Ferguson channeled ‘Bergman grace’ for M:I fights

Rebecca Ferguson infused Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation fight scenes with “classic grace”.

The 31-year-old Swedish actress portrays character Ilsa in the forthcoming action flick, which sees Tom Cruise reprising his role as butt-kicking character Ethan Hunt.

Rebecca wanted to depict her persona in an out-of-the-box fashion, so she purposely incorporated combat scenes with femininity reflective of a legendary thespian, and fellow Swede.

"I looked at Ingrid Bergman a lot," the star told Elle.com on how she prepared for her role. "There's a gracefulness there that I wanted to bring in. Mission is fast and action-packed and intense and modern, so to be able to balance that with the input of something classic—it's a beautiful mixture."

Rebecca felt the need to weave feminine elements into her fierceness so as not to put on a trite performance.

She thought channeling Ingrid added layers to the action.

"When [Ilsa and Ethan] fight together, it's like two people in a kitchen," Rebecca added regarding underlying tension between characters. "One gets a saucepan, one grabs something underneath, one goes left, one goes right. They move like they know each other, but they've never met."

Rebecca has previously spoken about her desire to always be challenged by film projects.

She is absolutely bored of easy roles.

"I look forward to reading a script where I call my agent and go, 'What the f**k are you thinking' Of course I can't do this!' I'd like to be uncomfortable and challenge that," she told Total Film magazine.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation reaches American theatres July 31.