Actress Paula Patton (Precious) scored a big role. She beat out fellow actresses Lauren German (Hostel: Part II) and Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) to star in the next Mission: Impossible film.
Patton will star as an up-and-coming operative alongside Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames will round out the cast.
Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) is on board to direct and shooting begins this fall. Deadline reveals "the film will not be titled Mission: Impossible IV, opting to play the sequel up as a reboot of the franchise."
Paula Patton does have a Canadian connection. She is the daughter-in-law of Growing Pains star Alan Thicke. She is married to singer/songwriter Robin Thicke and they have a baby boy named Julian Fuego who was born April 6, 2010.
The fourth Mission: Impossible is scheduled to be released on December 16, 2011.
Patton landed another juicy role, this one on the small screen. She will take over as the new full-time assistant district attorney on the NBC series Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in the fall.