Actor Tom Cruise forced to hire heavyweight bodyguards after string of death threats from former employee

American actor and producer,  Tom Cruise has reportedly hired a security team after he and director Christopher McQuarrie received a series of threats from a former employee.

The A-list actor, 60, and the Mission: Impossible filmmaker, 53, acquired the services of the security team after a stunt producer was let go, which led to ‘angry protests’ and ‘fears of further reprisals,’ The Sun reported.

An insider with the film told the outlet, ‘Tom and Chris are still working on Mission: Impossible 8, mostly in the UK, but things have got increasingly unpleasant with a former crew member and now it’s a case of taking no chances.’

‘It’s a bit of art imitating life, on set it’s all about heavy protection and threats and now the same thing is going on behind the cameras.’

According to the outlet, the employee had been assigned to find filming locations for scenes – including one depicting a train crash – but his plans were not put into motion in the film.

The Top Gun: Maverick leading man ‘is used to having security teams around him most of the time because of his fame,’ the insider said, ‘but for Chris it’s a very new thing,’ as ‘nobody is taking any chances.’

The employee who was let go has began litigation toward Cruise, McQuarrie, and Paramount Studios, the outlet reported, and has made accusations about Russian oligarchs financing Cruise’s work and a related FBI investigation into Paramount over the financing.

The source noted that while ‘it’s all turned very nasty … those involved in the films are confident everything is totally fine, he’s just an angry ex-staff member.’