Top Gun: Maverick Cast Talks Undergoing “Tom Cruise Bootcamp”

“When I was getting flustered at times or just kinda in the weeds a little bit, I was like, ‘Guys, I’m not Tom,'” said Teller. “Acting is one thing, but when you’re acting going 500 knots a hundred feet above sea level into a canyon, it’s really intense. So, you need to be as kind of skilled and as comfortable as possible in those situations, and Tom made sure of it.”

It’s Cruise’s love for aviation (he’s an avid pilot) that helped the rest of the cast push through tough times. “It’s contagious when you’re around him,” Glen Powell—who plays Jake “Hangman” Seresin—told Daily Pop. “I mean, him even leaving set in his P-51, taking off into the sunset. He makes things look really, really cool, and so, you kinda wanna be a part of that world.”

Joining the world of Top Gun was an exciting experience for Teller, who plays Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of Anthony Edwards‘ Nick “Goose” Bradshaw from the original.