Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) (2024)

Jim Phelps
Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) (1)
Name:James Phelps
Status:Deceased
Role:Main Antagonist
Age:c. 57
Dateofbirth:January 3,1939
Birthplace:United States
Dateofdeath:March 15, 1996
Placeofdeath:Channel Tunnel
Causeofdeath:Crushed and burned by Ethan Hunt
Residence(s):United States
Alias(es):Job
Nickname(es):Jim
Affiliation:Impossible Mission Force
Profession:Head of the IMF
Expertise:Able to fake his death in order to avoid suspicion while engaging in a conspiracy
Maritalstatus:Widowed
Spouse(s):Claire Phelps
Playedby:Jon Voight
Firstappearance:Mission: Impossible
Lastappearance:Mission: Impossible (1998 video game)
Well, you think about it, Ethan, it was inevitable. No more cold war. No more secrets you keep from yourself. Answer to no one but yourself. Then, you wake up one morning and find out the President is running the country without your permission. The son of a bitch, how dare he. Then you realize, it's over. You are an obsolete piece of hardware, not worth upgrading, you got a lousy marriage, and 62 grand a year.

–Phelps revealing himself as the mole., Mission: Impossible

James "Jim" Phelps (c. 1939 – March 15, 1996) was the main antagonist in the 1996 film Mission Impossible and its 1998 accompanying video game. He was the rogue director of the Impossible Mission Force who tries to orchestrate a conspiracy.

Contents

  • 1 Biography
    • 1.1 Early Career
    • 1.2 Treason of the IMF
    • 1.3 Revealing his True Colors
    • 1.4 Final Showdown and Death
  • 2 Alternate continuities
    • 2.1 Mission: Impossible (1998 video game)
  • 3 Personality
  • 4 Abilities
  • 5 Gallery
  • 6 Behind the Scenes
  • 7 Trivia

Biography[]

Early Career[]

Phelps fought in the Korean War (at an unknown rank in an unknown branch of the United States Armed Forces) and worked (in an unknown job) for Pan American Airlines before entering government service.

As a former government operative, Phelps formed theImpossible Missions Forcefrom a former elite Special Forces squad led by Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Daniel David Briggs, Ph.D., late of Army Intelligence. Eventually, Phelps took over Briggs' position as thefield leaderfor the core IMF team.

Treason of the IMF[]

By 1996, Phelps has become disillusioned as he believes he is no longer necessary, despite having served his country for over four decades. By this time, he has married a much younger woman named Claire, and has been given an entirely new team.

Finally snapping, Phelps convinces Claire to go along with his plan to sell the sensitive IMF information to an arms dealer, Max, for a large sum of money and frame rookie team member Ethan Hunt, who looks up to Phelps as a father figure. Specifically, Jim planned to sell a classified list of of Non Official Cover or NOC agents. To accomplish this, Jim planned to steal a NOC List that was being housed at an embassy in Prague that was supposed to be stolen by someone else. As such, Jim's IMF team was dispatched to Prague to gain proof of the theft and locate the buyer and arrest them.

Jim and his team quickly developed a plan whereby the team would infiltrate the embassy with Ethan Hunt in disguise accompanied by Sarah Davies carried out the physical mechanics of the plan while the rest of the team provided support in one form or another with Jim overseeing the mission remotely from the group's safe house.

In order to steal the NOC list for himself and kill the rest of his team, Phelps hires disavowed IMF pilot Franz Krieger to help carry out the murders. Jim and Krieger successfully kill off three of their teammates as well as their target. In order to fake his own death, Jim called an abort order, telling his agents to fall back with Jim leaving the safe house to meet Ethan at a nearby bridge. Jim quickly reports to Ethan via comm-link that he is being followed. Jim fakes being shot and falling into the river below which Ethan sees via video link.

Phelps then has Claire return to use her charms on Ethan, who has been successfully framed for the murders, as well as being the mole. Ethan concocts a plan to avenge the rest of the team and clear his own name by catching the real mole and stopping him, as well as Max. As the NOC list the team recovered in Prague was the fake one, Hunt decides to steal the real list in order to draw the mole out of hiding. After making a deal with Max in exchange for some money, Ethan hires a couple of disavowed agents for his mission. He chooses computer expert Luther Stickell, while Claire "suggests" Krieger.

Revealing his True Colors[]

After Ethan's plan succeeds, the IMF has his family framed for drug trafficking. After Hunt uses a payphone to alert the IMF of where he is (London), Phelps reveals himself to Ethan, claiming he survived getting shot. He then names IMF Director Eugene Kittridge as the mole. However, Phelps had underestimated Ethan, who is able to quickly determine that Phelps himself is the mole, and that he hired Krieger to pull off the murders, though he remains unsure if Claire was involved. When Hunt asks why "Kittridge" would do such a thing, Phelps uses his own reason: that he had believed he was becoming "a worthless piece of hardware not worth upgrading" due to the end of the Cold War.

Final Showdown and Death[]

The next day, aboard a high-speed train, Phelps, realizing Ethan had likely figured him out, hides as he watches Hunt reveal that Claire has in fact committed treason. By this time, Hunt has given Max the real NOC list and is having Stickell use a jamming device to prevent Max from uploading it. After a tense standoff in one of the rear luggage cars (during which Phelps takes the money from Ethan), Hunt reveals that he was wearing a pair of glasses with microcameras in his pocket protector, exposing Phelps to Kittridge. Claire reveals she feels guilty about what she has done and tries to prevent Phelps from killing Hunt, causing Phelps to kill her instead. An enraged Ethan then gives chase to Phelps, who is using suction cups to make his way along the top of the train to the end, where Krieger is flying a helicopter to make their escape.

During the fight, Ethan manages to hook the tether of the helicopter to the train, forcing Krieger to pilot his helicopter into the Channel tunnel. After freeing the tether, Phelps motions for Krieger to simply pick him up with the bottom of the helicopter. However, Ethan hops onto the helicopter as well, and plants a piece of explosive chewing gum (a relic of the Prague mission) onto the helicopter, before jumping back onto the train. The gum causing an explosion which kills Krieger, and causes the helicopter to fall onto Phelps, crushing him to death.

Alternate continuities[]

Mission: Impossible (1998 video game)[]

To be added.

Personality[]

Phelps appears as a friendly man during the beginning of the movie and a father figure to Ethan, but in reality he's a ruthless murderer and a traitor.

Abilities[]

  • Skilled Tactician: Phelps was able to fake his death in order to avoid suspicion while engaging in a conspiracy.
  • Skilled Combatant: He was also able to fight with Ethan Hunt.

Gallery[]

Phelps threatening Hunt.

Death of Jim Phelps.

Behind the Scenes[]

  • Jim Phelps was portrayed by American actor Jon Voight in Mission: Impossible. The character was loosely based on his television equivalent.

Trivia[]

  • Some fans, as well as many cast members of theMission: Impossibletelevision series were upset when they learnedthat Phelps would become an irredeemable antagonist in the 1996 film. Because of this, Peter Graves, who portrayed Phelps in the original series, turned down the chance to play Phelps in the film. In addition, Greg Morris, who played Barney Collier, was so disgusted, that he left before the film's end. Therefore, most of the show's fans considered the film series based on the original television series to be non-canon because of this.
    • A few fans have even speculated that the Jim Phelps of the TV series and the film series are actually different people using the same name (similar to the popular fan theory that the various James Bonds are all different agents), with the film Phelps 'replacing' the original at some point when Phelps became too old or injured to continue acting in the field, Voight's Phelps inheriting the name and reputation of the original. The fifth film "Rogue Nation", appeared to suggest the IMF is indeed the same IMF as in the TV series, implying the same canon origins, and this has strengthened the theory that "Phelps" may have been replaced.
Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) (2024)

FAQs

How did Ethan realize Phelps was the mole? ›

However, Ethan has already realized that Phelps is the mole after discovering that the Bible he used in Prague was taken from Chicago's Drake Hotel, where Phelps was stationed on a previous assignment.

What happened to Jim Phelps in Mission: Impossible? ›

However, Ethan hops onto the copter as well, and plants a piece of exploding chewing gum (a relic of the Prague mission) onto the copter, before jumping back onto the train. The gum causing an explosion which kills Krieger, and causes the copter to fall onto "Phelps", crushing him.

Was Jon Voight in the original Mission: Impossible? ›

Voight next appeared in 1996's blockbuster film Mission: Impossible, directed by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Cruise. Voight played the role of spymaster James Phelps, a role originated by Peter Graves in the television series.

What do they say at the beginning of Mission: Impossible? ›

In the Mission: Impossible television series and films we hear the phrase “This tape will self-destruct”. This is part of the mission description. The television show debuted in 1966. Again, the phrase was changed in later Mission: Impossible movies to “This message will self-destruct …”.

How did Ethan figure out Jim was the mole? ›

How was Ethan able to figure out that Jim was the mole? Using the bible that Jim left behind. Jim mentions at the start of the film he stayed at the Drake hotel. Ethan picks up the bible to communicate with Max.

Why did Jim shoot Claire in Mission: Impossible? ›

When the real Jim arrives and takes the money at gunpoint, Hunt dons a pair of video glasses that relays Jim to Kittridge, blowing Jim' cover as the mole. Phelps threatens to kill Ethan, but shoots Claire instead when she intervenes.

Did James Arness and Peter Graves get along? ›

Geoffrey elaborates, "Peter Graves and James Arness got along, they loved each other, but I think because of their background, men didn't show affection. I don't think there was hugging and kissing on the cheek going on between them, but I think they loved each other.

Why did Jeremy Renner stop doing Mission: Impossible? ›

Renner explained on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he originally took a break from the Mission: Impossible movie series because filming would take place internationally for a year and a half, and he didn't want to be away from his daughter that long.

Why did Peter Graves quit Mission: Impossible? ›

Speaking of the film, Graves refused to join the cast as his iconic role of Jim Phelps was the villain of the film. Peter Duesler Aurness, better known by his professional alias, Peter Graves, is an American actor who is well-known for portraying Jim Phelps in the CBS television series Mission: Impossible.

Is Jon Voight Angelina Jolie's biological father? ›

Early life and education. Angelina Jolie Voight was born on June 4, 1975, at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California, to actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. She is the sister of actor James Haven, and the niece of singer-songwriter Chip Taylor and geologist and volcanologist Barry Voight.

Why did Paula Patton not come back to Mission: Impossible? ›

Despite the fact that the last movie hinted at her return for the follow-up, it turns out she won't be in the sequel. Why? It turns out that scheduling is to blame.

How old was Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 1? ›

Here's what to know about Cruise's age. Tom Cruise was just 34 years old when he started playing Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible. The first film featured Ethan as a 32-year-old field agent for the Impossible Mission Force, making him just 2 years younger than the actor who plays him.

What is the famous line from Mission: Impossible? ›

I am the storm.” “What's done is done when we say it's done!” “If I let you know where I'm going, I won't be on holiday.”

Who was the mole in Mission: Impossible? ›

Phelps revealing himself as the mole. James "Jim" Phelps (c. 1939 – March 15, 1996) was the main antagonist in the 1996 film Mission Impossible and its 1998 accompanying video game. He was the rogue director of the Impossible Mission Force who tries to orchestrate a conspiracy.

Who is the girl at the end of Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol? ›

Julia is portrayed by American actress Michelle Monaghan in Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and Mission: Impossible – Fallout but Monaghan was credited only in III and Fallout.

Was Ethan the Mole in Mission: Impossible? ›

Ethan later finds Jim alive and deduces that he is the real mole, working with Claire and Krieger to escape with the money and frame Ethan for their crimes.

Is Jim the mole in Mission: Impossible? ›

While he talks through how Kittridge did it, clips are shown with what really happened. This is where the audience sees that Jim was really the mole. Ethan plays along, even though he knows Jim is the mole. He lets Jim explain why someone would become a mole and doesn't let Jim know that Ethan is on to him.

Did Ethan sleep with Claire in Mission: Impossible? ›

The Big Picture. The first Mission: Impossible movie is the sexiest in the franchise due to the forbidden romance between Ethan and Claire, despite no evidence of an affair. Hunt and Claire's relationship is complex and marked by tension and longing, making it more alluring than consummation.

Who is the mole in Mission: Impossible 2? ›

After obtaining the list, Ethan discovers that his team leader Jim Phelps not only survived the initial mission in Prague, but also is the real mole. He is the man responsible for framing Ethan, despite Jim's insistence that CIA Director Kittridge is the mole.

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