leading to speculation surrounding filming plans in the building.
Employees working at Grand Central disclosed Mission Impossible filming would take place between August 24 and 26 at the vacant John Lewis unit and surrounding areas but management had allegedly signed non-disclosure agreements so details would around the plans would not be leaked.
Then last week, on August 15, Cruise was reportedly spotted a second time in Birmingham’s Grand Central – fuelling further rumours of Mission: Impossible 7 being filmed on site.
In one photo, the cinema legend appears to be standing near escalators by Costa cafe and appears to be shooting a test scene with fellow Mission Impossible star Hayley Atwell. With limited and mostly unclear phone camera photos and footage being circulated of recent sightings, some are still unsure if Tom Cruise has really been in Birmingham or if a lookalike is doing the rounds.
However, Tom Cruise – or a stunt double – was reportedly snapped on the roof of New Street Station and Grand Central Birmingham last week (August 15) and today (August 22), film studio lighting has once again been rigged up on the roof of the building; so it’s entirely plausible the Hollywood legend is indeed finalising scenes for the upcoming blockbuster as part of filming that has recently taken place across the UK and Europe.
On Friday (August 20), Cruise was in Derbyshire to film an action scene involving a steam locomotive crashing into a quarry. The scene was shot at Stoney Middleton, where teams had been building the set for months, with the black train plunging from a track on a cliff.
Tom Cruise has been confirmed to return in the 7th instalment of the Mission Impossible movie franchise alongside actors Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales and Vanessa Kirby. The sequel is scheduled to be released in the US on May 7, 2022.