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How Fast Is Mach 10? What Speed Maverick Travels In Top Gun 2

Top gun 2: all 6 jet fighter planes that appear in maverick, how much of top gun 2 is real & how much is cgi.

• Tom Cruise insisted on prioritizing practical effects over CGI in Top Gun: Maverick , adding authenticity to the aerial action.
• Cruise originally wanted to fly a real Boeing F-18 fighter jet in the film, but the US Navy denied his request due to insurance concerns and the high cost of the plane.
• Cruise's dedication to doing his own stunts enhances the storytelling and creates a level of authenticity that can't be achieved in any other way.

Given the actor's reputation for wild stunts, it's not surprising that many viewers were wondering did Tom Cruise actually fly in T op Gun: Maverick . Joseph Kosinski's sequel has surpassed the original 1986 Top Gun with its box office success and a Best Picture nomination. Much of this has to do with how the movie prioritized practical effects over CGI, adding authenticity to the aerial action. That said, while it's no secret that Tom Cruise does his own stunts a lot, some of the tricks proposed for Top Gun: Maverick were a little too ambitious, even by Cruise's standards.

When it came to the long-awaited sequel, Cruise signed on for the project only with the assurance that the film's effects would not be reliant on CGI. Cruise was so ambitious, in fact, that he had initially hoped to fly a real Boeing F-18 fighter jet. A certified pilot, Top Gun: Maverick's Cruise is well-accustomed to high-octane aviation stunts . Many Cruise fans will already be aware that many of the more impressive helicopter stunts in 2018's Mission: Impossible - Fallout were performed by Cruise. However, Bruckheimer maintains that the US Navy ultimately denied Cruise's requests to fly the Super Hornet, which boasts a price tag in excess of $70 million.

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell becomes the fastest man alive as he travels faster than Mach 10, a speed that has never been achieved in real life.

Why It’s Sensible That Tom Cruise Wasn’t Allowed To Fly A Fighter Jet

The navy denied his application.

The Super Hornet jet does feature in the sequel, but Tom Cruise did not fly them in Top Gun: Maverick as those scenes were all completed with assistance from Navy pilots. According to producer Bruckheimer, Cruise does fly a P-51 propeller-driven fighter plane, as well as some helicopters. With the assistance of skilled editing, the action sequences are convincing to even the best-trained eye.

There's no confirmation about why the US Navy might have denied Cruise's aspirations to pilot a Super Hornet , even though the actor has experience flying Top Gun 's supersonic military aircraft . However, the most logical reason would be insurance concerns, which is always enough of a consideration to prevent actors from doing their own stunts.

The cost of the plane also figures into this – a real F-18 Super Hornet would make up roughly half of Top Gun: Maverick 's $152 million budget. That would be likely to create logistical nightmares for the insurance of the film. That's not even to mention insuring Cruise himself, who, though already a certified pilot, may not have the specific training required to fly the F-18 safely.

Insurance woes aside, should an inexperienced pilot such as Cruise lose control of a high-speed aircraft, it could also mean peril for civilians and/or military personnel on the ground. Besides, while Tom Cruise does his own stunts to great effect, the real Navy pilots in Top Gun: Maverick 's brought more than enough authenticity to the sequel.

Top Gun: Maverick put Tom Cruise back in the cockpit after three decades, but which specific jet fighter planes appear in the followup to Top Gun?

Why Does Tom Cruise Like To Do His Own Stunts?

A passion for story telling is why tom cruise doesn't use stunt doubles much.

The real reason why Tom Cruise does his own stunts is simple: it's the best way to tell whatever story is at hand . In the actor's own words, “It has to do with storytelling… It allows us to put cameras in places that you’re not normally able to do.” Indeed, if the lead actor in an action movie is able to physically perform the character's stunts, this removes the necessity to shoot from strange angles or use editing tricks to make dangerous scenes appear real. This ultimately translates to smoother action sequences and scenes closer to the writer, stunt coordinator, and director's vision.

Moreover, whenever Cruise puts himself in danger for a risky stunt, everyone involved - from the film crew to the audience - is much more invested in the results, a level of authenticity that simply can't be achieved in any other way. Outside of the Top Gun series, this stunning effect can also be observed in the stunt-filled Mission Impossible franchise .

The F/A-18 Super Hornet Requires An Advanced Pilot

The aircraft in top gun: maverick are among the hardest to fly.

While Tom Cruise did really fly in Top Gun: Maverick with certain aircraft, confirming his exceptional pilot skills, the F/A-18 Super Hornets are not the kind of plane just anyone can jump into and take off . It requires specially trained pilots to operate these aircraft given their immense power and the danger involved. Some of the impressive specifics about the plane (via: Military.com ) include its maximum speed of 1,190 mph and the ability to climb 45,000 ft per minute. Such power is needed as the Super Hornets have a 30,500 lb weight while empty which can increase to 66,000 lbs with its maximum weapons load.

It seems as though Tom Cruise will do anything for his stunts , and that likely includes the necessary training to handle an aircraft like this. However, even if he was denied that opportunity, the Super Hornets didn't come at a discounted price. It was reported (via Bloomberg ) that the movie r ented the Super Hornets from the U.S. Navy for over $11,000 an hour . However, given that Top Gun: Maverick more than surpassed box office expectations, it seems as though it was a price worth paying.

Top Gun: Maverick features plenty of thrilling flying sequences and stunts. Here's what was done for real by Tom Cruise and the cast and what was CGI.

Tom Cruise’s Wildest Stunt

Top gun: maverick isn't his most dangerous filming experience.

By Tom Cruise's own reckoning, the wildest and most dangerous stunt he's ever performed is when he hung on to a moving plane in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation , the fifth movie in the MI series. Not surprisingly, for Tom Cruise, flying a Super Hornet would qualify as a less dangerous stunt, as that would have at least required the actor to be inside the plane. Although Cruise was harnessed to the plane in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation , no amount of safety precautions could account for all the inherent dangers involved with a person wearing virtually no protection while hanging onto a moving aircraft. This just goes to show the level of sheer dedication Cruise brings to his movie projects.

However, recently Cruise has suggested a new stunt in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1 might be his wildest stunt yet, which involves Cruise jumping a motorcycle off of a cliff and then parachuting to safety. It is a stunt that took years of planning and training to get right and promises to be another spectacle from the dedicated actor. Clearly, even if Tom Cruise didn't really fly the F-18s in Top Gun: Maverick , he is not slowing down at all when it comes to his onscreen stunts.

Top Gun: Maverick

• Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

How the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Cast Trained to Fly Fighter Jets

By Jazz Tangcay

Jazz Tangcay

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Audiences coming out of “ Top Gun: Maverick ” this weekend want to know one thing, are the actors really flying those fighter jets? The answer in short is, yes.

Tom Cruise , who returns as “Maverick,” is renowned for doing his own stunt work, and he wanted his stars Miles Teller, Monica Barbaro and Glen Powell to learn how to fly. That’s where the film’s aerial coordinator, Kevin LaRosa Jr. , stepped in.

LaRosa Jr. worked with Cruise to put together an intense flight program that began with the cast flying in a smaller aircraft. “We started with the Cessna 172 and we took them through basic flying. This allowed them to see what it was like to take off, land and know where to look and put their hands,” LaRosa. Jr. explains. That starter plane also allowed the actors to get a feel of what a small g-force felt like.

And just like in a real training program, once the actors were comfortable with that, they graduated to the next level and it was onto the aerobatic airplane, the Extra 300. “This was similar to what the general public would see at an airshow where those planes do crazy maneuvers. It can pull up to eight g forces. It’s exhilarating,” says LaRosa Jr.

Again, the exercise would build up their G-tolerance. “That to me is almost like muscle memory. If I don’t fly for a long time, I might go up and get sick. But if I fly every day and pull those Gs, it’s almost like brain muscle and you’re going to get used to it, and get better.” He adds, “We built them up to the point where they were mainly not getting sick.”

Next was the L-39 Albatross. “This allowed them to experience a fighter trainer jet. When they graduated from that, we had aviators.” LaRosa Jr. adds some cast members are working on getting their full license. Glen Powell, who plays Hangman, did get his.

By the time the actors were put into F/A-18, LaRosa Jr. says, “They were confident and they felt good. They were used to those G-forces, and then they could focus on working with Joseph and Tom on telling this amazing story.” He continues, “They didn’t have to worry that they were in this high-performance fighter jet flying through canyons.”

As someone who has dedicated his life being an aerial coordinator, flying and teaching, LaRosa Jr. praises the talent of the cast. Barbaro, he says was the most impressive. “She absolutely killed it, and did a good job of adjusting to the physiological effects of everything.”

Equally as impressive was Powell, who got sick while filming the F/A-18 scenes. Says LaRosa Jr., “He would go and take care of his business and then get right back in the game. of the most impressive things was watching how some of the cast were able to process that and recover themselves.”

The training program set the actors up, so when they were ready to fly and film, Cruise’s determination of wanting the best performances possible were delivered.

For the mission training program that the pilots go on, LaRosa Jr. says the jet-to-jet photography allows audiences to go live with the fighter jets while IMAX cameras were mounted to the inside and outside of the F/A-18. “As the audience, it feels like we’re riding in there with them.” LaRosa Jr. adds, “When you mix all of those things together, you end up with the perfect mix of aerial storytelling.  It is a perfect blend of living with our actors who are absolutely in those aircraft, maneuvering and pulling G’s and also letting the audience see where we are to get spatial orientation and to see these aircraft maneuvering down low and in and around the training range.”

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The Navy refused to let Tom Cruise fly an F/A-18 Super Hornet in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Tom Cruise can do almost anything, but he absolutely cannot fly a $70 million dollar Navy fighter jet

By Jared Keller | Published Mar 29, 2020 3:02 PM EDT

• Tech & Tactics

Tom Cruise can do almost anything, but he absolutely cannot fly a $70 million Navy fighter jet.

In a new interview with Empire magazine   ahead of the release of Top Gun: Maverick this summer, film producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that despite Cruise’s piloting prowess, the Navy wasn’t keen on actually putting the superstar actor in the cockpit of an F/A-18 Super Hornet.

“The Navy wouldn’t let [Tom] fly an F-18, but he flies a P-51 in the movie, and he flies helicopters,” Bruckheimer told Empire, per Military.com. “He can do just about anything in an airplane.”

According to Empire, both Cruise and Bruckheimer put a premium on authenticity when it came to the return of Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell for the highly-anticipated sequel.

“We just started talking,” Cruise told the magazine. “And I realised that there were things that we could accomplish cinematically. And I started getting excited about this big challenge of, ‘How do we do it?’ So I said to Jerry, ‘I’ll do it if…’ meaning, I’m not going to do the CGI stuff.”

For a guy who once clung to the side of an Airbus 400 to execute a mind-numbing opening stunt for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Cruise’s devotion to total realism isn’t surprising. But while that didn’t translate to letting Cruise putter around in a Super Hornet, it did yield some g-force-heavy sequences of Cruise and his co-stars getting rocked around  by naval aviatqors.

“What’s different about this movie is that [in Top Gun ] we put the actors in the F-14s and we couldn’t use one frame of it, except some stuff on Tom, because they all threw up,” Bruckheimer told Empire. “It’s hysterical to see their eyes roll back in their heads. So everything was done on a gimbal. But in this movie, Tom wanted to make sure the actors could actually be in the F-18s.”

You can absolutely watch the Top Gun: Maverick  actors get dizzy AF in the video below:

Directed by Joseph Kosinksi and starring Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, and Val Kilmer, Top Gun: Maverick  finally hits theaters on June 24, 2020.

Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications. Contact the author here.

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Can Tom Cruise fly fighter jets? When he got his pilot’s licence and how much of Top Gun he’s flying for real

Tom cruise is famous for his commitment to realism, and frequently performs his own stunts.

The much anticipated Top Gun: Maverick i s about to hit the big screen, and critics are already raving about the quality of the flight scenes.

Tom Cruise is famous for his commitment to realism, frequently performs his own stunts, and even broke his ankle while filming Mission Impossible in London in 2018.

But does the daredevil do his own flying? Here’s everything you need to know.

What can we expect from the new Top Gun ?

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is back and is still feeling the need for speed. His bosses have him in their line of fire, but he remains the best navy test pilot around and commands respect from his flying colleagues.

There is a seemingly impossible mission to blow up an Iranian uranium enrichment plant and Maverick is dispatched to train up an elite team of graduates for the task.

Expect some breathtaking aerobatic displays which, judging by the critics and not entirely surprisingly, outstrip those of the original.

Geoffrey Macnab, writing in i , said “the aerial photography is every bit as spectacular as you would expect”.

The sequel, he adds, “defies cynicism and confirms Tom Cruise’s status as Hollywood’s ‘mission leader’ when it comes to blockbusters ”.

Deadline Hollywood praised the film saying it “tops the original in every way imaginable” adding it is “an example of Hollywood filmmaking at its zenith”.

The original Top Gun was released on 16 May, 1986 and went on to become one of the most famous films of the 80s.

In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, deeming it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

Is the flying real?

Cruise is well known for doing his own stunts, and he has built that reputation through decades of action films such as the Mission Impossible and Jack Reacher movies.

“People had asked for a sequel for decades,” Cruise told the PA News service. “And the thing I said to the studio from the beginning was: ‘If I’m ever going to entertain this, we’re shooting everything practically. I’m in that F/A-18, period.”

The cast of Maverick underwent serious training in how to cope in the air, meaning the footage you see is in fact real, not CGI.

The course was developed by Cruise, lated three months, and included tuition in underwater evacuation, aerial aviation and flight itself.

They were also prepared for the dynamic pressures of G-force.

They started in single-engined planes, moved on to a Czech-designed jet trainer called the Aero L-39 Albatros, and then the F-18 Super Hornet.

Miles Teller, who plays ‘Rooster’ the son of ‘Goose’ from the original film, explained: “We trained for this for a long time, Tom had us in a flight programme for several months before we ever started filming.

“But it was never something you really ever got, like, super comfortable with, at least for me. It was something that every time I went up, it really tested me and I felt like I wanted to puke pretty much every time.”

The team also learned to operate cameras and about cinematography as they were essentially filming themselves up there.

But were they actually in control of the aircraft?

Despite this training the Navy did insist on having trained officers at the controls of the F-18 Super Hornet, which is worth £56m.

Glen Roberts, the chief of the Pentagon’s entertainment media office, said a regulation bars non-military personnel from controlling a Defence Department asset other than small arms in training scenarios.

Instead, the actors rode behind F/A-18 pilots, and external shots are of trained Navy pilots.

Cruise, who has been a licensed pilot since 1994, did fly a P-51 propeller-driven fighter plane and a few helicopters for the movie.

The planes aircraft carriers and military bases are also real locations.

Who else stars in the Top Gun: Maverick ?

The cast includes:

• Tom Cruise as Captain Peter “Maverick” Mitchell, a test pilot
• Miles Teller as Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw
• Jennifer Connelly as Penelope “Penny” Benjamin
• Val Kilmer as Lieutenant Tom “Iceman” Kazansky
• Jon Hamm as Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson
• Ed Harris Rear Admiral Chester “Hammer” Cain

It was directed by Joseph Kosinski and written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and long-time Cruise collaborator, Christopher McQuarrie.

Top Gun: Maverick is dedicated to the director of the original Top Gun , Tony Scott, who died in 2012.

Lady Gaga has co-written Hold My Hand , the lead song for the sequel’s soundtrack’s.

Those who remember the original Top Gun will recall its big hit song was Berlin’s You Take My Breath Away . It won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

When is Top Gun: Maverick released?

It is set for release in UK cinemas on 27 May.

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‘Top Gun: Maverick’ studio paid U.S. Navy more than $11,000 an hour for fighter jet rides—but Tom Cruise wasn’t allowed to touch the controls

The U.S. Navy lent Tom Cruise F/A-18 Super Hornets for the new “Top Gun” movie. The only catches: The studio paid as much as $11,374 an hour to use the advanced fighter planes — and Cruise couldn’t touch the controls.

The “Mission Impossible” star, famous for performing his own stunts, insisted that all the actors portraying pilots on the long-delayed “Top Gun: Maverick” film fly in one of the fighter jets built by Boeing Co. so they could understand what it feels like to be a pilot operating under the strain of immense gravitational forces. Cruise, 59, had also flown in a jet for the original “Top Gun,” a smash hit in 1986.

Cruise ended up flying more than a dozen sorties for the new movie, but a Pentagon regulation bars non-military personnel from controlling a Defense Department asset other than small arms in training scenarios, according to Glen Roberts, the chief of the Pentagon’s entertainment media office. Instead, the actors rode behind F/A-18 pilots after completing required training on how to eject from the plane in an emergency and how to survive at sea.

Roberts said the Navy allowed the production to use planes, aircraft carriers and military bases even though he said the real Top Gun pilots aren’t the cocky rule-benders portrayed in the film, people who “would never exist in naval aviation.” Instead, they’re studious air nerds who toil away for hours in the classroom and participate in intense training flights at Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada, the site of the actual Top Gun school.

A movie “does not have to be a love letter to the military” to win Pentagon cooperation, Roberts said. But it does “need to uphold the integrity of the military.” Filmmakers need to have funding and distribution for their project and be willing to submit their script for military review. Although the Pentagon can request changes, Roberts said he wasn’t aware of any on “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Paramount Pictures said in production notes for the film that Cruise created his own demanding flight training program for the movie’s young actors so that they could withstand the nausea-inducing rigors of aerial maneuvers and perform their roles with “real Navy pilots taking them on the ride of their lives.”

The movie is being released this week after delays due to the coronavirus pandemic. Scenes were shot aboard the  USS Abraham Lincoln  in August 2018 during a training exercise involving the military’s F-35C Lightning II fighter jet, Roberts said. The production also filmed at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Central California.

The Super Hornet, a jet known as the “Rhino,” gets top billing in the movie over the more advanced F-35C built by Lockheed Martin Corp. because that’s what the movie’s script called for, Roberts said. He also noted that the F-35 is a single-seat plane, so the actors couldn’t ride in them.

Filmmakers reimburse the Pentagon for any aircraft unless they’re already being used in a previously scheduled training exercise or the flight can be counted toward the pilot’s required time at the controls. In 2018, when much of the filming for “Top Gun: Maverick” was conducted, the going rate for the jets was $11,374.

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How Tom Cruise and Miles Teller pulled off those insane, high-flying stunts in Top Gun: Maverick

By Jack King

According to the aviation website Aerocorner , in today's money, a Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet — the fighter jet du jour used by the U.S. Navy since 1995 — costs the American government $67.4 million. That isn't a bulk deal, folks: it's per plane. It should come as no surprise to anyone with a sliver of critical thought, then, that Tom Cruise , Miles Teller and Co. didn't actually pilot the vehicles we see in Top Gun: Maverick .  

“But it looks real!” Yeah, it does. That's movie magic, baby.

Nevertheless, Tom Cruise knew from experience on the first Top Gun just how physically taxing the face-melting forces of extreme flight can be: on his debut test run, rocketing up to double the speed of launching astronauts, he hurled inside his oxygen mask. While they might not have actually hit the throttle and handled the joysticks, Cruise did insist that they actually go up into the air, albeit as passengers, not pilots. 

Ergo, he put the ensemble of Top Gun candidates through an intensive training course in the run-up to production. Going from smaller prop planes to, eventually, actual F-18s — loaned to the filmmakers by the Department of Defence for a measly $11,000 an hour — they learned not to fly the things, but how best to mitigate the ill effects of jet flight. In part, this was a three-month boot camp to avoid air sickness en masse. 

But it worked: “There was never a time on Top Gun: Maverick where we had to delay or stop filming because somebody felt sick,” says Kevin LaRosa II, the movie's aerial stunt coordinator. Sitting down with LaRosa for just under an hour, we got all the goss from the making of the Top Gun sequel.

The first rule of Top Gun: Maverick ? It had to be real, even when it couldn't be

"We had what I like to call rules on Top Gun: Maverick as far as aerials were concerned. And the first and foremost rule, it all had to be real. However: not every aircraft we used in the movie is readily available in the United States, or they're not flyable here, and we show their aircraft flying. 

“So here's the other rule: there has to be an aircraft in front of the lens, but a subject [stand-in] aircraft could be used — like another F-18. And then visual effects comes in, they tweak or retexture it to look like a different aircraft. [See: the ambiguously-defined ”fifth-generation jets" the equally nebulous bad guys fly.]

“But the beauty of that is the audience should know that there really is an aircraft out there — the vapour's going to be real, the flight dynamics are going to be real, it's simply a digital reskin of a real fighter. When it came to VFX plane shots? Always a real aircraft.”

And yes, that includes the cast actually being inside the cockpit

"Our cast had to be in the aircraft for every shot. So when they're delivering those epic performances, they are really in there pulling those Gs. Production went to great lengths to design that in-cockpit IMAX camera set up so those actors could be in there, doing that.

"This was a process that was built in and heavily driven by Tom Cruise. They had me build the training programme: we started them in Cessna 172s — my father and I were actually the first cast flight instructors — and those little single-engine aeroplanes are entry-level aircraft that anyone would learn to fly. 

"This gave the actors spatial orientation, and an understanding of what flying was all about, where to look where, where to move their hands, what all of the gauges do, the basic things. How to turn, land, takeoff.

"We graduated from there to an aircraft called the Extra 300. Their new instructor there was Chuck Coleman, a great friend of mine — again, this is all being heavily monitored by Tom Cruise every day, every step of the way. [Cruise earned his pilot license in the mid ‘90s.]

"This is the aircraft the general public would’ve seen in Red Bull Air Races or other stunt shows. It's a single-engine, piston-driven aeroplane that's extremely manoeuvrable and capable of pulling a lot of Gs. This part was to build up their G tolerance.

"From there, we moved on to the L-39 Albatross, a Czechoslovakian fighter trainer jet imported to the US — it's readily available, very manoeuvrable, very fun. And this was for the cast to learn how to pull heavy Gs. By the time they graduated from this one, and got into the F-18s, they were seasoned pros.

“This process lasted for three months, all in parts of Southern and Central California. That's why even for a guy like me, who can watch something and pick it apart, I watched Top Gun: Maverick and it looks like they're real naval aviators.”

Before Top Gun: Maverick , the technology to shoot it didn't exist

"The Cinejet platform is something that I dreamt up: I needed a camera platform that would match the story quality of Top Gun: Maverick , something that'd really let us get in there, into the dogfights and canyon runs, really put the audience through a thrill ride.

"I was struggling to find the right platform and, again, I landed on the L-39 Albatros. I put a picture of a camera gimbal over the nose of the jet — in an old programme called Microsoft Paint — and said, you know what, that's it. We had to work with the manufacturers to make it a reality but, a year later, the L-39 Cinejet was a real thing.

"Previous jet-based platforms worked with partially stabilised camera technology, meaning that if I'm flying that aircraft, and I rock my wings at all, it could disturb the shot. It was a lot harder for the aerial director of photography, or the camera operators sitting in the back of the jet — they'd have to stabilise my movements, which is very difficult to do.

“With the Cinejet, the gimbal is fully stabilised. It doesn't matter what I do while I'm flying, that thing's gonna be rock steady. Now you can get very aggressive, really get the camera in there so we're shoving the audience in the face of these afterburners.”

In the cockpit, the actors became their own directors, make-up artists and cameramen

"We were working with F/A-18 F Models, which are two-seat F-18s — basically a pilot up front, and typically a weapon system operator in the back seat. They look very, very similar. So we'd have forward-facing cameras over the shoulder of actual naval aviators in the front seat at the controls, and four rear-facing cameras [facing the cast] in the back.

By Sam Moore

By Xuanlin Tham

"For the exterior sequences — say when we see Tom flying an F-18, we're enhancing that F-18 with CGI to change it from a two-seat to a single seat. The beauty is that really is a shot of Tom in the back seat of that F-18, so he is there, being piloted by a genuine naval aviator.

"The cast would have an hour and a half to two hours in the morning, and another period in the afternoon, but typically no more than four hours a day. But that's a lot of flying. When you're pulling those days and doing the type of manoeuvres that we were doing, that's a lot.

“Obviously everything in the cockpit needs to be stowed away. They would unzip their flight suit, pull out whatever they need to do their own hair and makeup — you know, spray their face if they needed extra sweat, make sure their mask was centred, their googles were clean.

“Once that was all done they'd stow all that stuff, hit the big red button and start rolling the camera. This is where they became like a [director of photography]: they'd tell their pilots, 'Hey, I need the sun back here at five o'clock, I need a thirty-degree right bank, and I'm gonna hit these lines!'

"Remember, in a jet, you're moving really fast, you're covering a lot of terrain — it's not like you can just get the perfect background and leave it there, you have to hit it, say your line, and come all the way back to get [another take]. By the time we'd get to the debrief, we'd sit there and watch maybe ten takes, and two would be perfect.

“So it's a lot of work — not just sitting there taking a joy ride!”

Top Gun: Maverick looks set to be Tom Cruise's biggest movie ever

Top Gun: Maverick is the greatest blockbuster of the decade

How Tom Cruise created Top Gun: Maverick 's bittersweet Val Kilmer cameo

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So How Does One Teach Tom Cruise To Fly Top Gun: Maverick Fighter Planes, Anyway? How The Aerial Coordinator Did It

How did Tom Cruise learn how to fly fighter planes in Top Gun: Maverick?

To be able to get back behind the cockpit for Top Gun : Maverick must have been a real dream for Tom Cruise . He wanted to reprise his role of “Maverick” in the Top Gun sequel for the purpose of being able to fly those jets again. While it would have been too easy to make Tom Cruise be surrounded by a green screen, he’s actually skyrocketing into the air, with those aviation scenes being 100% real. Here is how Top Gun: Maverick ’s aerial coordinator was able to teach Cruise and the rest of the cast how to fly a fighter jet.

In the original Top Gun, Tom Cruise and the other actors were actually in the air on real fighter jets, but it was required for someone else to be piloting the plane. But that was over three decades ago and the cast actually learned to fly fighter jets for Top Gun: Maverick. According to KTLA 75 , the cast was put through an extensive training program to soar through the skies which were run by the film’s aerial coordinator and camera pilot, Kevin LaRosa. He said by the time the cast got into the aircraft, they were “seasoned pros” able to “deliver epic performances.”

Mission: Impossible ’s Tom Cruise can be seen flying in Top Gun: Maverick , but as a civilian, he could not fly the primary fighter jet of the film, the F-18 Hornet. He had to start on certain aircrafts like the entry-level airplane, a Cessna 172, to learn the basics. The next level airplane would be the Extra EA-300 used in air shows for aerobatic stunts. Every plane the cast flew was meant to build up their “G tolerance” in order to look like pros on camera. Afterwards, the cast moved up to maneuverable fighter jet L-39 to finally the F-18. So Tom Cruise was still not allowed to actually fly an F-18 for the movie, but LaRosa gave them the training to help him make it look like he can.

Once the actors were inside of the cockpits, the actors actually had to direct themselves and figure out the camera shots since a director obviously could not be up in the air with them. This meant the filmmakers had to wait until the actors landed to see which footage could be used, and sometimes do-overs were necessary. LaRosa had no problem striving for perfection in wanting the actors to keep going again and again until it was done right. If you’d like some proof if the Top Gun star still has it in him, you can see watch the epic video of Tom Cruise flying planes.

Kevin LaRosa clearly came up with an amazing training program for Top Gun: Maverick , as the aerial sequences were among the things singled out by the critics . Many commented that they loved the exterior airborne shots and being able to hear the realistic roaring of the engines. Various critics also commended the film for not going the CGI route and having the actors actually fly in the airborne cockpits. This proves one again that going the practical route is sometimes better than just using CGI.

You can see Tom Cruise and the rest of his fellow actors in the new movie release of Top Gun: Maverick , which is playing in theaters now. 

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Navy shot down Tom Cruise's F-18 flying, but he still found speed in 'Top Gun: Maverick'

Tom Cruise has the need for speed and flies most anything that can fly in "Top Gun: Maverick."

But in one of the first interviews given about the much-anticipated "Top Gun" sequel (due in theaters June 24), producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirms that Cruise doesn't pilot Maverick's F-18.

The Navy said no to this civilian request. Even coming from Cruise.

"The Navy wouldn't let him fly an F-18," Bruckheimer tells Empire magazine.  "But he flies a P-51 in the movie and he flies helicopters. He can do just about anything in an airplane."

Tom Cruise trains the next generation: 'Top Gun: Maverick' sequel trailer

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Fans can expect thrilling action sequences in the sequel of 1986's "Top Gun," (already glimpsed in the trailers) thanks to IMAX cameras placed in the F-18 cockpits flown by top Navy pilots. Cruise and co-stars Miles Teller and Glen Powell were put through aerial boot camp before cameras started rolling. 

"When you're pulling heavy Gs, it compresses your spine, your skull. It makes some people delirious. Some people can't handle it," said Cruise, who, as a producer on the film, arranged for his co-stars' intense training. "So I had to get them up to be able to sustain high Gs. Because they have to act in the plane. I can't have them sick the whole time."

"You will experience what it's like to be in an F-18 in that cockpit with those pilots," promised Bruckheimer.

Although movie studios have cleared out much of the upcoming releases in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Paramount Studios has maintained the June 24 release date for "Maverick."

Few top secret plot specifics from the Chris McQuarrie-penned screenplay were dropped in the interview. But Cruise is continuing to promise an edge-of-the-seat theater experience. 

"I said to the studio, you don't know how hard this movie is going to be," said Cruise. "No one has ever done this before. There's never been an aerial sequence shot this way."

Did Tom Cruise Learn to Fly for 'Top Gun'? Here's What You Need to Know About the Aviation Buff

Apr. 21 2020, Updated 11:26 a.m. ET

Everyone's talking about the Top Gun: Maverick trailer and Tom Cruise flying jets in the highly anticipated movie sequel. Many people have been wondering if that's really Tom in the pilot's seat and if he learned to fly for the movie. Here's what you need to know.

Did Tom Cruise learn to fly for 'Top Gun'? The star is actually a real pilot! 

Tom fell in love with aviation while filming the original Top Gun , which was released in 1986. He got his private pilot's license in 1994 and has been active in the flying community ever since. In an interview with Wired , 

Tom confirmed he's a multi-engine instrument rated commercial pilot. That means you could legally hire him to fly you across the country, but we're guessing Tom's schedule is pretty booked up these days.

So is that really him flying the plane in Top Gun: Maverick? 

Yes and no. Tom loves to do his own stunts, and he is fully capable of flying a private plane — but some of the fighter jets in the Top Gun sequel can only be piloted by aviators with military experience. 

In 2018, Paramount confirmed (via Fighter Jets World ) that while Tom does fly "certain aircraft" in Top Gun: Maverick , he will not be flying the F/A-18 fighter jets. That's what editing and CGI are for!

View this post on Instagram Maverick is back. #TopGun A post shared by Tom Cruise (@tomcruise) on Jul 18, 2019 at 12:58pm PDT

Top Gun: Maverick is "a love letter to aviation." 

When introducing the Top Gun: Maverick trailer at Comic Con, Tom told Conan O'Brien the movie was "a love letter to aviation."

"The aerial footage is really beautiful," he said of the film. "I'm a pilot myself, and I love flying, and I love aviation." Tom said his dream, since he was a little kid, "was to make movies and to fly airplanes." With Top Gun: Maverick, he gets to do both on an epic scale. 

This isn't Tom's first flying movie. 

He portrayed real-life TWA pilot turned drug smuggler Barry Seal in the 2017 film American Made, and in 2018's Mission Impossible — Fallout, Tom pulled off a death-defying stunt in a helicopter. He actually got his helicopter pilot's license so he'd be able to fly the real choppers in the film .

"We're always flying from one place to another because Tom's needed in so many places," Mission Impossible — Fallout' s stunt director Wade Eastwood told Thrillist ,. "I would always fly the choppers because I love helicopters and I'm a pilot. Tom is a great pilot, fixed-wing, and he got really into helicopters because they are just cool." 

View this post on Instagram Over 100 jumps - we got it. A post shared by Tom Cruise (@tomcruise) on Jun 12, 2018 at 11:38am PDT

Putting an A-list movie star like Tom into these intense, high-flying scenes is high-risk and high reward, though. As Eastwood explained, "With Tom Cruise, I've got to make it as safe and as powerful and spectacular, but also if he's slightly damaged, we can't shoot anything else."

It's a good thing they're careful, because the world needs more Tom Cruise action movies. 

The New Top Gun: Maverick trailer looks awesome.

Paramount just released the new trailer for Maverick that spills the beans on a few more plot points. The trailer opens up with someone narrating the exploits of Tom Cruise's character to a bunch of new recruits that he's training. In the lineup is Goose's son, played by Miles Teller, who's rocking a mustache, just like his dad did in the first film.

Among his lauded characteristics is the fact that he was "one of the finest pilots" that the Top Gun "program has ever produced" and that his work is "legendary". We also learn that Maverick's been asked back to lead the program, despite the fact that even he admits he didn't think he'd be asked back.

What's really cool is that the soundtrack also seems to play heavily on '80s nostalgia.

There's some awesome synth lines blaring over epic-looking shots, and we're treated to a scene of Maverick wrecking the other pilots in a "dog-fighting" two-on-one match. We also see a glimpse of Jon Hamm, looking very concerned, and tempers flaring between new recruits. We also know that a big death occurs in the movie, as we catch yet another shot of Maverick saluting someone at the funeral.

Does Goose's son suffer the same fate as his father in the new movie? We're also treated to what looks like an aerial battle shot in snow-capped mountains. Will the new movie follow the same plot format as the first film? With a bunch of recruits rising about shallow disputes in a high-stakes, competitive environment, only to take their battle skills to a real-life combat scenario?

We will see when Top Gear: Maverick hits theaters on June 26th, 2020. Are you excited to see Tom Cruise back in action?

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Does Tom Cruise Really Know How To Fly Jets?

Tom Cruise has made headlines for a lot of unique reasons over the years, from his epic on-set rants to his volatile love life, passionate devotion to Scientology, celebrity feuds, and various disturbing truths that fans tend to ignore . Even his passion for aviation has often gotten folks talking, like when he accepted his 2023 MTV Movie & TV Award from a plane, took James Corden for a flight in a World War II P-51 Mustang, and intensified his weird relationship with the royals with a bizarre fly-by message to King Charles on coronation weekend.

Indeed, fans will know Cruise loves flying, and he's all about doing his own stunts. Remember his climb up Dubai's Burj Khalifa in "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol"? Yes, he really was 1,700 feet in the air, hanging by a thin wire. "The whole thing was one, extended, hair-raising moment," director Brad Bird told the  New York Daily News at the time. How about that scene in "Mission: Impossible Fall Out" where he's dangling off a helicopter? Yes, he did that too. "It's all Tom flying, 100% of it," stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood told the Los Angeles Times . Most impressive, however, are all of the scenes in which Cruise appears to be piloting various fighter jets, which has left many wondering whether the actor can really fly. We can explain.

Yes, Tom Cruise does really know how to fly

Tom Cruise doesn't just talk the talk — he loves flying, and he really does know how to fly. As he told Conan O'Brien in 2019, "As a little kid, I wanted to fly airplanes, and I wanted to make movies." With his work, he's found a way to combine the two, and many of his films, like "Top Gun: Maverick," are an ode to his beloved hobby. "I'm a pilot myself," he enthused. "I love flying, and I love aviation, so this is also just a love letter to aviation." This is why he demanded that he be allowed to fly an F-14 himself, and the studio agreed. "I went through all the pilot training, and then I filmed three flights in the F-14 in one day — it was a dream of mine," he said.

However, Cruise was flying long before then. He originally got his license in 1994, and as he told WIRED in 2017, he can indeed fly airplanes. "I'm a multi-engine instrument-rated commercial pilot," he explained. What's more, he can also pilot a helicopter and got his license so he could film his dream helicopter sequence for "Mission: Impossible – Fallout." Not too shabby! "I fly aerobatics in that," he shared . "I'm a commercially-rated helicopter pilot also." As the movie's stunt coordinator, Wade Eastwood, told Thrillist , Cruise also underwent stunt training and totally crushed it. "Tom is a great pilot," he applauded.

The military refused to give Tom Cruise access to one special plane

Tom Cruise's flight skills may garner plenty of confidence from his crew, but the US Navy didn't fully share that sentiment. In 2020, Cruise told Empire that when he and producer Jerry Bruckheimer started planning "Top Gun: Maverick," he wholeheartedly opposed the use of special effects and demanded that he be allowed to fly an actual F-18. However, despite being allowed to helm an F-14, Bruckheimer told Empire (via USA Today ), "The Navy wouldn't let him fly an F-18." Even so, his skills as a pilot are on full display in the flick. "He flies a P-51 in the movie and he flies helicopters," the producer shared. "He can do just about anything in an airplane."

As for those F-18 sequences, they had to get creative. They agreed to use two-seater F/A-18 Fs instead, so a professional could pilot the plane, the actor could be in the back, and CGI could take care of the rest. As "Maverick" stunt coordinator Kevin LaRosa II told GQ , it was the next best thing. "The beauty is that really is a shot of Tom in the back seat of that F-18, so he is there, being piloted by a genuine naval aviator," he enthused. What's more, Cruise told Channel 4 Sport , he was sort of allowed to fly the plane. "They let me have a stick in the back and a throttle, so there were times where they let me fly in fly formation," he said.

Is Tom Cruise a real pilot? All about his flying dream

• by Chege Karomo
•  – on May 26, 2022
•  in People

Tom Cruise returns for the second installment of  Top Gun , which promises to be an improvement on the first one. However, before the film’s premiere, Cruise teamed up with television host and actor James Corden to promote the movie. In 2018, Tom took James skydiving; in 2022, Tom strapped him into a plane piloted by the  Mission Impossible  star. 

“I’m gonna go up in a 75-year-old plane with someone who isn’t a pilot? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,”  Corden protested . 

If it were another actor, it’d be difficult to believe that they were a pilot. However, given Tom Cruise’s penchant for performing his own stunts, it’s pretty easy to fathom Cruise having a pilot’s license. 

Tom Cruise has held a pilot’s license since 1994

Tom Cruise qualified as a pilot in 1994, nearly three decades ago. Cruise reportedly owns several planes, including a luxury Gulfstream jet and his beloved P-51 Mustang, a WWII fighter that’ll appear in  Top Gun . 

“The P-51 Mustang you see in the movie is actually my plane, so I got to pilot in those sequences,” Cruise told  Hello magazine . “I also got to be in the jet fighter a lot more this time, which was thrilling. It was something I had been working up to.”

Cruise told the outlet that  Top Gun  allowed him to fulfill two dreams: flying and acting. “All I ever wanted to be was a pilot or an actor, so Top Gun was a huge moment in so many respects, including my passion for aviation,” Cruise said. “I got to actually fly in an F-14 jet which was a dream come true, and play a character I loved in Maverick.”

Tom told the PA News Service that he advocated for realism in the new  Top Gun , translating to as little computer trickery as possible. For Cruise, a man with a decades-old flying license, flying would be easy, but the rest of the cast needed intense training. 

For three months, the actors developed skills crafted by Cruise and learned how to film while inside the aircraft. However, few can match Tom Cruise, as Miles Teller admitted that he never got used to the feeling:

“We trained for this for a long time, Tom had us in a flight programme for several months before we ever started filming. But it was never something you really ever got, like, super comfortable with, at least for me. It was something that every time I went up, it really tested me and I felt like I wanted to puke pretty much every time.”

Cruise didn’t get to fly the F-18 Super Hornet in  Top Gun

Cruise may be an experienced pilot, but the military doesn’t hand the keys to one of their most prized assets to anyone with a flying license. 

The military hasn’t given a reason why it didn’t offer Cruise the F-18 Super Hornet, but we think money has a lot to do with it. The jet costs $70 million, nearly half of the film’s $152 budget. Few insurers would accept to insure potential damage of such an aircraft. 

Furthermore, despite having a pilot’s license, Cruise may not have the requisite skill to fly an F-18 safely – placing one in his hands would put lives at risk. The crew and cast filmed using real F-18 jets driven by trained Navy pilots. 

Read Next: Is The Darkstar a real plane? Its real-life inspirations explained

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Tom Cruise Takes James Corden to the Danger Zone with Frightening Flight in 'Top Gun' Fighter Jet

Monday's Late Late Show with James Corden featured the host going on a pair of flights with Top Gun: Maverick star Tom Cruise

Dave Quinn is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE. He has been working at the brand since 2016, and is the author of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book, Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It.

James Corden feels the need — the need for a speedy landing.

The Late Late Show host, 43, had an adventurous two days with Tom Cruise on Monday night's show, joining the Top Gun: Maverick actor for a terrifying trip in the air on a pair of fighter jets.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime getaway that Corden wasn't necessarily excited about. In a package of the high-flying experience, he played as an unwilling participant in Cruise's plan — admitting, "When Tom Cruise calls, you sort of have to say yes."

Cruise, for his part, was thrilled to be palling around with Corden again, as the 59-year-old actor previously jumped out of an airplane with Corden while promoting 2018's Mission: Impossible — Fallout .

"I'm very excited that James is doing this," Cruise said, before piloting Corden in both planes. "Was he the first late night show that I asked? Hell no. He was just the first one, the only one , to say yes."

To kick things off, Cruise took Corden for a ride in a 1944 fighter airplane, Corden quickly putting up a sign in the window that said "Help Me."

Things got serious when a dueling plane popped up to challenge them. "We're in a dog fight," Cruise said, as Corden screamed, "I don't give a s---."

For more on Tom Cruise and James Corden flying on fighter jets, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.

"You did good," Cruise assured Corden after they landed, the comedian teasing, "The fact that this is your idea of a fun day out tells me how different we are as human beings."

Just when Corden thought he'd survived, Cruise informed him the two would be going up again, this time in a jet fit for modern aerial warfare.

Amid Corden's "I don't want to do it" objections, Cruise told the host, "You are my Goose," a reference to his Top Gun character's best friend in the original 1986 movie.

"When you said I'm your Goose it makes me feel excited and then I realize that Goose dies in the film," Corden explained in response. "You're the first half of the film Goose," Cruise insisted. "That 'You've Lost that Loving Feeling' Goose."

"That's the Goose I want to be," Corden quipped. "I want to be in a bar, singing..."

From there, Cruise and Corden followed through with some additional Top Gun experiences (like a game of volleyball and a camping getaway) before heading up in their flight.

"You look like a fighter pilot, I look like a hamster," Corden said, as they suited up for the flight.

Corden loosened up for his second flight, even channeling his "Carpool Karaoke" segment by singing Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" and Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock and Roll" — two tunes famously featured in Cruise's movies.

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But when Cruise started stunting, even flipping the plane upside down, Corden got scared. "Oh my God," he screamed. "This is absolutely ludicrous. This is the craziest thing... this is the stupidest thing I have ever done."

"You absolute bastard," he told Cruise. "I've got an idea, why don't we fly straight for a bit?"

"Okay, we'll fly straight," Cruise said, before flipping them over again.

Back on the ground, Cruise praised Corden for how he handled it all. "You can be my wingman anytime," he said.

"You know what, I think I'm good," joked Corden.

Top Gun: Maverick opens in theaters on Friday. The long-awaited sequel sees Cruise making his triumphant return as Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, this time returning as an instructor for the elite fliers three decades after his graduation from the TOPGUN Naval aviation program.

Among his young charges is Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, the son of Goose ( Anthony Edwards in the first movie). Miles Teller , who plays Rooster, is among the actors cast as new class of pilots. Also joining are Glen Powell , Greg Tarzan Davis and Lewis Pullman .

Aside from the hands-on skills required for the film, Cruise still had more to share with his costars, when the training was over and the cameras turned off.

"There were times after we were wrapped for the day, we would spend an hour circled around him, listening to the stories that he's been through," Davis, 28, told PEOPLE in a new all- Top Gun special edition .

Added Pullman, 29, "Every one of the pilots has a story of him talking about what he thinks is great about them, what they can do with that quality. He teaches you, basically, how Tom Cruise became Tom Cruise ."

The Late Late Show with James Corden airs weeknights (12:30 p.m. ET) on CBS.

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Jacuzzi on board: a look at tom cruise's gulfstream iv private jet.

The actor and licensed pilot cruises in style in his $20-million jet

• Tom Cruise, a licensed pilot, owns a Gulfstream IV jet that offers luxurious features, including a Jacuzzi onboard and a lavish interior.
• The Gulfstream IV is a highly esteemed business twinjet known for its reliability, efficiency, and long-range capabilities, making it suitable for international travel.
• Cruise's Gulfstream IV exemplifies the pinnacle of luxury and convenience in private aviation, with its opulent design, comfort, performance, and addition of a Jacuzzi and screening room.

Many high-net-worth celebrities have the luxury of flying privately – and legendary actor Tom Cruise is no exception. Known not only for his thrilling performances on the silver screen but also as a licensed pilot, Cruise owns at least two aircraft . One of these is a Gulfstream IV jet that boasts enviable features, including a Jacuzzi onboard.

A jet fit for a star

The Gulfstream IV is part of Gulfstream 's highly esteemed family of business twinjets and was a significant leap forward in the world of private aviation when it was first introduced in 1985. Re-designed as a derivative of the Gulfstream III featuring a stretched fuselage, the jet is a low-wing aircraft that is powered by two aft-mounted Rolls-Royce Tay 611-8 turbofans.

The Gulfstream IV is not only an embodiment of luxury but also a pinnacle of efficiency. Its long-range capabilities make it suitable for international travel, enabling non-stop flights across vast distances. This jet is renowned for its reliability, whether for a cross-country business trip or a globe-trotting adventure. It ensures that passengers, including Cruise, experience the utmost comfort and performance.

Want answers to more key questions in aviation? Check out the rest of our guides here .

Cruising in style

Cruise’s deep passion for flying contributed to him accepting his role in the cult favorite Top Gun – he took the job just after a 30-minute meeting on the set of another iconic movie, Mission: Impossible. As such, it comes as no surprise that “Maverick” himself owns a decked-out jet.

The actor’s Gulfstream IV, which costs an estimated $20 million, is a testament to his love for planes. One of the standout features of Cruise's jet is its lavish interior. The cabin is designed to provide an ambiance of comfort and style, with plush seating and ample space for up to 19 passengers.

Discover more aviation news about the passenger experience here.

What truly sets Tom Cruise's Gulfstream IV apart is its Jacuzzi and screening room in the skies. This remarkable addition allows the actor to unwind and relax at 40,000 feet, enjoying the utmost privacy and comfort.

"I feel the need... the need for speed!"

Beyond its opulent interior, Jacuzzi, and screening room, Cruise’ GIV is also celebrated for its high performance. Its long-range capabilities, with a range of 4,220 nautical miles (7,815 km), make it suitable for international travel, enabling non-stop flights across vast distances. Furthermore, it can effortlessly reach speeds of up to Mach 0.88.

All in all, Cruise's Gulfstream IV exemplifies the pinnacle of luxury and convenience in private aviation. While the addition of a Jacuzzi is undoubtedly a standout feature, the aircraft's overall design, comfort, and performance make it an ideal choice for a Hollywood superstar who values both efficiency and extravagance in his travels. When not in use, Cruise’s jet is said to be parked in his private hangar.

What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments!

Sources: The Things , Business Insider

Tom Cruise's New Beach Pictures At 61-Years-Old Cause Fans To Probe His Workout Routine

Quick links, tom cruise's intense lifestyle is the key to his incredibly fit beach body, tom cruise doing his own stunts has injured his body too many times.

• Tom Cruise's fit physique at 61 is due to his intense lifestyle, strict diet, and workout routine.
• Cruise consumes 15 small snacks daily, favors grilled foods, and avoids sugar and carbs.
• Despite maintaining a stellar physique, Cruise has sustained frequent injuries doing his own movie stunts.

After Tom Cruise rose to fame as a young man, he spent years starring in blockbuster movies , which made him richer than his co-stars . Unlike other stars who slow down as they age, Cruise also continues to perform crazy stunts for his blockbuster movies in his 60s .

Even though Cruise still seems youthful onscreen, many observers are amazed to see how good Cruise continues to look in public . A perfect example of that is the fact that Cruise looked so good in beach photos that fans wanted to know what the secret to his physique was.

This article will reveal how Cruise remains in amazing shape in his 60s . Then, the article will look at all the damage that Cruise has done to his body during his lengthy career as a movie star.

On July 3, 2023, Tom Cruise turned 61 years old. Several months later, in May 2024, the paparazzi captured photos of Cruise shirtless on the beach . The vast majority of people who saw those images were blown away by one thing; how incredibly fit Cruise was .

As a Daily Mail article about the photos revealed, on top of the people complimenting Cruise, some expressed their desire to be as fit as him. One example of that is a social media user who wrote, "He’s a couple of years older than me and I wish I looked that good".

Unfortunately for anyone who wanted to look like Cruise did in those photos at that age, the movie star doesn't solely rely on his genetics to defy time. Instead, Cruise still looks incredible at 61 years old thanks to his intense lifestyle .

In July 2023, The Daily Mail published an article about how Cruise stays fit . Given how amazing Cruise still looks with his shirt off forty years after his Top Gun volleyball scene, it shouldn't surprise anyone that he works hard on his body.

Who are the actors who are in the best shape, according to Health Fitness Revolution?

• Matthew McConaughey
• Clint Eastwood
• Ryan Reynolds
• George Clooney
• Jake Gyllenhaal
• Bradley Cooper

Of course, the first step to being fit is adopting a diet that is good for you. With that in mind, it makes sense to look at the fact that Cruise consumes food all day, every day .

Suri Cruise's 18th Birthday Week Shows How Different Her Relationship With Her Parents Katie Holmes And Tom Cruise Are

According to The Daily Mail, which cites a 2020 report about Cruise's diet, the actor eschews eating three meals daily. Instead, Cruise reportedly eats fifteen small snacks daily. Fortunately for Cruise, he has a personal chef who keeps the actor eating healthily.

As for what kind of food Cruise eats, he reportedly favors grilled foods, nuts, fruit, and low-temperature meals. As importantly, Cruise avoids sugar and carbs. According to the 2020 report, Cruise has been known to consume as little as 1200 calories in a day.

On top of tightly controlling his diet, Cruise is also extremely dedicated to working out his body. The Daily Mail's article quoted Cruise talking to Men's Health about the many activities he does to keep his body fit .

"Sea-kayaking, caving fencing, treadmill, weights rock climbing, hiking I jog I do so many different activities."

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On top of activities, Cruise, unsurprisingly, spends long hours working out each week. According to what Cruise told Men's Health, he hits the gym five days a week .

Cruise told the outlet that he dedicated three days a week to weight training sessions and cardio. Cruise's workouts on the other two days of the week were dedicated to more surprising activities like fencing or hiking.

Most people don't talk about things like fencing when they discuss their fitness routine. According to The Daily Mail's aforementioned article, there is another thing that has kept Cruise fit that is unusual.

Throughout Cruise's career, there have been endless reports about how the actor does his own stunts. To pull that off, Cruise spends long hours practicing every detail of each stunt to perfect his body to pull it off.

During Tom Cruise's interviews, he has repeatedly spoken about getting a thrill out of performing stunts. In June 2023, Cruise also told Access Hollywood that he believes that doing his own stunts creates special moments for his fans. Well, you know, you never have to. But I want to, I want to thrill that audience, I want to do everything I can.

Of course, while he is training to pull off a stunt, Cruise focuses on bringing an amazing moment to life on film. However, there is no doubt that the long hours Cruise has spent perfecting stunts has the side effect of keeping him fit.

On the other hand, there also is no doubt that Cruise's dedication to doing his own stunts has damaged his body many times.

In March 2020, Screen Rant published an article about the wild things that Tom Cruise has done onscreen . In case it wasn't already clear, the article revealed that Cruise had done some truly mind-blowing things throughout his career.

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A ranker article also revealed something sad about many of the stunts from Screen Rant's article. During his career, Cruise has been injured many times while performing stunts .

Probably the most talked about injury that the article touches on is when Cruise broke his ankle. Cruise suffered that injury after failing to jump from one building to another while filming Mission: Impossible Fallout.

Many people forget that Cruise injured an ankle during another Mission: Impossible movie. While filming the first film in the series, Cruise bruised his ankle while running from a huge fish tank that exploded behind him.

While preparing to film Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Cruise also reportedly blacked out several times while training underwater to hold his breath. Cruise was also reportedly slammed into the building several times while hanging from the Burj Khalifa during the filming of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

These are just some examples of ways that Cruise has damaged his body for movies. For someone so disciplined about his health, it is fascinating he has risked it so many times.