Here's What Michelle Monaghan Has Been Up To Since 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'
She may have first caught everyone’s attention in the TV drama Boston Public, but it was undoubtedly the 2005 crime comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang that cemented Michelle Monaghan's status as a Hollywood star.The actress was a relative newcomer back then but playing the wisecracking Harmony Faith Lane opposite a younger Robert Downey Jr. certainly got her noticed. At that time, Monaghan had only done a handful of film roles, but she certainly held her own alongside the likes of Downey, Val Kilmer, and Corbin Bernsen.And so, following the release of the film, it became clear that Hollywood wanted more of Monaghan. In fact, she’s taken on more film roles since. Aside from this, the actress made time for some TV projects. Clearly, Monaghan is on a roll.
After ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,’ Michelle Monaghan Shared The Screen With These A-Listers
For Monaghan, the roles just kept on coming after her breakout film. For starters, she joined the cast of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which was headlined by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. And then, she starred alongside Charlize Theron, Jeremy Renner, and Frances McDormand in the Oscar-nominated drama North Country.
Soon after, Monaghan landed the part of Tom Cruise’s love interest Julia in Mission: Impossible III. And while the actress was already working with A-listers by then, auditioning for Cruise still made her “beyond nervous.”
“I've been a big fan of his for a long, long time,” the actress explained during an interview with Made in Atlantis. But then, Cruise and director J.J. Abrams eventually managed to put her at ease.
“I went in to do the audition, I sat down with them, and we talked for twenty minutes and that was it. I was completely comfortable, and I felt like I was hanging out with an old friend.”
Monaghan has since reprised her role in the franchise a few times, most recently in Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
As it turns out, Monaghan’s appearance in Fallout was something that Cruise himself was lobbying for.
“First thing I said to Tom, ‘What do you want to do? If you can do one thing in this movie?’ And he said, ‘People are still asking me about Julia, and I want to give that story closure,’” director Christopher McQuarrie recalled during an interview with Collider.
“So I said, we gotta bake it in, and as such, here's how the movie opens, and here's how the movie closes, and the end, there must then be a scene somewhere in the movie where Luther tells the story to Ilsa, because you've got to reintroduce the idea of Julia.”
Aside from the Mission: Impossible movies, Monaghan gained a lot of praise for her performance in Ben Affleck’s Oscar-nominated film Gone Baby Gone. The film marked the first time that the actress worked with an actor-turned-filmmaker like Affleck.
“Any benefit that you have from working with an actor, is that they have an inside scoop on the approach,” Monaghan told Movie Web of her experience with the Oscar winner. “It certainly is beneficial. Yeah. He is really bright.”
Aside from these movies, the actress starred in several other feature titles. These include The Heartbreak Kid, Made of Honor, Trucker, Eagle Eye, Source Code, Due Date, Tomorrow You’re Gone, Expecting, Blindsided, Playing It Cool, Fort Bliss, Pixels, and Patriots Day with Mark Wahlberg.
Most recently, Monaghan starred in Every Breath You Take, which reunites her with Gone Baby Gone co-star Casey Affleck.
More Recently, Michelle Monaghan Has Been Recognized For These TV Roles Too
Monaghan may have mostly stayed in films throughout her career, but from time to time, she ventured back into television. For instance, she landed a role in the critically acclaimed series True Detective.
The crime drama also boasts of a seasoned cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Mahershala Ali, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, and Vince Vaughn.
Later on, the actress joined the cast of the Hulu series The Path. That said, Monaghan was slightly hesitant about playing the wife of a man [Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul] who joins a cult at first.
“I was like, ‘I just don’t see the bigger picture,’ and my comfort level wasn’t there. So it was, pardon the pun, a leap of faith,” Monaghan told Pixels co-star Josh Gad during a conversation for Interview.
“Then once I knew that they were talking about someone like Aaron, that was amazing, because I love that dude beyond, beyond words.” Moreover, the actress was also thrilled to reunite with Paul after he played her brother in Mission: Impossible III. That was just one of Aaron Paul's biggest roles (apart from Breaking Bad).
Later on, Monaghan starred in the Netflix series Messiah as a CIA who investigates where a charismatic figure [Mehdi Dehbi] is the real thing or a conman. It was a project that the actress felt compelled to do even if the timing was a little off.
“They sent it to me. I had no intention... I was just coming off of another project and I had no intention of going back to work,” she told Movie Web. “But as I said, I couldn't put it down, so I had to break the news to my husband shortly thereafter that I was indeed going back to work.”
Messiah only ran for a single season. Since then, Monaghan has been back to making films. In fact, the actress is set to star in several upcoming films, including the comedy-drama The Price of Admission with Jeff Goldblum and Michael Sheen. Aside from these, Monaghan has been attached to a couple of upcoming TV projects, but who knows where she'll go from there!
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