HONG KONG
May 01, 2006 -
(AP)
Actress Maggie Quigley
said she was seriously ill when she auditioned for
Mission: Impossible III and was amazed that she got a
key role in the film starring Tom Cruise, a Hong Kong
newspaper reported Sunday.
Quigley, who
lives in Hong Kong, said she found out she got the part
when a floral basket arrived at her Los Angeles hotel
with a card saying, "Welcome. Here's to a great
mission," the South China Morning Post reported.
Cruise's signature was the first one on the card, it
said.
Quigley, known
as Maggie Q in Hong Kong, where she got her acting
start, plays Zhen, a member of Cruise's team of agents
that hunts down an arms dealer. The former model said
she had to overcome a reputation of being a "giggly
model" who made "cheesy films, bad films, OK films."
When she
auditioned for Mission: Impossible III, she said she was
in the early stages of a kidney infection. "I landed in
L.A., alone, terrified, sick as a dog," she was quoted
as saying. "I was so ill, I could barely remember what
it was I had to do. I had uncontrollable shaking one
minute, and I was sweating the next. But I realized
right then I had 10 minutes to change my life. Either
you bring it or you don't."
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Maggie
Q with Mission Impossible Cast |
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Maggie
Q |
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Maggie Q BIO:
Born in Hawaii to an American father and a Vietnamese
mother, Maggie moved to Hong Kong at the age of 18 to
pursue a career in modeling. She quickly rose to the
status of supermodel in many parts of Asia and has
appeared on more then 100 magazine covers including
various Asian editions of Time, Harper's Bazaar,
Cosmopolitan, Madame Figaro, Marie Claire, and Elle.
Maggie began her acting career in
the highly acclaimed Asian television drama "House of
the Dragon," which opened the door for her to feature
films. Maggie starred along side Paul Rudd in the movie
"Gen-Y Cops," which was produced by Jackie Chan. Jackie
was so impressed by Maggie's acting in the movie that he
cast her in the award-winning film "Manhattan
Midnight." In addition to starring in numerous Chinese
films, including the popular "Naked Weapon," Maggie has
also starred in several European films such as Italy's
Rai Entertainment film "The Counting House" and
Germany/Singapore two-part television movie, "House of
Harmony." Maggie
also starred in the comedy Rush Hour 2 and Jackie Chan's
Around the World in 80 Days.
Maggie will next star opposite Dan
Fogler, George Lopez and Christopher Walken in the
Spyglass Entertainment and Rogue Pictures comedy, "Balls
of Fury," which will begin production next month. The
film is about an ex-ping pong champion, who enters the
secret world of ping pong to find the man who killed his
father. The film is being produced by Spyglass's
Jonathan Glickman and is being directed by Ben Garant.
The movie will be released in 2007.
Maggie currently divides her time between Hong Kong and
Los Angeles.
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