Top Gun 2 Star Got a Real Pilot’s License for Maverick Movie Role
Top Gun 2 star Glen Powell says his role in the movie inspired him to get a real pilot’s license. Tom Cruise is back as hot-shot Naval aviator Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 blockbuster. He’s joined this time by a loaded cast that among others includes Miles Teller as the son of Maverick’s late friend and navigator Goose, along with Powell as pilot trainee Lieutenant Hangman.
Given what Top Gun represents in Cruise’s career, it’s indeed no surprise to learn that the ever-intense actor was at his most amped-up on the set of the long-awaited sequel. Not only did the star require his co-stars to experience real flying, but he also put them through a training regimen that Teller compared to boot camp. The results of Cruise’s dedication to realism have of course been teased in Top Gun: Maverick trailers, which promise the oft-delayed follow-up will be the most crazily realistic movie ever made about fighter pilots and what they go through as they chase their need for speed.
But it turns out that Cruise isn’t the only Top Gun: Maverick cast member who has an appetite for flying. Speaking to People, Cruise’s co-star Powell revealed that he’s embarked on his airborne exploits, obtaining a real-life pilot’s license. Powell says that his experiences working on Maverick have inspired him to want to get more involved in living the pilot lifestyle:
“I flew a few days ago. I want to try to make it more of my daily routine. Being around pilots, you get addicted to the lifestyle. They can fly anywhere at any given time. It’s such a great way to live; I’m loving it. I’m trying to use that license to go to Palm Springs, Napa, and Santa Barbara for lunch, just trying to have as much adventure in my life as possible. Tom gave me stunt-driving lessons after I got my pilot’s license — so maybe car racing is next.”
Indeed it seems that Cruise’s adrenaline-junkie ways have rubbed off on Powell. Cruise of course is well-known for his death-defying on-screen exploits, performing an escalating series of crazy stunts in the Mission: Impossible movies. It seemed in fact that Cruise had reached some kind of stunt-performing zenith when he dangled from the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. But he eventually stopped even that danger-mocking stunt when he did multiple skydives and his helicopter stunt flying for Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Now Cruise is planning to surpass all his previous stunts by actually flying into space.
No doubt some actors perform alongside Cruise who find his super-intense, envelope-pushing approach to be a little much. But Powell it seems not only was ready and willing to run with Cruise but he’s also fully embraced the thrill-seeking Cruise lifestyle. Of course, it’s unlikely Powell will now become an astronaut as Cruise hopes to, but having a pilot’s license is surely enough to earn him the respect of his Top Gun 2 co-star.