Renowned actor Ving Rhames was rushed to the hospital after collapsing in a Los Angeles restaurant on Wednesday afternoon. The 66-year-old, best known for his role in “Pulp Fiction,” was dining with his family when the incident occurred around 1:40 p.m. local time, according to reports from Page Six. Emergency services responded promptly, and the fire department transported Rhames to the hospital for further care.
Rhames’ representative has assured fans that the actor is in stable condition, attributing the collapse to overheating. Rhames is widely recognized for his unique presence in Hollywood, notably as the only actor aside from Tom Cruise to appear in every “Mission: Impossible” film to date.
Rhames rose to stardom in the 1990s with his portrayal of the formidable crime boss Marsellus Wallace in Quentin Tarantino’s iconic film “Pulp Fiction.” His memorable performance included the famous line, “I’m gonna get Medieval on your ass.”
Two years after his breakout role, Rhames joined the cast of “Mission: Impossible” as the skilled hacker Luther Stickell. He has continued to reprise this role in each installment of the franchise over the last two decades. However, his appearance in “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” was significantly limited due to budget constraints, reducing his role to a cameo.
When “Ghost Protocol,” directed by Brad Bird, began production, there was uncertainty surrounding the film due to Tom Cruise’s recent turbulent career phase. Nevertheless, the movie successfully revitalized Cruise’s status as a Hollywood star. Rhames’ return was anticipated, given his pivotal contributions to Ethan Hunt’s team in the previous films.
Everything was up in the air when the Brad Bird-directed “Ghost Protocol” was going into production on account of Cruise’s previous rocky history in the industry a few years earlier. But the film was able to make Cruise a star again. It was assumed that Rhames would return, given he was a critical member of Ethan’s teams in the previous three films.
“In 2010, when Rhames was asked by MovieWeb whether he would return to play Luther, his response indicated that if he did, it would be a reduced role. ‘I may be doing something very small in ‘Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol’ but I will just say that the budget changed dramatically and I’ll leave it at that,’ says Rhames,” reported Slash Film. “When he was asked to expand upon that, his follow-up statement gave the impression that it all came down to money. ‘Hmm… Cha-ching could create that but it’s up to them,’ recounts Rhames.”
