tom cruise aging vs costar

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The Golden Age of the Aging Actor

Tom Cruise in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ isn’t the exception—he’s the rule. There’s long been anecdotal evidence that top-line actors and actresses are getting older. Now, The Ringer has the data to back it up.

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Like its predecessor, Top Gun: Maverick is a movie about sweaty beach sports , awkward sex scenes , and dogfights with enemies of uncertain national origin . More so than the original, though, it’s also about aging. Maverick, a trainee in Top Gun , is now an instructor, regarded as a fossil, an old-timer, the last of his kind. Tethered to the past, he’s told that he’s going to get grounded as the guard changes not just to the next generation of pilots, but to uncrewed drones. He teaches his students that “Time is your greatest enemy,” a lesson hammered home by his old frenemy Iceman’s struggle with cancer. “It’s time to let go,” Iceman informs him. “I don’t know how,” Maverick replies.

All of this seems to make the movie a metaphor for film stardom. Tom Cruise, who first played Maverick when he was 23 and reprises the role in his late 50s, is a household name who hails from an era when there was such a thing, and when people, not IPs, were the biggest box-office attractions; he’s “Hollywood’s Last Real Movie Star,” as a recent New York Times feature dubbed him, or “The Last Action Hero,” as Ringer contributor Noah Gittell did . It may be true that Cruise’s kind of big-screen (or any -screen) star is “headed to extinction,” to borrow a phrase from Maverick’s boss, rear admiral Chester Cain (Ed Harris). But even if, as Cain says, “the end is inevitable,” Hollywood hasn’t let go of aging actors just yet. In fact, it’s clinging ever more tightly to them.

In the past 20 years—and particularly the last 10 to 15—the average age of actors appearing toward the top of the bill in film and TV projects has risen significantly. Whereas the star, or the top two or three stars, of the typical movie or TV series released in the closing decades of the 20th century was typically in their late 30s—several years older than the median age of the United States population at the time—today’s average actor age has reached the mid-40s and is steadily climbing toward 50. Actors who became fixtures on big screens and small in previous decades haven’t given way to new blood as quickly as was once customary. As a result, Hollywood’s leading men and women of today bear a strong resemblance to the leading men and women from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s after a trip to the beach from Old —except, of course, for the fact that actors like Cruise (who’ll turn 60 next week) don’t always look their age. The graying of actors—the ones with their natural hair colors, at least—appears to be the product of a confluence of factors that reflect the fracturing of culture in the post-monoculture age, the industry’s gravitation toward franchises and sequels, shifts in audience demographics, efforts to promote more inclusive casting, and a growing range of options for maintaining a more youthful appearance.

Top Gun: Maverick features 50-somethings Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, and Jon Hamm; 62-year-old Val Kilmer; and 71-year-old Ed Harris. The movie also makes space for a smattering of 30-somethings, led by Miles Teller, Glen Powell, and Jay Ellis (who turned 40 after filming finished), but the oldsters are the stars. Audiences have happily turned out to see them: The movie opened big at the box office over Memorial Day weekend, and its appeal has proved resilient in subsequent weeks. The movie has surpassed a cumulative gross of $500 million domestically and $1 billion worldwide, and although COVID concerns kept many older film watchers away from theaters during the peak of the pandemic, 55 percent of people who bought tickets to Top Gun in its opening weekend were over 35.

In this era, the average age of Top Gun ’s top two actors hardly stands out. Consider the duos associated with other recent, high-profile releases such as Coming 2 America (Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall) or Only Murders in the Building (Steve Martin and Martin Short); the aged (and sometimes digitally de-aged) ensembles of The Irishman or the just-concluded Grace and Frankie ; or the leads of Star Trek: Picard (Patrick Stewart) or Hacks (Jean Smart). The Taylor Sheridanverse that’s taking over TV features lead actors who range from their 50s to their late 70s: Kevin Costner, Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Renner. Heck, an increasing percentage of movies have had “Old” in their titles: Not only Old , but also All of the Old Knives , The Old Way , and Old Henry , just since the start of 2021. On TV, there’s the almost too on-the-nose The Old Man , the new FX/Hulu series featuring 72-year-old Jeff Bridges and 76-year-old John Lithgow.

Granted, aged actors gracing the screen is not a new phenomenon, and neither is naming movies and TV shows with the word “Old.” (Old Yeller was only five years old , but the Grumpy —and Grumpier —Old Men were getting up there.) However, our analysis of IMDb data shows that this apparent aging of actors isn’t just anecdotal. The graph below displays the average age (at time of release) of the top-listed actor, top two listed actors, and top three listed actors in movies produced since 1980 that have garnered at least 1,000 IMDb user ratings (a really low bar cleared by 3,000 to 4,000 movies per year worldwide, including streaming releases).

The same pattern appears in all three, as it does if we focus on more exclusive samples of movies with at least 10,000 IMDB user ratings (roughly 200 titles per year) …

… or non-animated movies released in theaters …

… or non-animated movies that made at least $10 million at the box office …

… or the top-grossing movie of each year.

As the average age of actors with prominent parts has soared, the fraction of movies in which at least one of the top two listed actors is over 60, and the fraction in which at least one is under 30, have correspondingly increased and declined, respectively:

And while the aging of male action stars—the Cruises, Craigs, Keanus, Neesons, and Stallones—is among the most visible manifestations of the trend, it seems to span multiple genres.

Recent releases have more missing birthdates on IMDb, as do younger actors, but that can’t skew the stats enough to account for these visuals. Essentially, actors who rose to prominence in past decades have yet to retire or be vaudeville hooked out of the frame, and the youngsters and understudies who might have been expected to succeed them haven’t really arrived the way their predecessors did. The chart below, a kind of aging curve for actors, shows how prolific actors born in each of the 20th century’s five 20-year buckets collectively were as they aged. The most recent cohort, which would be in its early 20s to early 40s now, is on a much less productive trajectory than the generations born between 1940 and 1960 or between 1960 and 1980. (For reference, there are more movies made than ever now, across all platforms and even after limiting to 1,000 or more IMDb ratings, though there’s been a decrease in theatrical releases over the past decade, which began prior to the pandemic.)

The top two actors from the top-grossing movie of each year of the 1990s went on to appear in 185 movies from 2000 to 2009, and 129 from 2010 to 2019. The top two actors from the top-grossing movie of the 2000s went on to make only 101 movies from 2010 to 2019. So not only did the ’90s stars nearly double the next-decade output of the 2000s stars, but the ’90s stars were still more active two decades after their box-office heydays than the 2000s stars were one decade later. “There’s just greater longevity, frankly, of the people who are acting,” says Bruce Nash, founder of movie-industry database The Numbers . The most bankable actors, per his site’s current ranking , are Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Bullock, both 57. But which is driving the trend: movie stars, or the movie business? Not to quash the suspense, but you know the drill: The answer is always “a bit of both.”

Ask industry sources, and you’ll get little pushback on the finding that lead actors, on average, are older than they used to be. (And not just in the sense that everyone who’s still living is older than they once were.) “People in Hollywood talk about this all the time,” says Matthew Belloni, founding partner and entertainment reporter at Puck (and host of Ringer show-business podcast The Town ). Nash adds, “It does certainly feel as though we do have that trend.” Casting director Mike Page confirms, “It definitely does track.” And Joshua Lynn, president of Piedmont Media Research , says, “It’s definitely true, you see the same names now that you did 15-to-20-plus years ago on the list of bankable stars.” The question is why this has happened—and on that topic, you’re liable to hear a range of responses.

One common hypothesis pins the blame for younger actors’ failure to reach the same heights of bankability on the decline of the monoculture. “The fracturization of the culture means it’s much more difficult to launch stars,” says Belloni. “You look at what’s going on with the Top Gun guys right now. In a previous generation, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, maybe Jay Ellis, those guys would all be stars that could be the center of their own movie now. But now, not really.” (Unless, that is, it’s a Marvel movie—but we’ll get to that.) As Page puts it, “It’s harder to establish these megastars now, because so few people are viewing the exact same content.”

In other words, actors of Cruise’s vintage, who came of age as actors and celebrities in a pre-internet age with fewer entertainment options and less siloed media diets, attained a level of cultural penetration that would be far more difficult for any actor to replicate now. Members of that generation who built their public profiles in a more fame-friendly era may be better positioned to cut through the static of competing people and products than those who didn’t debut or break big early enough to establish that foothold. Consequently, the former may be more able—or perceived as more able—to attract an audience on the strength of their reputation, which would make them more in demand. “You’ll keep seeing the same names over and over, because they happened to exist at a time when ‘movie stars’ were a more important thing to our culture than they are now,” Lynn says. Whether you noticed or not, Neeson has pumped out 24 action movies since starring in Taken in 2008, when he was 55. Another ’90s star, Adam Sandler, has made 22 non-animated movies since the start of 2008—including more comedies than he had in his whole career up to that point—most of which were part of lucrative Netflix deals .

Some sources suggest that somewhat paradoxically, the greater ease of access to celebrities today may diminish their movie-star cred. Jeff Bock, senior media analyst for Exhibitor Relations Co. , says, “Part of the mystique of being a larger-than-life movie star resides in the exclusivity of engagement with audiences. … Even though fans have more access [to younger stars], oftentimes it diminishes that unique bond one forms with consumers.” Belloni echoes that sentiment. “We can see Miles Teller all over his wife’s Instagram every day. And we can see him tweeting about the Phillies, and we can see him in all the paparazzi shots and on our TikTok feeds. And there’s nothing special about seeing Miles Teller in a movie anymore. Whereas … there [were] only a couple places to see Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Tom Cruise … or any of these guys that are considered action stars still today.” The social-media-driven “commoditization of actors,” Belloni believes, has “really, really diminished the ability to create new stars.”

Perhaps that’s partly because the current up-and-comers who might be movie-star material are less likely to inspire, or even aspire to inspire, the same sort of fandom as stars in previous eras. “There is a rising generation—more than one, really—of entertainment consumers that isn’t as committed to narrative entertainment as the generations before them,” says film historian and author Mark Harris . “Maybe they’re gamers, or maybe what they really enjoy is TikTok, or maybe it’s something else, but a generation can’t generate stars if it doesn’t really love the medium that creates and accommodates stars.” At the very least, the strain of stardom that newer media spawns may not look like yesterday’s flavor; the modern model may be closer to Kardashian than Cruise.

Even so, some actors still covet Cruise-ian cachet. (Per the Times , Powell told Cruise, “I’m trying to be you.”) They may just lack the avenues to achieve it, thanks to what Nash identifies as a “gap between the regular movies and the big blockbusters,” the latter of which are dwindling in number The remaining few, he adds, “come in, increasingly, the same mold. Really, what you’re seeing are superhero movies, [and] there’s not a lot of opportunity for people to become superhero movie stars.”

That increasing emphasis on franchise-based blockbusters has come at the expense of some of the old pathways to prominence. “There [are fewer] studio movies now than ever before, and the indie movie scene is pretty small and not as significant to Hollywood as it used to be, which allowed exciting new faces/voices into the mix,” Lynn says, adding, “There are just [fewer] opportunities for new people to suddenly emerge and lead a major film and then become stars, leading to more opportunities to lead other films subsequently.” To return to Teller: “In a previous generation, he would have the opportunity to do a mid-budget studio thriller, rom-com, something that would test his allure as a movie star and the ability to open a movie,” Belloni says. “And those movies are just not happening.”

Now, Lynn says, there are at most three routes to traditional movie stardom. You can rise from obscurity to star in a film from a respected studio director who became a big name in the ’80s or ’90s; you can earn critical acclaim from a series of smaller movies and then make the leap to Marvel, Star Wars , or another sci-fi tentpole; or you can cross over from a huge hit on TV, though it’s getting harder to have a Game of Thrones – or Stranger Things –level smash as streaming segmentation intensifies. Oscar Isaac, the Chrises , and Adam Driver, all now in their late 30s or early 40s, needed boosts from major genre movies to reach a new stardom stratosphere. As those movies make up a bigger proportion of the thinner studio release schedule, Lynn says, “You see the same people over and over again in those movies playing the same parts.”

Film data researcher Stephen Follows, who has also observed a 21st-century trend toward older actors, suspects that the thirst for reboots and sequels accounts for some of the aging trend, because recycling material leads to recycling stars. “It’s about films having the same people in them, and people sticking around for longer,” he says. “And therefore, by definition, they’re aging one year a year.” (Cruise, for instance, appears almost exclusively in sequels these days.) F. Andrew Hanssen, an economics professor at Clemson who detected early signs of a widespread aging of actors in a study published a decade ago, notes that whereas during the days of the studio system, studios would spend substantial sums on building up new stars, “The trend of paying large sums of money to relatively unknown actors to appear in a series of films (as Captain America, say)” may have “created an ‘anti-studio’ situation, in which the incentive to develop new actors except in this narrow capacity has become even weaker.”

Of course, the explosion in sequels, prequels, reboots, and remakes—not only in movies, but in other media, giving rise to what researcher Adam Mastroianni has labeled a “ pop oligopoly ”—stems in part from the fretting about breaking through in a crowded culture, which leads studios to default to the same old names. “The name above the poster is a rarity these days, and because the cost to green-light a blockbuster is an enormous risk for studios, these companies often lean on what has worked previously—sequels and big stars,” says Bock. Last month, Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer said as much, remarking , “I still get the same list of 10 men the studios want in a movie. You still get Tom, Leonardo [DiCaprio]. Get one of these big names and you’ve got a good shot at getting a movie made.” Asked for other names, he listed Brad Pitt, who at 58 just related that he’s on the “last leg” of his career; pressed for someone who wasn’t famous last century, he allowed that Hemsworth has “broken through.”

Which isn’t to say that things have to work that way. “Bruckheimer is not wrong in that there are a limited number of actors who can ‘carry’ a movie,” Belloni says. “But I think Hollywood is a little bit to blame here for being risk-averse and not trying certain actors in these roles. … A lot of it is fear that there is such a splintered culture.” Follows also attributes part of the aging effect to “the risk-averse nature of the people commissioning” blockbusters, though he notes that the evidence of actor aging even outside of theatrical releases from major studios “does suggest that it is more of a cultural trend than just the conscious or unconscious decision of 20 people.”

What else could be contributing to that cultural trend? For one thing, this situation isn’t the inverse of Wooderson’s line from Dazed and Confused , in which the actors get older while the audience stays the same age. The audience is getting older also, along with the U.S. population, whose median age is up 8.5 years since 1980. Consequently, catering to middle-aged spectators and senior citizens is more rewarding for the makers of movies and TV. “Older audiences are fueling moviegoing right now,” Belloni says. In 2019 , people 60 or older accounted for more tickets sold than any other age group except 25 to 39. And as younger viewers cut the cord and churn through streaming services , cable-connected and deeper-pocketed viewers are making their preferences felt on TV, too.

“You do have to target the older audiences, because they are the ones that are still paying,” Page says, adding, “They’re probably looking more for content and lead characters, lead actors, that are relevant and reflect their lives and experience.” Although Follows has found that the impact of actor age on audience turnout may be overrated, the perception of a link influences studios. “I probably would be more inclined to see Liam Neeson in an action movie, given my age, than Tom Holland,” says Nash, who’s 54. “You see that in romantic comedies as well. It’s not people in their early 20s anymore. It’s people in their 40s, sometimes, and the second chances at romance, and so on, tends to be a little bit more the prevailing force.”

Older characters require older actors—and like Cruise, those actors may seem to defy the ticking clock that Maverick warned about, especially compared to the chain-smoking stars of old (and old-looking) Hollywood. “Actors look young for longer, thanks to advances in exercise and diet (not to mention cosmetic surgery), and can credibly play action heroes or romantic leads at older ages than in the past,” Hanssen says. ( Physique-enhancing drugs may play a part, too.) Plus, there’s always the option of airbrushing. “Between both modern medicine and what they can do with digital makeup and things like that in post, you can have stars that are aging out, but you still pretend that they’re age appropriate,” Belloni says. And an aging audience might have an evolving definition of “appropriate.” Page points to a “societal expansion of what sexy is, what vitality is, and getting to see that there’s not necessarily an expiration date at 50, at 60, at 70.” (Which is the theme of Good Luck to You, Leo Grande , a movie released last week that stars the 63-year-old Emma Thompson and includes a much - discussed nude scene.)

Actors aren’t alone here: By historical standards, today’s top politicians , top touring musicians , top tennis players , and top quarterbacks are ancient too. It’s the era of presidential runs by Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Bernie Sanders; pricey, sold-out concerts by Paul McCartney, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones; unprecedented title totals by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic; one-two MVP finishes by Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady . Just as new racket strings and slower playing surfaces have helped venerable tennis stars stay at a higher level for longer—and, for that matter, as improvements in manufacturing have kept cars on the road for record durations —tuneups to actors’ exteriors have helped them stay on screens and win Oscars at more advanced ages. Jessica Daniels , a Casting Society of America board member and the VP of casting for Walt Disney Television, says, “60 years old now doesn’t look like 60 years old did 20 or 30 years ago, and people are living longer, and so just by virtue of that, I think that we’re all adapting.”

Another factor fueling that change is anti-ageism advocacy by organizations such as the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Although in theory the extended tenures of legacy stars could prevent a group of more diverse actors from seizing the spotlight, studies show sweeping improvements in representation, at least in front of the camera. “It feels like the industry is … moving in the right direction as far as diversification in many areas, and I think age is one of those,” Page says. Historically, female actors have faced severe age discrimination , and that problem persists; Bruckheimer, when asked to list female counterparts to his bankable Brads, Toms, and Leos, said, “Women are harder. It’s just not that strong a list yet.” However, the trend toward older actors holds true for both men and women, and the age gap between them has seemingly started to shrink (though Top Gun costar Kelly McGillis attributed her absence from the sequel to her age and appearance).

“I definitely think, specifically in television, we are breaking a lot more barriers,” Daniel says. “I think that there is so much more room for not only a diversity and inclusivity of experience, but I do think that there’s an audience that does want to see not only beloved actors that we’ve loved for years, but also just wants to see this experience, wants to see these stories being told.” Although the lines on that graph aren’t close to converging, Nash notes that there’s “not necessarily so much of a bias as there might once have been.”

For the foreseeable future, those “average age” lines may continue their ascent. “With YouTube getting more interest among kids than the state of the Academy Awards, and with streaming fracturing the landscape as we speak even further, I honestly don’t see that changing anytime soon,” Lynn says. The question confronting Hollywood seems similar to the question confronting the ATP Tour as Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic finally age out : Who’s next? “Beyond [Timothée] Chalamet, Holland, and Zendaya, name a movie star under 30.” Belloni says. “It’s tough.” Letitia Wright, Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, and (soon) Sydney Sweeney may make the most of their Marvel exposure, but in the absence of a deep pool of marquee talent, Page says, “Everybody clamors for the short list of the recognizable names.” Al Pacino anointed Chalamet as his pick to play Vincent Hanna in a potential Heat 2 , and Sony sold Uncharted to audiences using Holland’s post-Spider-Man star power, even though his older costar, Mark Wahlberg, was the one whose name helped get the movie made. (Wahlberg, now a fanatically buff 51, embodied the older-actors hegemony when in 2012 he replaced the 15-years-younger Shia LaBeouf as the face of Transformers .) But Holland and the Dune duo can act only so much.

Cary Grant, who retired at 62, supposedly said , “Hollywood is very much like a streetcar. Once a new star is made and comes aboard, an old one is edged out of the rear exit. There’s room for only so many and no more.” But what if the old stars won’t relinquish their status until they’re elderly enough for riders in real life to offer them seats? The star of Top Gun: Maverick has two more Mission Impossible movies on the way, but Chester Cain wasn’t wrong; Cruise can’t act forever, and by the time that second flick comes out, he’ll be pushing 62 himself. “There is not going to be another Tom Cruise,” Belloni says. “That era is over.” But the era of old actors has no end in sight.

Rob Arthur is a Chicago-based freelance journalist and data science consultant.

Hall of Fame: Steve Rodgers, Captain America

We need to talk about the ‘challengers’ threesome scene. just not for the reason you think., aaron sorkin, live from d.c..

Top Gun (1986) cast ages: How old was the cast then (and now)?

By aysha ashley househ | aug 10, 2023.

We’re all so obsessed with 1986 film Top Gun starring Tom Cruise, and it was so amazing to get a sequel, Top Gun: Maverick , in 2022! When the production was first released to audiences in the ’80s, it was to mixed reviews. Can you believe it? However as the weeks went by, the movie became the the highest-grossing domestic film of 1986. And the second film in the franchise has received massive success, currently streaming on Paramount+ .

The action drama takes us to the Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School and introduces us to fighter pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise). The new student’s cocky attitude causes tension between him and the other pilots. But this guy has two goals – become the top fighter pilot and get the attention of his flight instructor Charlotte (Kelly McGillis).

Ever wondered how old the actors were at the time? We’ve shared the cast’s ages at the time of the movie’s release in May 1986, as well as how old they are now as of August 2023.

How old was Tom Cruise in Top Gun?

The leading man who played LT Pete “Maverick” Mitchell was only 22 years old when the film began shooting, and 23 when it was released. He is the youngest amongst his co-stars. The iconic actor’s birthday is July 3, 1962 which means he is currently 61 years old.

How old was Kelly McGillis in Top Gun?

The actress was two months away from her twenty-ninth birthday when the production came out, taking on the role of Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Blackwood. Her birthday is only a few days after her co-star’s – July 9, 1957. She is currently 66 years old. McGillis didn’t reprise her role in the sequel but has continued to act in films throughout the years.

How old was Val Kilmer in Top Gun?

The actor who played LT Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, aka Maverick’s rival at the school, was 26 years old when the movie premiered. He is a winter baby, having been born Dec. 31, 1959. Kilmer is currently 63. The star reprised his role in the sequel and his most recent movie is a documentary about his life and career titled Val which is streaming on Prime Video.

How old was Anthony Edwards in Top Gun?

The LTJG Nick “Goose” Bradshaw actor was 23 years old, just two months away from turning 24 when the production debuted on the big screens. He was born July 19, 1962 and is currently 61 years old. Following his role in Top Gun , you may recognize Edwards from television shows like ER , Law & Order True Crime , and WeCrashed .

How old was Meg Ryan in Top Gun?

Ryan played Edwards’ onscreen wife, Carole Bradshaw. The actress was 24 years old during the action drama. She is currently 61 years old and her birthday is Nov. 19. The celebrity became one of the most successful actresses in the ’90s and 2000s, mostly known for romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle , When Harry Met Sally…. , You’ve Got Mail.

How old was Tom Skerritt in Top Gun?

Skerritt, aka CDR Mike “Viper” Metcalf in the film, was 53 years old when it was released to audiences. He is currently 89, soon celebrating his 90th birthday on Aug. 25. Skerritt is the oldest of his co-stars. The talent has been acting since 1962 with his debut film War Hunt .

How old was Michael Ironside in Top Gun?

The LCDR Rick “Jester” Heatherly actor was 35 years old when the Tom Cruise-led movie was released. Ironside is currently 73 years old and was born on Feb. 12, 1950. He has continued to act, many of his jobs in voiceover roles including projects like Superman: The Animated Series ,  Wolverine and the X-Men , and  Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising .

How old was Tim Robbins in Top Gun?

Radar intercept officer, LTJG Sam “Merlin” Wells, was played by Robbins. He was 28 years old at the time of movie, and is currently 64. Oct. 16 is when the actor celebrates his birthday. He’s known for roles such as Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption , Griffin Mill in The Playe r, and Senator Robert Hammond in Green Lantern .

Top Gun and its sequel Top Gun: Maverick are both currently streaming on Paramount+ .

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Top Gun's Kelly McGillis Confirms What We Suspected About Tom Cruise's On-Set Behavior

Fans are eagerly awaiting Tom Cruise's fighter to kick the tires and light the fires in the long-awaited sequel  "Top Gun: Maverick,"  which,  after many delays , is finally set to hit theaters in May. Cruise is indisputably one of Hollywood's biggest stars and, at times, a polarizing figure due to his personal life. The three-time Oscar nominee has starred in over 50 movies and is also a successful producer (via  IMDb ).

Cruise is known for his work in well-known films like "Risky Business," "The Outsiders," "Legend," and "All the Right Moves," but his performance as daredevil Navy aviator Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in 1986's "Top Gun" is remembered as the one that made him a full-fledged movie star. The action flick, directed by the late Tony Scott, also stars Anthony Edwards,  Kelly McGillis , Val Kilmer, and Meg Ryan. In this year's "Top Gun: Maverick," Cruise is poised to return to the Naval Fighter Weapons School as an instructor who will train the latest crop of hotshot pilots.

McGillis, who played Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood in the original film, revealed to  Entertainment Tonight  in 2019 that she wasn't asked to reprise her role in the "Top Gun" sequel. Instead, Cruise's character has a new lady in his life, Penny Benjamin, played by Jennifer Connelly ("A Beautiful Mind"). According to  CinemaBlend , Benjamin owns a bar near the famous flight school. 

Due to some high-profile off-screen hijinks and a long association with the controversial Church of Scientology, Cruise has earned a bit of a mixed public reputation. With that in mind, you might expect that his on-set behavior matches his eccentric tabloid headlines. Not so, reports McGillis, who has only nice things to say about her former on-screen love interest, confirming our long-held belief that Cruise might be a little more down-to-Earth than his reputation suggests.

Kelly McGillis called her Top Gun co-star 'wonderful'

In a 2013 interview with the  Los Angeles Times , Kelly McGillis recalled that, except for Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, the "Top Gun" cast stayed at the same hotel during the shoot and had a lot of time to bond. "There was definitely a big ensemble group camaraderie," she said.

She went on to say that Cruise was "incredibly respectful, polite, and very honest." Similarly, she had nothing but good things to say about the actor in a 2013 interview with Yahoo! Movies . "I think Tom is terrific. He's the sweetest guy," said McGillis. "He is very genuine and sincere and respectful. And I just loved working with Tom. I think he is wonderful."

Although the upcoming sequel has thrust McGillis back into the spotlight, the actress doesn't appear much interested in fame these days. In 2019, McGillis told ET, "To me, my relationships to other people became far more important than my relationship to fame."

McGillis also admitted that she hasn't kept in touch with her former co-stars, and at the time, she hadn't seen the trailer for "Top Gun: Maverick" and appeared somewhat ambivalent about watching the finished product.

Notably, "Top Gun: Maverick" actress Jennifer Connelly appears to share her predecessor's high opinion of Cruise , particularly when it comes to his professionalism and unparalleled work ethic on set.

"I've never seen anyone work harder, be more committed to his work," Connelly told  CinemaBlend  in 2020. "Every moment is an opportunity to do all that he can do to deliver the best thing that he can possibly deliver."

McGillis compared filming Top Gun to being at summer camp

In addition to enjoying her time working alongside Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis told Yahoo! Movies that the entire "Top Gun" cast was close. She recalled that, after shooting, they would throw parties and play sports to unwind.

"We just had a good time. We all hung out and we would play tennis and basketball and it was just fun," she told the outlet. McGillis went on to say that it was like being at a summer camp where everyone worked together and played together afterward.

In 2019, she told ET that movies create unique relationships because they bring people so close for brief moments in their lives. "I think I've spoken to a couple of people occasionally, but the truth is, movies are very odd work situations because you have a lot of people who come together from all different parts of the world," she said.

Despite her positive memories of being on set and her appreciation for the life-changing role, McGillis has been honest about why she wasn't brought back for a sequel. Back in 2013, she speculated that she wouldn't be invited back because of her age and appearance.

"You hear women of my age talk about this all the time," she told the Los Angeles Times. "I think this industry is not particularly kind to women who are over 50. I am not into the coloring of my hair, doing the Botox and getting a facelift."

While she isn't involved with the upcoming sequel, McGill told ET that she's happy for Connelly to have the part.

"Top Gun: Maverick" begins playing in theaters on May 27.

As Tom Cruise Gets Older, His On-Screen Love Interests Stay the Same Age

Tom cruise has an age gap problem and it mirrors hollywood’s bias against older actresses..

A merican Made premieres this week, bringing two reunions with it: Tom Cruise and Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman , and Tom Cruise and his ever-growing age gap with his female co-stars . Sarah Wright (who plays Cruise’s wife in the film) was born in 1983 just a couple months after the premiere of Risky Business, making her 22 years Cruise’s junior. Which is somewhat uncomfortable.

It’s a well-known fact that Hollywood likes to pair older men with younger women . And to be clear, there’s nothing wrong with an age gap between two consenting adults. According to the 2013 US Census, 4.8 percent of heterosexual married couples included a husband 10-15 years his wife’s senior.

The problem, rather, is that Hollywood doesn’t really care about showcasing the stories of that 4.8 percent so much as normalizing the expectation that women are only romance material when they’re in their mid-20s/early-30s, whereas men are free to age and remain conceivably fuckable.

Of the leading men frequently cited in critiques of the age gap, Tom Cruise is the highest-paid . Consequently, the way he’s represented on screen matters. He is worth the deep dive. And deep dive I did. I crunched the numbers for every single Tom Cruise movie, comparing his age relative to that of the actresses playing his love interests over time.

All told, Cruise’s age gap mirrors, and indeed confirms, the larger critique of Hollywood’s bias against older actresses. This isn’t just anecdotally-sourced rhetoric, by the way. There’s more and more statistical evidence showing how women age out of Hollywood. Time and The Pudding , for instance, do a great job at visualizing how more roles and dialogue are available to men as they age, where the opposite is true for women.

To beleaguer the point, this inverted trajectory is super apparent when it comes to love interests. While dudes get to be romantically viable well into their Entrapment years, Hollywood treats an actress hitting her mid-30’s as the equivalent of Melisandre taking off her necklace in Game of Thrones.

A couple quick observations and methodological notes:

When collecting data, I took a page from Vulture ’s stats work on the age gap and measured age relative to the day the film in question was released in the US.

Broadly, I took “love interest” to mean any character the movie explicitly endorsed as a romantic partner for Cruise. This means, for example, that while I did include Cruise’s wife from The Firm , I did not include the woman he’s tricked into sleeping with. Likewise, I discounted exes and old flames like Vanilla Sky ’s Julie and War of the Worlds ’ Mary Ann. Also, despite being a film that ends with a triumphant joyride into San Francisco, whatever was going on with Interview with a Vampire ’s Louis was just too subtextual to include. Cruise’s  not-so interpretive co-op pole dance  with Julianne Hough, 26 years Cruise’s junior, was excluded because it only exists in  Rock of Ages ‘ extended cut.  Hopefully that all makes sense.

Of his filmography, Cruise is definitively without-love interest in 9 of his 42 IMDB-listed movies: Endless Love (1981) , Taps (1981) , The Outsiders (1981) , Interview with a Vampire (1994) , Magnolia (1999) , Collateral (2004) , War of the Worlds (2005) , Lions for Lambs (2007) , and Tropic Thunder (2008) .

There are three instances in Cruise’s career where he catches feelings for a woman older than him by five years or more. All three take place within the first decade of his career. Whereas Cruise’s seniority in later films goes unmentioned, these movies go out of their way to call attention to their age gap by playing up the “illicitness” of the relationship. In Losin’ It, the very divorced, adult, not sober Kathy helps the teenage Woody loose his virginity. In Top Gun , Charlie sets multiple professional “I don’t date students” boundaries only to break the fuck out of them for Maverick. And María Elena, the sex worker from Born on the Fourth of July, betrays Ron’s newfound feelings by having other clients in the brothel. All to say, in the rare instances where Cruise falls for older women it’s borderline illegal.

There’s one final wrinkle I need to mention. At a Hollywood Reporter roundtable , Aaron Sorkin was asked to talk about his worst experience as a screenwriter. Sorkin replied:

There was an executive on [ A Few Good Men ] who gave me a note: “If Tom Cruise and Demi Moore aren’t going to sleep with each other, why is Demi Moore a woman?” I said the obvious answer: Women have purposes other than to sleep with Tom Cruise.

Ignoring that the third draft of Sorkin’s screenplay ends with Kaffee successfully asking Galloway on a date , Sorkin rightfully notes an obvious fact that has since become a sort of recurring trope: female characters presented as “Tom Cruise’s equal” are often interpreted as “competent, sexy young woman I’m surprised Tom Cruise never made out with.” The roll call so far consists of the aforementioned Galloway, Helen Rodin from Jack Reacher , Ilsa Faust from Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation , and Turner from Jack Reacher: Never Go Back . Because they fail to qualify as love interests, these women don’t appear in the dataset. But before we crack out the “ Tom Cruise is empowering ” champagne I would like to begrudgingly point out that 3 out of these 4 women are 18 to 22 years younger than Cruise. I too want Rebecca Ferguson to thrive as an action star —just, preferably not in a way that plays into Hollywood’s age/gender bias. 

With that out of the way—let’s look at some stats! If you’re interested, all my hard data is available in this Google doc .

p.s. I’d be remiss not to mention that Cruise’s film debut,  Endless Love , features the tagline  “She is 15. He is 17. The love every parent fears.”  Cruise only has a teeny-tiny part (and teeny-tiny cut-off jeans), but this is some prophetic nonsense nonetheless. Anyway here’s a clip of pre-fame Tom Cruise explaining  how to fake-burn a woman’s house down to get her to love you .

Related Topics: Action , American Made , Feminism , Opinions , Romance , Tom Cruise

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The Transformation Of Tom Cruise From 21 To 58 Years Old

There's a lot that can be said about Tom Cruise . The star is a Golden Globe-winning actor, producer, and dad of three . Cruise is known in Hollywood as one of the highest-paid stars, and he's held that status for decades.

Cruise is the only son of four children, who was raised by his mom, Mary Lee (née Pfeiffer), a special education teacher, and dad, Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer. His parents were both from Louisville, Kentucky, where he lived for 11 years, but Cruise moved to Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with his mother following his parents' divorce in 1973, per IMDb .

As a kid, Cruise struggled to fit in, and in school, he spent his years trying to hide his dyslexia, which he was diagnosed with at age 7. The actor once described his younger self as "functionally illiterate" (via Dyslexiahelp.umich.edu ), but fortunately, he excelled in sports. In fact, he once considered pursuing a career in professional wrestling, but he suffered a knee injury during high school that , per Biography . 

After a teacher encouraged Cruise to join the school's production of the musical "Guys and Dolls," he fell in love with acting, and well, the rest is history. Since then, Cruise has captivated audiences around the globe, and his transformation is nothing short of amazing.

Tom Cruise sets off to New York City with dreams of becoming a star

Tom Cruise had big plans to become a Hollywood star, and he set off to New York City with his dreams at the forefront. Though he struggled to get his career off the ground in the beginning, he persevered and kept auditioning before landing his debut gig in 1981's "Endless Love," starring icon Brooke Shields. That same year, he appeared alongside Sean Penn in "Taps."

By 1983, Cruise was establishing himself as an up-and-coming heavyweight, snagging roles in 1983's "Losin' It," "Risky Business," and "The Outsiders." He portrayed the character of Steve Randle, a member of the group of young actors dubbed the "Brat Pack," with Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, and Rob Lowe. Though "The Outsiders" didn't receive the praise it was hoping, the gig led to roles in 1985's "Legend," and ultimately, his iconic starring appearance in 1986's " Top Gun ."

"Top Gun," which became the highest-grossing film of that year (via Chicago Tribune ), confirmed Cruise's status as an A-list actor and catapulted the star into a life of fame and superstardom. According to Box Office Mojo , the action-romance flick, which follows the story of Cruise's character, Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, as he joins an elite naval flight school, has earned more than $176 million in the box office to this day.

Tom Cruise becomes one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors by the 1990s

With "Top Gun" on his résumé, Tom Cruise established himself as a Hollywood hotshot, and by that time, he was making the big bucks. In the late 1990s, Cruise snagged the title of one of showbiz's highest-paid actors in the world, according to Celebrity Net Worth .

The handsome heartthrob had already earned $9 million for 1990's "Days of Thunder" and another $15 million for his work on "Interview With the Vampire" in 1994, but his bank account skyrocketed when he landed the starring role in "Mission Impossible" in 1996. Entertainment Weekly reported he "pocketed $70 million" for the hit action film, and he also "negotiated a chunk of 'Mission's' overall $465 million gross."

Cruise's monetary gain is so impressive that a report from Casumo claims he pockets more than $7,000 per word. "When taking into account everything he's been in for almost 40 years, supposedly it's as much as $7,091 per word," CinemaBlend reported in April 2020.

But, while Cruise has more money than one could ever imagine, the producer knows he has earned every dollar in his $600 million fortune. "I get paid because I'm worth it and they should pay me that much. But I've never done work for money, ever," he shared with Vanity Fair in 2000 (via The Uncool ). "It is my life, it is what I do, it is what I love to do."

Tom Cruise falls in love with Nicole Kidman and starts a family

As he was cementing his place in the entertainment industry, Tom Cruise was also experiencing changes in his love life. The star walked down the aisle with his first wife, Mimi Rogers , in 1987, and they were together for three years. After they split in 1990, though, Cruise was not single for long, as he developed a deep bond with Nicole Kidman when they met on the set of "Days of Thunder."

Cruise wasn't the only one who was instantly smitten. "He swept me off my feet," Kidman recalled to Vanity Fair in December 2002. "I fell madly, passionately in love." Later that year, Cruise and Kidman said "I do," and by 1995, they were the parents of their adopted kids, daughter Isabella Jane Cruise and son Connor Cruise .

Over the next few years, Cruise and Kidman raised their kids while juggling their busy careers as Hollywood stars. In 1997 and 1998, they worked together on "Eyes Wide Shut," an erotic thriller directed by legend Stanley Kubrick. The actor landed other gigs, including 1999's "Magnolia" — which earned him a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor — followed by "Mission: Impossible II" in 2000 (via IMDb ).

Just one year later, though, Cruise experienced turmoil in his personal life as he and Kidman split in 2001. Per Entertainment Weekly , the "Vanilla Sky" lead filed for divorce , citing "irreconcilable differences" as the reason.

Tom Cruise marries wife No. 3 Katie Holmes

Following his split from Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise fixated his focus on his acting career, and throughout the early 2000s, he balanced several roles in "Minority Report," "Austin Powers in Goldmember," and "Collateral." By April 2005, Cruise's personal life started making headlines once again when he publicly debuted his relationship with Katie Holmes .

While many speculated their romance was a publicity stunt, as Cruise was starring in "War of the Worlds" while Holmes was cast as the lead in "Batman Begins," they proved how serious they were when they got engaged less than two months later in June, per The Hollywood Reporter . Before they got the chance to walk down the aisle, though, Cruise expanded his family when Holmes gave birth to their daughter, Suri Cruise , in April 2006.

The duo wed seven months later in November, marking Cruise's third trip down the aisle. Marrying the Hollywood hunk was an unbelievable moment for Holmes, who told Seventeen magazine she "used to think I was going to marry Tom Cruise" as a little girl (via The Hollywood Reporter). However, their romance eventually came to end in June 2012 when Holmes filed for divorce. At the time, Cruise's attorney called their split "a private matter," adding the actor's No. 1 priority was their "daughter's best interests" (via People ).  

Tom Cruise focuses on his career, Scientology, and love

Following his a string of unsuccessful marriages, Tom Cruise became much more guarded in terms of his personal life. By 2016, Cruise sold both his L.A. mansions and purchased a penthouse in Clearwater, Florida, to focus on his work as a Scientologist. According to People , the home happens to be just one block away from the Church of Scientology's international headquarters.

Cruise has been a committed member of the controversial church since 1990, per Insider , and his involvement has been debated for years, especially since a source told Us Weekly in July 2019 that he's "not allowed" to see Suri. Regardless of the claims, plus the fact that Cruise has not been seen in public with Suri since 2013 , the Church fought back, telling Us, "Everything about your inquiry misrepresents the Church of Scientology."

These days, Cruise is also heavily involved in Hollywood, as he's set to star in several upcoming films . Most impressively, he's cast in an untitled project that will be filmed in space, per The Space Shuttle Almanac (via The Independent ).

Cruise isn't just busy in his professional life, though. The actor is reportedly dating actress Hayley Atwell . The two met on the set of "Mission: Impossible 7" and "hit it off from day one," The Sun reported in December 2020. "They've become fairly inseparable. They get on brilliantly, and both seem very happy." It looks like Cruise's long and admirable journey has certainly paid off.

The Last Movie Star Standing: Unpacking Tom Cruise’s Impossible Mission of a Career

“Top Gun: Maverick” is poised for a $100 million opening. When’s the last time a movie star made THAT happen?

Every so often, over the course of human history, mankind erects mind-bending marvels of immortal splendor, great enigmatic edifices that defy all reason or explanation. The Stonehenge of Salisbury Plain. The Sphinx of Giza. The temple of Angkor Wat. 

Tom Cruise’s career.

The 59-year-old star is about to release his 43rd feature film, “Top Gun: Maverick,” a sequel to his 1986 action thriller about a bunch of elite Navy jet pilots who play topless beach volleyball between missions. If the tracking is anywhere on target , it should open, on May 27, with at least $100 million over the four-day holiday weekend. That’s not supposed to happen anymore, at least not for films that don’t involve web-spurting superheroes from the Metaverse.

Indeed, the era of the star-driven tentpole was supposed to have ended around the time Julia Roberts married a cameraman and Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for governor. Pretty much all the members of the old $100 million club of the 1990s and early 2000s have disbanded and moved on to lesser roles. 

Brad Pitt is now doing glorified cameos in Sandra Bullock movies (or at least he was, until Bullock announced her semi-retirement from acting in March). Jim Carrey barely makes pictures anymore, either (unless you count those trippy watercolors of Donald Trump he keeps exhibiting at art galleries). Even Tom Hanks, once among cinema’s most bankable leading man, seems to be downsizing to second-fiddle parts; his next role is Colonel Parker in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Elvis Presley biopic .

And let’s not forget Will Smith and Johnny Depp. It looks like they’ll be taking extended leaves of absence from the big screen, too.

But not Cruise. Flouting the natural laws of Hollywood, disregarding every box office trend, he remains as big today as he’s ever been, the last old-fashioned action figure still standing. 

That status was all but made official in Cannes last week , where even Cruise seemed gobsmacked when he won an honorary Palm d’Or, and even more surprised by the five-minute ovation the usually jaded festival crowd gave “Top Gun: Maverick” before even a second of the film had played at its May 18 premiere. “This is an incredible evening and an incredible time,” he gushed from the stage. “You all have made my life.”

Of course, like every actor, Cruise’s career has suffered its share of dings. His wacky meltdown on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2005, when he declared his love for Katie Holmes by jumping up and down on Oprah’s sofa like a maniac, was an appalling PR catastrophe. His association with the Church of Scientology has also caused problems, like in 2008 when that nine-minute promotional video got leaked on the internet showing Cruise in a black turtleneck rambling incoherently about “SPs” and “KSW” as the “M.I.” theme song droned on (and on and on) in the background. 

“The Mummy” in 2017, “Rock of Ages” in 2012, “Lions for Lambs” in 2007 — he’s dropped a few bombs along the way, as well. And let’s not even get into those fairy tights he wore in 1985’s “Legend.”

And yet, here we are in 2022, 36 years since the original “Top Gun” was released, and Cruise is still flashing the same 500-watt choppers that made him famous back when Ronald Reagan was president. 

Part of his durability, it has to be said, is due to the fact that, unlike some other aging ’90s actors, he continues to look like a movie star. Pushing 60, he’s still got the same hairline, the same chiseled face and hard-to-miss schnozola, even the same abs (spoiler alert: he removes his shirt so many times in “Top Gun: Maverick” he should probably get checked for melanomas).  

But when you begin poking around Cruise’s 40-year résumé, you can see that his extreme survival skills aren’t just skin deep. You start noticing patterns, career choices that laid the track for long-haul stardom. For starters, almost from the beginning, when he made 1984’s “The Outsiders” with Francis Ford Coppola, he’s picked his directors as if assembling an auteur fantasy league of dream collaborators. Ridley Scott, Oliver Stone, Neil Jordan, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Brian DePalma, Steven Spielberg, Sydney Pollack, Stanley freaking Kubrick — for an actor who has never won an Academy Award, who’s best known for clinically insane action stunts, he’s sure kept some pretty distinguished company.

Of course, nowadays all Hollywood really cares about are franchises. But even here Cruise has outsmarted his former cohorts. A few stars of his generation tried dabbling in the genre, like Cruise’s “Top Gun” co-star Val Kilmer (the Iceman gets promoted to Commander of the Pacific Fleet in “Maverick”), who gave the Caped Crusader a go in 1995’s “Batman Forever.” But Kilmer never quite filled the cowl. He was one-and-done with the DC Comics role. Ditto George Clooney with 1997’s “Batman & Robin.” Both actors, huge stars at the time, got chewed up and spat out by a pop culture icon that turned out to be even bigger than they were.

Cruise, though, came up with a clever workaround. He found a pop culture artifact much smaller than himself — a dusty old spy TV show from the 1960s— and turned it into his own $3.5 billion, six-film franchise (soon to be a seven- and eight-film franchise, with two more “Mission: Impossible” sequels, filmed back-to-back, coming out in 2023 and 2024). And — here’s the really savvy part — he made sure to make himself as indispensable to the series as its rubber masks and zippy theme music. 

There was talk back in the mid-2000s, around the time Cruise was hopping all over Oprah’s furniture, that Paramount was considering dumping him from “Mission: Impossible” and recasting his part. But it was never going to happen. Unlike the James Bond franchise (now searching for its seventh actor) or the Spider-Man films (three actors, occasionally all in the same movie) or the Batman movies (Robert Pattinson makes six, not including Adam West’s 1966 big screen turn), it’s all but impossible to imagine anybody but Cruise playing Ethan Hunt. Or at least it’s hard to imagine anybody else playing him and the film still opening at $100 million.

Of course, even Cruise has his limitations. After “M.I.” took off, he attempted to kick-start another action franchise. But his Jack Reacher series ran out of gas pretty quickly. Cruise only did two films, in 2012 and 2016, before turning over the ex-Army cop character to some gorilla named Alan Ritchson for an Amazon Prime show. Still, big whoop. Carrying one super-successful franchise through 26 years (and counting) is impressive enough, especially for a guy this close to retirement age.

Which raises the obvious question — how long can he keep this up? The answer is, probably quite a while. Harrison Ford, who’s been pretty indispensable to the Indiana Jones series — almost as indispensable as Spielberg — is nearly 80 and still cracking a whip, with a fifth Indy sequel arriving in theaters next year. One can easily imagine Cruise doing cliff jumps in souped-up mobility chairs well into his own 80s.

The more interesting question, though, is whether it’s possible for young actors today to replicate what Cruise has accomplished with his career. Will any of the under-40 stars working in 2022 — Timothée Chalamet or Michael B. Jordan or Taron Egerton — still even be famous 36 years from now, let alone at the top of their game?

It’s hard to imagine. But if they survive to 2058, they’ll likely be sharing the screen with a 95-year-old jet-flying speed freak with perfect abs and a 500-watt grin.

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'Top Gun' cast: Then and now

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

It’s time to salute a legend, as we prepare to jump back into the cockpit for Top Gun: Maverick . Some 36 years after Tony Scott took flight with the original Top Gun in 1986, the long-awaited sequel is hoping to soar to the top of the box office.

While Tom Cruise and some of the original cast will reprise their roles for Maverick , it's being bulked out by newcomers including Jon Hamm and Jennifer Connelly. In the years since Top Gun took our breath away, a lot has changed.

Read more: Lady Gaga Top Gun theme released

From a Mach 5 trajectory to the top of Tinsel Town to those who’ve turned their back on the industry altogether, where are the cast of Top Gun now?

Tom Cruise as Peter “Maverick” Mitchell

The star of both Top Gun movies needs no introduction, as the name Tom Cruise carries as much of a legacy as Maverick does in the franchise’s canon. Already finding his way in Risky Business , it was Top Gun that catapulted Cruise into the mainstream.

Read more: Top Gun: Maverick to get royal premiere

Following his debut as Maverick, Cruise went on to star in Cocktail , earn Academy Award nominations for Jerry Maguire and Born on the Fourth of July , and immortalise himself in Rain Man .

Watch a trailer for Top Gun: Maverick

His personal life has never been far from the headlines thanks to a high-profile marriage (and divorce) to Katie Holmes, as well as his involvement with Scientology.

These days, Cruise is known for the Mission: Impossible movies which show no signs of slowing down. Maybe just don’t mention his short stint in Universal’s Dark Universe with The Mummy .

Kelly McGillis as Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood

As Maverick’s formidable instructor and love interest, Charlie was Top Gun ’s Baby to Dirty Dancing ’s Johnny. She was actually based on the real-life Christine Fox, who served as the highest-ranking woman in the United States Department of Defense. While a lot of the movie’s big names went on to continue acting, McGillis appeared in a handful of roles and instead opened up a Florida restaurant with her second husband.

McGillis dabbled with TV during the ‘00s, adding The L Word to her CV in 2008, and coming out as a lesbian in 2009. As for her return to Top Gun , McGillis has been critical of Maverick , telling ET she was never asked to reprise her role.

The star told the site, “I'm old, and I'm fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is. And that is not what that whole scene is about."

Anthony Edwards as Nick "Goose" Bradshaw

Flying high as Maverick’s BBF, Anthony Edwards’ Goose played second fiddle to Cruise and brought the actor widespread critical acclaim. In 1994, he joined the first season of ER and was a mainstay of the medical drama until 2002. During his tenure as Dr Mark Greene, Edwards became one of the highest-paid stars of television.

There must be something about playing doomed characters, with Greene being the only member of the original cast to be killed off, dying of a brain tumour in season 8. These days, Edwards is known for his roles in Designated Survivor and an upcoming turn as the lead in AMC’s Tales of the Walking Dead spin-off.

Val Kilmer as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky

Much like Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed, the frosty relationship between Maverick and Tom "Iceman" Kazansky thawed by the end of Top Gun . Post- Top Gun , Val Kilmer was one of the ‘90s biggest names, even starring alongside Marlon Brando in The Island of Dr. Moreau ’s panned adaptation. Of course, many know him as the man who took over from Michael Keaton to play Bruce Wayne and his vigilante alter ego in Batman Forever .

Shying away from the limelight, Kilmer confirmed he’s had a personal battle with throat cancer and is slowly regaining his speech. His usually private life was then documented in the self-shot 2021 documentary called Val .

Although the trailers for Maverick might make it seem like Iceman is only peripheral to the events of the movie , we know Kilmer will reprise his role in some capacity.

Meg Ryan as Carole Bradshaw

Although Meg Ryan’s role as the widowed Carole Bradshaw wasn’t Top Gun ’s most prominent, it undoubtedly put her on the path to stardom. When Top Gun rolled around, Ryan was still three years out from THAT iconic scene in When Harry Met Sally . She’d go on to be Hollywood’s golden girl of rom-coms.

It could’ve been a very different story, as Ryan turned down the role of Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs before it was offered to Jodie Foster. Aside from reuniting with Top Gun co-stars like Kilmer and Tim Robbins in The Doors and I.Q. , Ryan has starred in everything from Sleepless in Seattle to You’ve Got Mail . She divorced long-term husband Dennis Quaid in 2001, and these days focuses on producing.

Ryan is due to make her romcom return starring in and directing in What Happens Later , alongside X-Files star David Duchovny. It's her first acting role in seven years.

Tim Robbins as Sam "Merlin" Wells

When he’d finished his training as Radar Intercept Officer Merlin in Top Gun , Tim Robbins got his big break in Bull Durham when starring alongside Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon. He was married to Sarandon for 21 years, and the pair have two sons together.

Forgetting praise for directing Dead Man Walking , Robbins famously played Andy Dufresne in Frank Darabont’s lauded The Shawshank Redemption . He also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Mystic River , secured an uncredited cameo in Anchorman , and returned to the world of Stephen King as Reginald “Pop” Merrill for the second season of Hulu’s Castle Rock .

Tom Skerritt as Mike "Viper" Metcalf

Proving this viper has fangs, Tom Skerrit played the no-nonsense commanding officer of the Top Gun academy, who had no time for Maverick’s shenanigans. In real life, Skerrit actually served in the United States Air Force for a four-year tour of duty.

Skerrit had already been acting for decades before Top Gun , with his previous appearances including Duke Forrest in M*A*S*H and Captain Dallas in Alien . He’s also remembered for over 200 television episode appearances, encompassing everything from playing Evan Drake in Cheers to the deceased William Walker in Brothers and Sisters . Skerrit is still acting to this day.

Top Gun: Maverick flies in to cinemas, IMAX and 4DX exclusively on 25 May, 2022. The original Top Gun is available to stream on NOW with a Sky Cinema Membership.

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Compare how Tom Cruise looks now to the rest of the Top Gun cast

How is he doing it? Witchcraft? A haunted painting in his attic? Our lawyers suggest it's best not to ask. Either way, Tom Cruise appears to have frozen his features in time – as you can see when you compare him to what his Top Gun co-stars look like now.

Tom Cruise (Maverick)

Anthony Edwards (Goose)

Val Kilmer (Iceman)

Kelly mcgillis (charlie), meg ryan (carole), tom skeritt (viper), rick rossovich (slider).

Deputy Editor, Digital Spy Chris has over 25 years' experience as a writer and editor, having worked as a journalist covering TV and movies since the '90s. Starting out as a TV listings editor at the Press Association, he was quickly hired by the nascent Heat magazine, where he rose to become Senior Editor, interviewing the likes of Simon Cowell, Boris Johnson and Paris Hilton. Over the years he has written about entertainment with clarity and wit for Heat, Elle , Q, The Telegraph and of course Digital Spy , and has served many times as a judge in the Royal Television Society awards. He has written and recorded a novelty single with Lord Lloyd-Webber, written scripts for the National TV Awards, made Noel Edmonds cry, accidentally punched an Inbetweener and stolen a small piece of rubble from the Battle of Hogwarts movie set. (They can't have it back.)

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Tom Cruise Was Considered For De-Aging In Opening Sequence Of ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’

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Tom Cruise appears ageless in his films. But Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie was close to de-aging Cruise as a gimmick in the new film’s opening sequence.

The process was recently seen in the latest Indiana Jones film, where 81-year-old Harrison Ford had the odometer rolled back. At age 61, Cruise still is safe from that. But the sequence where it would have been used would have happened more than 30 years ago.

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“Originally, there had been a whole sequence at the beginning of the movie that was going to take place in 1989,” McQuarrie said. “We talked about it as a cold open. We talked about it as flashbacks in the movie. We looked at de-aging.

“One of the big things about [the de-aging] I was looking at while researching, I kept saying, ‘Boy, this de-aging is really good’ or ‘This de-aging is not so good.’ Never did I find myself actually following the story,” he said. “I was so distracted by an actor that I had known for however long was now suddenly this young person.”

On this film, de-aging wasn’t right. But McQuarrie isn’t scrapping it forever. McQuarrie claims he is open to revisiting the de-aging process again in the future. “I cracked the code – I think – on how best to approach it,” he said. “By then, we had kind of moved away from it. We may still play with it. We never say never.”

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Kelly McGillis Says She's 'Old,' 'Fat' And OK Being Left Out Of 'Top Gun' Sequel

General Assignment Reporter, HuffPost

Kelly McGillis , who played Tom Cruise’s love interest in the original “Top Gun” movie, said she was not asked to return for the upcoming “Top Gun: Maverick” sequel.

And she didn’t mince words explaining why she thinks that is.

Asked by “Entertainment Tonight” recently if the makers of the “Top Gun” sequel offered her a part, McGillis, 62, replied, “Oh my god no. They did not, nor do I think they would ever. I’m old and I’m fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is, and that is not what that whole scene is about.”

McGillis played Tom Cruise’s love interest, astrophysicist and training school instructor Charlie Blackwood in the 1986 original about cocky Navy fighter pilots. Jennifer Connelly has been cast as the new movie’s love interest of Maverick, played by Cruise, 57. “Top Gun: Maverick” also brings back Val Kilmer, 59, as Maverick’s rival Iceman.

McGillis didn’t appear to feel slighted by the snub.

“I’d much rather feel absolutely secure in my skin and who and what I am at my age, as opposed to placing a value on all that other stuff,” McGillis told “ET.”

McGillis said she’s not feeling the need for speed to go watch “Top Gun: Maverick,” scheduled to open in 2020.

“I’m not racing to the theater, and I’m not racing away from the theater to see it,” she said.

HuffPost has reached out to a Paramount rep for comment.

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THEN AND NOW: The stars of 'Top Gun' 36 years later

• " Top Gun " was released in May 1986, starring Tom Cruise as Maverick and Val Kilmer as Iceman.
• Cruise, who's now an action star, is reprising his aviator role for a sequel called " Top Gun: Maverick ."
• Meg Ryan had a minor role in the film, but is now known for starring in "When Harry Met Sally."

Tom Cruise starred as a skilled naval aviator named Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.

Maverick was confident that he was the best in class. He also said the iconic line, "I feel the need ... the need for speed."

Cruise reprises his "Top Gun" role for a sequel, "Top Gun: Maverick," now in theaters.

In July 2019, the actor surprised fans at San Diego Comic-Con by stopping by and unveiling the first trailer for the upcoming "Top Gun: Maverick" movie . 

The movie's theatrical release was been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but finally hit theaters in May 2022 to rave reviews .  

Following the success of the first "Top Gun," Cruise starred in the Oscar-winning 1988 movie "Rain Man."

He was also in "Born on the Fourth of July" (which earned the actor his first Oscar nomination), "Days of Thunder" (the film that introduced him to Nicole Kidman, who he was married to from 1990 to 2001), and "A Few Good Men."

Cruise's other notable roles in the '90s include the titular part in "Jerry Maguire" and Frank T.J. Mackey in "Magnolia." Both parts earned Cruise Academy Award nominations. 

The actor is a bona fide action star, thanks to his role as Ethan Hunt in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise.

The first installment was released in 1996 and Cruise pushed his limits in 2018's "Mission: Impossible — Fallout." The actor, who's known for doing his own stunts, ended up breaking his ankle while filming an action sequence for the movie.  

He'll reprise his "M:I" role for two more films that are in the works, "Mission: Impossible 7" and "Mission: Impossible 8."

Aside from roles in blockbuster movies like the "Mission: Impossible" films and "Jack Reacher," Cruise showed off his musicality in "Rock Ages" and delighted fans with a memorable role as Les Grossman in  "Tropic Thunder." 

Cruise was previously married to Katie Holmes from 2006 to 2012. The two stars have a daughter named Suri, and Cruise made headlines after publicly proclaiming his love for Holmes during a 2005 appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Kelly McGillis starred as Charlotte Blackwood (also known as Charlie), an instructor at Topgun.

She had a romantic relationship with Maverick. 

In recent years, McGillis has appeared in TV movies, plus several theater credits.

McGillis starred in the 2018 movie "Maternal Secrets" and 2017's "An Uncommon Grace."

She starred in productions of "Twelfth Night," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Macbeth," and "The Little Foxes" between 1989 and 2009. 

McGillis has two children from her previous marriage to Fred Tillman. In 2009, she publicly came out as a lesbian and later told People that "it was a difficult journey for me to come to terms and be whole and happy with who I am."

In a 2013 interview with Movie Talk , the actress revealed that she was teaching a studio that was connected to a school in Asheville, North Carolina. 

"I feel it is my time to give back and that's something that I know how to do," she said. "And yeah, I live a quiet, little life. I live in a log cabin on top of the hill in North Carolina and it is lovely."

In July 2019, McGillis told "Entertainment Tonight" that she wasn't asked to return for the upcoming "Top Gun" sequel and hasn't kept in touch with the original movie cast.

In an interview with Insider's Jason Guerrasio in May 2022, "Top Gun: Maverick" director Joseph Kosinski said that McGillis' character was never considered for the sequel .

Val Kilmer's Iceman had a rivalry with Maverick at Topgun.

Iceman, whose real name was Tom Kazansky, was just as competitive as Maverick. By the end of the movie, the two became friends. 

Kilmer reprises his role as Iceman in "Top Gun: Maverick."

Following "Top Gun," the actor starred in numerous movies, like "The Doors" and "Heat." Most notably, he portrayed Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 1995 film "Batman Forever."

More recently, he starred in "The Snowman" with Michael Fassbender, "Song to Song" with Ryan Gosling, and "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot."

In 2017, Kilmer confirmed that he battled throat cancer . Later that year, he opened up about the health concern with The Hollywood Reporter . Kilmer, who's a Christian Scientist, told the publication that he went through chemotherapy and relied on his faith during that period of his life.  

In April 2020, Kilmer released an autobiography titled "I'm Your Huckleberry."

Kilmer has two children from his past marriage to Joanne Whalley: a daughter named Mercedes and a son named Jack, who also acts. 

Anthony Edwards played Nick "Goose" Bradshaw.

He was sent to Topgun with Maverick, his best friend. Goose was killed during an engagement.

Edwards recently played venture capitalist Bruce Dunlevie in Hulu's miniseries "WeCrashed."

He also appeared on the "Law & Order True Crime" miniseries, Showtime's "Billions," "Drunk History," "Designated Survivor," and "Girls."

Prior to those roles, he starred as Mark Greene on the long-running drama "ER." Edwards earned four total Golden Globe nominations for the role and took home the award for best performance by an actor in a drama TV series in 1998.

In 2017, Edwards wrote an essay that was published on Medium and said that he was sexually assaulted by producer Gary Goddard. He has since become a board of directors at 1in6 , "a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting men who have experienced sexual abuse or assault."

In May 2022, the actor made his Broadway musical debut in "Girl From the North Country" as a last-minute understudy. 

Tom Skerritt portrayed a chief Topgun instructor named Viper.

Viper, whose real name was Mike Metcalf, was previously in an air battle alongside Maverick's father. He told Maverick that his dad died a hero. In revealing that, Viper helped Maverick regain his confidence. 

Skerritt starred alongside Mia Sorvino in a movie called "East of the Mountains," based on a novel written by David Guterson.

Skerritt, who has been acting since the '60s, starred as Evan Drake on "Cheers" and  Sheriff Jimmy Brock on "Picket Fences." The latter role earned the actor a Primetime Emmy in 1993. 

He also guest-starred on shows like "Will & Grace," "The Good Wife," and "Madam Secretary."

Michael Ironside played a Topgun instructor named Rick Heatherly, also known as Jester.

Because of Maverick's reckless behavior, Jester threatened to kick him out of Topgun. 

Ironside played Don Lucas in the 2022 miniseries "The Dropout."

He also starred as J.P. Morgan on TNT's "The Alienist," portrayed Captain Cold's father on The CW's "The Flash," and played a captain in "X-Men: First Class."

In addition, he guest-starred on "Hawaii Five-O" and "This Is Us," and voiced Darkseid on the animated "Harley Quinn" series.

Tim Robbins starred as Merlin.

He became Maverick's RIO (Radio Intercept Officer) following Goose's death. 

Robbins starred as Reginald "Pop" Merrill on season two of Hulu's "Castle Rock."

He also played Greg Boatwright on the HBO show "Here and Now." After "Top Gun," the actor starred in the 1990 movie "Jacob's Ladder" and 1994's "The Shawshank Redemption."

For his supporting role as Dave Boyle in "Mystic River," Robbins won an Oscar and a Golden Globe. 

James Tolkan portrayed Tom "Stinger" Jordan.

He was the c aptain of the Enterprise who reprimanded Maverick for disobeying orders. He reluctantly sent Maverick and Goose to Topgun for five weeks. 

Aside from his part in "Top Gun," Tolkan's other notable role was in the "Back to the Future" movies.

He played Stanford S. Strickland the assistant principal at Valley High School in the first "Back to the Future" movie and returned in the sequels. 

Meg Ryan played Carole Bradshaw, Goose's wife.

While Goose was playing the piano and singing at a bar, she called him a "big stud" and said, "Take me to bed or lose me forever!" 

Ryan still acts, but she's a producer, too.

Ryan's breakout role came in 1989, when she starred as Sally Albright in the romantic comedy "When Harry Met Sally." She also starred in movies like "Sleepless in Seattle," "You've Got Mail," and "French Kiss" (which she produced). Ryan directed the 2015 drama "Ithaca," which she starred in with Jack Quaid and Tom Hanks. Quaid is Ryan's son from her previous marriage to Dennis Quaid.

The actress also has a daughter that she adopted . Ryan was engaged to musician John Mellencamp, but they reportedly split . 

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Tom Cruise, 56, Looks Half His Age as He Straddles a Motorcycle for 'Top Gun: Maverick'

Tom Cruise took a joyride on the back of a motorcycle while on the set of his highly-anticipated film  Top Gun: Maverick

Tom Cruise is feeling the need for speed.

The 56-year-old star took a joyride on the back of a motorcycle while on the set of his highly-anticipated film Top Gun: Maverick . He is set to reprise his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell for the sequel to his 1986 classic Top Gun — and by the looks of it, he’s barely aged.

Cruise wore a big grin while wearing his iconic bomber jacket, blue jeans and black aviator sunglasses.

In May, the actor shared the first shot from the set of the film to his social media on “#Day1” of production. The action star was decked in his aviation gear and held his helmet as he gazed across the tarmac at a plane.

Cruise labeled the picture “FEEL THE NEED,” referencing Maverick’s iconic quote, “I feel the need, the need for speed.” According to Variety , the Risky Business star’s character will now be an instructor.

Top Gun: Maverick will hit theaters in 2019, with Cruise and Val Kilmer , Lieutenant “Iceman” Kazansky, reprising their respective roles in the highly anticipated action drama, along with a new set of co-stars.

RELATED VIDEO: Watch Tom Cruise Force a ‘Terrified’ James Corden to Jump Out of an Airplane

Miles Teller is joining the film as Goose’s son. Goose was originally played by Anthony Edwards and died in an accident for which Maverick blames himself.

Other actors considered for the role were Hidden Figures ’ Glen Powell, who’s since joined the cast in another role, and X-Men ’s Nicholas Hoult.

Top Gun: Maverick is scheduled for release on July 12, 2019.

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The Wilford Brimley Meme That Helps Measure Tom Cruise’s Agelessness

By Ian Crouch

Tom Cruise was about to turn thirty-one when “The Firm,” the film adaptation of John Grisham’s best-selling novel , hit theatres. In the movie, Cruise plays a hotshot boy wonder just out of Harvard Law, who takes a job as an associate attorney at a law firm that turns out to be washing money for the Mob. In a pivotal scene, he has a meeting with the firm’s fixer, played by Wilford Brimley, during which he is blackmailed with a series of incriminating photographs showing his character having an affair. The meaning of the scene is made clear by the disparities between the two men: Cruise, a young man, being let in on the slimy truths of the real world by Brimley, an old man. Later in the movie, Cruise beats Brimley up with a leather briefcase .

When “The Firm” came out, Brimley was fifty-eight years old—plodding, portly, with a gray walrus mustache, his grandfatherly mien in this case turned sinister. He was just two years older than Cruise is now, appearing boundlessly vigorous as the super-agent Ethan Hunt in the latest “Mission: Impossible” movie . Cruise has been very, very famous for the past thirty-five years, and in that time it’s been difficult to reconcile his unchanging appearance with the flipping pages on the calendar. It’s easier to track his movements through the six “Mission: Impossible” movies by his haircuts—short in No. 1, long in No. 2, short again in No. 3, etc.—or the size of his cell phone, than by changes to, let alone diminishments in, his face or body. He fixed his teeth years ago; he’s in better shape than ever. And so we are left to search for other ways to keep track of Cruise’s allegedly advancing years. Thankfully, the release of his latest summer blockbuster has resurfaced one of the surest methods: comparing him to his old scenemate Wilford Brimley.

This meme seems to have had its beginnings in 2011, when Cruise turned forty-nine, the same age that Brimley was when he began filming his role in Ron Howard’s movie “ Cocoon ,” from 1985, a kind of “E.T.” for the olds about a group of seniors living in a retirement community who are given the chance to live forever by leaving Earth on an alien spaceship. In the years since Cruise blasted through what I’ll call the Brimley Barrier, people online have continued to make the comparison between the two men, citing the fact that Cruise was a year, or two, or three years older than Brimley when he starred in “Cocoon.” Last month, a new tweet on the subject drew the attention of Brimley himself, who retweeted it and said, “This is still hard for me to believe.” Brimley, who is eighty-three, has settled into a late-life role as a meme machine , known among a younger generation less for his years of acting than for his role as the Quaker Oats pitchman, or for his pronunciation of the word “ diabetes ” as the television spokesman for Liberty Medical.

It’s hard to imagine Cruise ever talking about Medicare eligibility. On his way to sixty, he is literally still kicking (and punching and jumping and hanging and remembering his long-ago co-stars’ birthdays ), and doing so in a way that seems to go beyond the commonplace celebrity cosmetic trickery of the moment. He seems, in ways both inspiring and unsettling , to have figured something out. The comparison of Brimley and Cruise in middle age doesn’t just make light of the former’s premature fogeydom and the latter’s eternal youthfulness; it also highlights how the mores, signifiers, and very science of aging have changed—that sixty is the new fifty, which is the new forty, and so on. That Cruise is the new Brimley.

But in “ Mission: Impossible—Fallout ” there are a few fleeting signs that Cruise may be somewhat aware of the concept of aging. Even with the help of Henry Cavill, who, at thirty-five, is a year older than Cruise was in the first “Mission: Impossible” movie, Ethan Hunt cannot subdue a foe in an elaborate bathroom brawl. Later, Hunt pauses, a bit daunted and out of breath, before tossing an office chair through a window and then jumping out of it. And Hunt is succumbing to at least one unfortunate aging-man foible. As he grows older, his love interests are getting younger. Hunt’s ex-wife is played by Michelle Monaghan, who is forty-two; his new partner in love and mayhem is played by Rebecca Ferguson, who is thirty-four; and a likely contender for his affections going forward is played by Vanessa Kirby, who is just thirty.

Yet one needs merely to watch the latest movie’s stunning dénouement—a helicopter chase in Kashmir—to be reassured of Hunt’s still sure chokehold on father time, and to be reminded of the uncanny distances that Cruise is travelling beyond Brimley. In “Cocoon,” despite being reinvigorated by extraterrestrial intervention, the only athletic feat Brimley could manage was a boisterous cannonball off a diving board. Later in the movie, weighing the opportunity to leave with the aliens, Brimley’s character explains to his grandson, “We’ll never be sick. We won’t get any older. And we won’t ever die.” He decides, in the end, to go. Cruise, meanwhile, seems to have achieved the first two parts of that trifecta right here on Earth. And as for the last one, who’d be willing to bet against him?

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By Richard Brody

By Anthony Lane

By Elizabeth Kolbert

The Real Reason Tom Cruise Hasn't Aged

Now in his 60s, Tom Cruise is showing no signs of slowing down, and he isn't aging either.

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Did tom cruise get plastic surgery, how does tom cruise look so young for his age.

Tom Cruise turned 60 in July 2022, yet he still looks like his 24-year-old self in his hit 1986 film, Top Gun, whose sequel premiered May 2022 . Some say it is all plastic surgery while others believe it is the actor's healthy lifestyle and commitment to doing his own stunts . In March 2021, Men's Health revealed the real reason the actor has stayed in great shape all these years.

Updated on March 6, 2023: Tom Cruise remains one of the most prolific action stars in Hollywood, with the long awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick raking in close to $1.5 billion box office dollars . The Mission: Impossible actor is preparing to turn 61 this July, yet he still holds a youthful look and opts to do most of his own stunts.

Jacked Gorilla shared an inside look into Cruise's workout routine, which helps keep him in shape as well as feeling young. "Tom Cruise's workout routine consists of many different exercises . Cruise uses three days of weight training and cardio. It's his job to get active and utilize other forms of fitness on the other two days."

RELATED: Top Gun: Maverick Had To Make Major Changed Between Tom Cruise And Jennifer Connelly's Romance

Cruise has been accused of getting plastic surgery for several years. In 2016, fans noticed that he looked "inflated" and "puffy" during the BAFTAs for that year. Many assumed that he'd gotten Botox or fillers. Around the same time, Cuba Gooding Jr. — Cruise's co-star in Jerry Maguire — told Watch What Happens Live! that the actor "absolutely" had work done on his face. "I don't know what he's had done, but I remember I surprised him at his house one day," Gooding Jr. shared. "And he had all of these dots all over his face and I was like, 'You all right?' and he goes, 'I didn’t know you were coming' and I was like, 'I can see why.'"

In 2012, when asked whether he has had plastic surgery, Cruise told Playboy : "I haven't, and I never would." Meanwhile, National Enquirer 's sources said that the Risky Business star was lying. "Insiders say the gifted star remains desperate to maintain his boyish good looks and stay atop of the heap as he approaches his sixties — with the help of plastic surgery!" One cosmetic procedure the actor has never denied is getting his teeth fixed .

When Cruise was in his 20s, back in the early '80s, he had extremely unaligned and discolored teeth. He eventually had teeth whitening and alignment procedures to correct them. In 2001, he also had invisible braces with ceramic brackets. By 2010, he had a massive improvement in his smile. Still, fans noticed that aside from his misaligned middle tooth, his left incisor also appeared bigger than the right one. It still does today, but we are sure the highest-paid actor per word is not bothered about it.

RELATED: Tom Cruise Turned Down The Lead In A Franchise Worth Over $2 Billion Because It Wasn't Lining Up Creatively

In a 2021 Men's Health feature , the magazine finally spilled Cruise's secrets to defying youth. For his diet, he is reportedly on a "Beckham-devised diet consisting of a just 1200 calories, grilled foods and a noticeable absence of carbohydrate." Nutritional scientist Dr. Paul Clayton told the magazine that carbs generate insulin, which is an aging hormone. "They become glucose molecules in the body, damaging muscle and skin tissues which causes aging," said the Health Defense author. The actor's mindset is apparently a big factor as well. "I don't invalidate it when I can't do something...I say, 'that's interesting' and go with it. It's from there you get your energy," quoted the magazine.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Abigael San said that Cruise's resistance to failure helps in keeping him active. "Never avoid looking at why something went wrong – list all the reasons why it did as soon as you can," said San. "Failure leads to inaction. Planning goals as soon as possible restores a feeling of power and control. If you didn't get a promotion, do all you can to find out why." No wonder the actor is such a beast who is so committed to every project he takes on. It is also what boosts his confidence, making him the sex symbol that he is.

RELATED: Tom Cruise Apologized To Brooke Shields After His Today Show Interview, But Did He Regret The Way He Handled Matt Lauer?

"Being super-informed bestows subtle confidence," explained career consultant Sherridan Hughes. "Everyone else will feel at ease working with you and for you. You're more flexible and adaptable than your peers because whatever happens, you've covered it." Then, of course, there is a whole workout routine for achieving and maintaining that action star physique. "Sea-kayaking, caving... fencing, treadmill, weights... rock-climbing, hiking... I jog... I do so many different activities," Cruise once said when asked how he stays youthful.

Sports scientist Anne Elliott said that "variety" is the secret to getting that body. "How we move conveys energy and youth – not how buff we are," she explained. "Regularly switching up cardio and strength work with something like fencing or climbing – like Cruise – maintains flexibility and balance: the first two things that give your age away."

Lastly, it's all about dressing well. "The right fit conveys power and shows you've accepted who you are, physically," said the actor's stylist, Alan Au. "Cruise always wears a well-tailored coat (lapels not too big or small) whether smart casual and his ‘relaxed’ is only just loose enough (too loose looks hand-me-down). Avoid boxy cuts and styles and bring attention up to the face and chest with a lighter top. Make sure only a quarter-inch of sleeve hem is showing from jackets."

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Tom Cruise Says His Top Gun 2 Costar Val Kilmer Is 'Doing Really Well' After Cancer Battle

Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer are reuniting for Top Gun 2 as Kilmer fights back from a cancer battle .

Cruise gave an update on his friend and costar while promoting Mission: Impossible — Fallout in Paris, where he said it was “special” getting to work with Kilmer again. “He’s doing really well,” Cruise told Extra .

The sequel comes 22 years after the original became a hit and cemented Cruise’s place as an A-Lister. But Kilmer’s comeback role in the film comes after what has been a mysterious Hollywood hiatus for the actor. After years of rumored health problems, he finally came clean about his battle with throat cancer during a December 2017 interview with the The Hollywood Reporter.

His health issues first became apparent in January 2015, when a spokesperson told PEOPLE that he was rushed to the hospital “for a possible tumor.” Soon after, he took to Facebook to deny having a tumor, saying only that he “had a complication.”

Further rumors were repeatedly shut down by Kilmer, who was spotted out with a tracheostomy tube in October 2015 and then without it the next February.

RELATED VIDEO: Tom Cruise Shares Photo To Tease Start of Production on ‘Top Gun 2’

Kilmer finally opened up about his cancer recovery to the The Hollywood Reporter in December in an interview alongside his children with his ex-wife Joanne Whalley: Mercedes, 26, and Jack, 22.

The article revealed that the actor’s two-year fight with throat cancer had “taken its toll” on the family and noted that Kilmer had undergone a procedure on his trachea which made his voice raspy and left him short of breath.

Mission: Impossible — Fallout opens July 27.

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REAL LIFE DORIAN GRAY: Tom Cruise's AGELESS looks in 'Top Gun: Maverick' leaves Internet mystified

Tom Cruise starrer ‘ Top Gun: Maverick’ is witnessing a dream run at the box office as it raked in a whopping $156 million in four days. The sequel to the actor’s 1986 film ‘Top Gun’ also proved to be his first $100 million. While the ardent movie lovers have been going gaga over the action-packed drama film, few others have been drooling over his fine wine looks.   Social media users while discussing Tom Cruise’s blockbuster also steered their conversation over his dashing looks. The charming personality of the 59-year-old actor became a hot topic of discussion as many wondered why the ‘Mission Impossible’ star doesn’t age.   RELATED ARTICLES Twitter asks 'Who's greater, Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise?' and the answer is OVERWHELMING!

'Top Gun: Maverick': Should Tom Cruise-starrer get the franchise treatment?

Has Tom Cruise gone under Botox or surgery?

Tom Cruise takes his health very seriously and there have been reports earlier that claim the actor has always been obsessed with his looks.  In an interview with the Daily Mail , Cruise’s first manager Eileen Berlin spilled the beans where she dropped a hint that the actor might have gone under the knife to maintain his young looks. “Tommy has built an aura around himself. I think he will do whatever it takes to preserve his youthful image as long as possible and will fight anything that stands in his way”, said Berlin.   However, a report by HuffPost tells us a different story. An anonymous source told Now Magazine that Tom Cruise prefers natural treatments instead of Botox or surgery. “Tom doesn't go in for Botox or surgery, but he does pay close attention to all the new and popular natural treatments”, said the source, adding, “He recently started experimenting with the nightingale poo facial." It is being reported that Tom goes for a treatment called Bird Poop Facial- first popularised by Victoria Beckham. He reportedly indulges in the $180 a pop beauty regime that comprises of powdered nightingale droppings and other natural ingredients like rice bran.

‘Need Tom Cruise’s secrets on anti-aging’

Social media users flocked to Twitter to discuss Tom Cruise’s aging as one of the baffled users asked, “How is Tom cruise not aging?” Another chimed in, “NOTHING in this movie makes sense, but what they've done with character arcs (particularly an aging Maverick) was just... *chef's kiss*. I am SO INCREDIBLY ANGRY AT HOW MUCH I LOVED IT. Also Tom Cruise is insane, but his "thank you for seeing this in the theater" was beautiful.” Another asserted, “Tom Cruise and Ben Patrick are both Scientologists and appear to be aging backwards, FWIW.”   Meanwhile, one tweeted, “Tom cruise is f**king aging so well these days that's a plus...gotta say Love his movies honestly he's like a classic hit for the beginning of 2000s but damn hes so good he should make a movie called splinter cell...he so kill it with out a doubt,..or even rainbow six.” One user added, “Tom Cruise is an aging detective, Rebecca de Mornay is the high-stakes investor who hires him to find out who killed her husband. Sparks fly!” Whereas, one person said, “So loving this … @TomCruiseis just amazing n aging like a fine wine.” Another added, “Man, once again, this is Tom Cruise, what else he cannot do? Even he looks like defies "aging" rules”, as another concluded, “New top gun movie was good, also i need tom cruise’s secrets on anti-aging.”

How is Tom cruise not aging? — Cheeto Shane *AMC*Addict* 🏳️‍🌈 (@cheeto_shane) May 28, 2022

NOTHING in this movie makes sense, but what they've done with character arcs (particularly an aging Maverick) was just... *chef's kiss*. I am SO INCREDIBLY ANGRY AT HOW MUCH I LOVED IT. Also Tom Cruise is insane, but his "thank you for seeing this in the theater" was beautiful. — Cognac McCarthy (@steveolson) May 30, 2022

Tom cruise is fucking aging so well these days that's a plus...gotta say Love his movies honestly he's like a classic hit for the beginning of 2000s but damn hes so good he should make a movie called splinter cell...he so kill it with out a doubt,..or even rainbow six.. — victorious rossholt (@mystikal614) May 30, 2022

Tom Cruise is an aging detective, Rebecca de Mornay is the high-stakes investor who hires him to find out who killed her husband. Sparks fly! — Jess Nevins (@jessnevins) May 30, 2022

So loving this … @TomCruise is just amazing n aging like a fine wine #topgun ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ — Pamela R Paciocco (@pammiebaby10) May 31, 2022

Man, once again, this is Tom Cruise, what else he cannot do? Even he looks like defies "aging" rules. — 𝕡𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕤𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕒 (@cdhsrm) May 29, 2022

new top gun movie was good, also i need tom cruise’s secrets on anti-aging — kelly (@mochutofu) May 29, 2022

Tom Cruise re-emerges: Actor looks his age after viral photos of his changing appearance

Tom Cruise went viral last month after photos emerged of the actor at a baseball game with a different appearance.  

This weekend, the 59-year-old actor was spotted at the Duxford Airfield in Cambridge, England, looking more like himself.

The upcoming M: 18 is the follow-up to the 2018 movie Mission: Impossible Fallout and is scheduled for release in 2023.

The actor appeared less bloated in the newer images compared to a month ago when he was subject to rumors about potentially undergoing cosmetic surgery.

Tom Cruise emerged in a navy blue sweater and dark blue jeans with a head full of hair. In addition, the Missions Impossible star appeared less bloated but seemed to have gained a little weight .

Tom Cruise heads back to work after shocking fans https://t.co/bSe5XHLAIK via @DailyMailCeleb — Crazy for Tom Cruise (@Crazy4TomCruise) November 12, 2021

NEW #TomCruise at Duxford Airfield today. #MissionImpossible8 pic.twitter.com/VYBqN7Kh0Y — Tom Cruise News (@TCNews62) November 12, 2021

Mission Impossible 7 has finished filming

Despite currently filming scenes for Mission Impossible 8, the previous installment is yet to be released.

As with many movies in recent times, Mission Impossible 7 has had several COVID-related delays.

Mission Impossible 7 gaffer Martin Smith revealed that the movie had finished wrapping in September on his Instagram account.

UK-based gaffer Martin Smith posted this on Instagram today. Looks like principal photography on #MI7 is complete! Now onto #MI8 ! #ScorpioSeason approaches! ? pic.twitter.com/DRzPwIthcO — Light the Fuse Podcast (@LightTheFusePod) September 10, 2021

The movie is currently in post-production and is scheduled for release on September 30, 2022.

Tom Cruise talks about filming Mission Impossible

Tom Cruise first starred as Ethan Hunt in the 1996 movie Mission Impossible.

The spy movie, which the actor produced, was a commercial and critical success and was the third highest-grossing film that year.

In a recent interview, he spoke about creating the movie in a clip via GamesRadar .

“I looked at Paramount, and I thought what I wanted to produce was something – I looked at it in many different ways… I wanted something that was going to be very commercial, potentially, but I wanted something that was going to be artistically challenging,” Cruise explains.

In an interview about the film, Tom Cruise explained the movie’s challenges in several countries.

“What is the challenge of this thing going to be? I wanted it to be an international film, and an international cast,” Cruise adds. “Which at that time was different. I wanted to shoot it in England… I remember they said, ‘Can’t you shoot it in LA, or New York?’ And I was like, ‘No, I actually, I want to go to London.'”

In addition, the busy actor is also promoting the upcoming movie Top Gun: Maverick, which is scheduled for release next year.

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Tom Cruise then and now: His face transformation in photos

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