Top Gun: Maverick Had Tom Cruise Flying His Own P-51 Mustang Plane ( Photo Credit – Movie Still )
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Tom Cruise, Hollywood’s most charismatic actor, recently broke many records with his Top Gun Maverick. The highly anticipated sequel was awaited for a long time as it went through many delays.
Known for doing his own action stunts, the actor has a commercial pilot’s license and is qualified to fly both single and multi-engine aircraft. 36 years after the original Top Gun movie, the actor did not leave a chance to give audiences what they wanted. Along with that, he also did not want to leave a chance to fly one of his own planes in the movie.
It may come as a surprise, but Tom Cruise used his own vintage P-51 Mustang before flying and reuniting with his new love interest, Benjamin played by Jennifer Connelly in the climax of the movie. The scene also brought justice to the story arc of the relationship between Rooster and Captain Mitchell.
The final scene of Top Gun: Maverick shows Rooster Bradshaw, the son of Maverick’s deceased best friend Nick “Goose” Bradshaw helping restore Maverick’s vintage P-51 Mustang. Tom Cruise’s passion for planes was sparked while filming the first 1986 Top Gun movie which made him take an aviation license in 1994.
At an estimated value of $4 million, the plane was initially bought for ex-wife Katie Holmes. Tom Cruise originally branded the aircraft “Kiss Me Kate”, but has removed the name since their separation. Along with the P-51 Mustang, the actor also owns a Gulfstream IV jet valued at $20 million, which includes a Jacuzzi and a screening room.
The commitment to realism has been a common theme in every Tom Cruise movie. Interestingly, Top Gun: Maverick isn’t the only time he has piloted an aircraft on camera. In the movie, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Tom Cruise did not rely on CGI or stunt doubles, he himself took helicopter flying lessons so that he could perform the movie’s biggest action sequence.
Let us know what do you think about Tom Cruise’s obsession with high flying action stunts.
