Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson (along with Simon Pegg and Henry Cavill) were recently guests on The Graham Norton Show promoting their new film, Mission: Impossible - Fallout. What follows is a nonverbal analysis of one particular and fascinating moment.
For about 1.5 - 2.0 seconds both Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson (3:00 - 3:02, Mr. Cruise for a slightly shorter duration) simultaneously displace their jaws' to their right. Neither could see the other person's face - but they were feeling precisely the same thought-emotions at exactly the same time.
This nonverbal display is known as a Jaw Confessional. A jaw confessional is a brief lateral thrusting of the jaw which accompanies the beta emotions of embarrassment. It's also seen during apologies - as well as scenarios such as we see here - e.g., as if to say (in confession), "Look at this stupid thing I (we) did".
Summary: Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson are both feeling embarrassed, more than somewhat stupid, and sheepish for performing this stunt in the latest Mission Impossible film.
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