Our mission, which we chose to accept, was to uncover the mysterious past of secret agent Ethan Hunt. As he’s a seasoned spy, it’s no surprise that his background has been tough to track. But thanks to intel revealed in the 2025 film Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, we’ve uncovered new details about his classified origins. For years, the franchise masterfully misdirected fans into believing that Hunt went to the University of Pennsylvania, but The Final Reckoning sets the record straight: Ethan Hunt is a Badger. It makes perfect sense. He was born and raised in Wisconsin and UW–Madison’s highly ranked linguistics and theatre and drama programs meant his chosen majors would make an ideal foundation for a future master of disguise. Add to that Madison’s dense crowds, easy escape routes by land and water, and its status as a political hub, and it becomes the perfect training ground for an up-and-coming operative. Or perhaps art simply imitated life, since David Koepp x’85, the writer of the first Mission: Impossible movie, also attended the UW. Either way, Hunt’s newly revealed (and arguably improved) backstory means the world’s most elusive secret agent can now proudly join the ranks of other on-screen alumni including a mad man, a hopeful romantic, and a relentless truth seeker.
Home
>
Did Tom Cruise’s character in the Mission: Impossible movies go to UW–Madison?
Did Tom Cruise’s character in the Mission: Impossible movies go to UW–Madison?
Need Answers? Ask Flamingle HQ