Esai Morales, the menacing Gabriel in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, describes crafting a villain opposite Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt as assembling a “Frankenstein” of credible terror.

In an exclusive PTI interview, Morales, who debuted as Gabriel in 2023’s Dead Reckoning, said his goal is to unsettle audiences with a “cool, dissociated psychopathy.” “Determined insanity is the last thing you want coming after you,” he noted, emphasizing subtle menace over overt threats.

The 62-year-old, known for La Bamba and Ozark, reprises Gabriel, an agent of the rogue AI ‘The Entity,’ in the franchise’s eighth installment, releasing in India on Saturday.

Gabriel’s dark past with Hunt adds emotional depth to their clash over AI control in The Final Reckoning. Morales draws from a lifetime of observing human behavior, borrowing and subtracting traits to create a character audiences dread encountering. “My job is to terrify,” he said, applying what scares him to the role.

Praising Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie, Morales lauded their commitment to immersive storytelling. “They create joy for audiences,” he said, recommending IMAX for the film’s “all-around” experience, packed with narrative clues. Reflecting on Hunt’s arc from a young agent to a weathered spy, Morales noted, “Every line in his face is a story.”

While The Final Reckoning may be the franchise’s last, Morales hopes fan demand extends it. “If people want it, they’ll make it,” he said.

Directed by McQuarrie, co-produced by Cruise, and starring Hayley Atwell and Simon Pegg, the film releases in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu via Paramount Pictures and Skydance.