“Top Gun” has celebrated its 40th anniversary, and to mark the occasion, key members of the film’s creative team take a look at one of the most memorable behind-the-scenes stories of its making. The story involves a fighter plane, a phone booth, and a very upset stomach, and it quickly became one of the most memorable revelations of this week’s anniversary.Speaking with The Guardian, screenwriter Jack Epps Jr. and producer Jerry Bruckheimer shared their memories of Tom Cruise joining the classic action drama, presenting two slightly different but equally entertaining versions of the same unforgettable moment.
What happened when Tom Cruise took his first flight in a fighter plane?
Epps recalls a group of US Navy pilots taking Cruise for a ride in a fighter plane shortly before he was committed to acting in the film. He said the pilots had no idea who Cruz was at the time.
“They look at him and they don’t know who Tom Cruise is,” Epps said. “They did whatever they wanted: They picked him up, shook him, he attacked himself, and then he came out and said, ‘I like this.’ And from that moment on he was there.”
Bruckheimer offered his own version of the story, stating that he personally arranged the trip after struggling to convince Cruise to fully commit to the project. “We couldn’t get him to fully commit, so I arranged for him to travel with the Blue Angels in El Centro, California,” he said.
At the time, Cruise had long hair and a ponytail from his role in the 1985 film “The Legend,” which sparked backlash from pilots. “He had long hair and a ponytail, and they saw this guy walking and said, ‘We’re going to take this hippie on a real ride.’
“”“They certainly did,” Bruckheimer added. “He got off the plane, walked to the phone booth, because there were no cell phones, and then he called me and said, ‘I’m here.'”
Tom Cruise had already decided to do the film
As it turned out, Cruise had already made up his mind before the trip even began.
In a 2016 appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” he revealed that he decided to star in “Top Gun” after his first meeting with Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott, but wanted to use his commitment as leverage to secure a ride with the Blue Angels.“I told my agent: ‘I’m going to make this movie, but don’t tell Jerry I want to make this movie, because I want to fly with the Blue Angels,'” he said. “You have a business with this stuff, you know? I’m a businessman.”
The incident was also confirmed in mid-air. “I threw up with the Blue Angels,” he told Jimmy Kimmel.
The pilot who took Cruise on that famous flight
Blue Angels pilot Curt “Grizz” Watson previously shared his own account of the flight in a video interview in 2023. “We put him in the back of Plane 7, and I took him out. We did some rolls and some loops,” he said. “I let him fly the plane a little bit.” Watson also confirmed that Cruise contacted Bruckheimer immediately after landing.
“My understanding is that he came back from the trip and went straight to the phone booth and called the producer and said, ‘I’ll do it.’
“”Watson added that he later received a personal message from Cruz. “I got a nice message from him saying, ‘Thanks for the trip, I appreciate it.’ And something like, ‘That really helped me develop my character for the film.’”As of May 16, Top Gun and its sequel Top Gun: Maverick are now in theaters worldwide in celebration of the original film’s 40th anniversary.
