Kurt Russell helped Tom Cruise learn to fly after Top Gun

Kurt Russell has revealed that he played a key role in helping Tom Cruise become a real-life pilot after starring in the 1986 hit Top Gun.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Russell said Cruise’s love for flying didn’t stop when the cameras stopped rolling. After the film, Cruise wanted to take to the skies for real — and Russell was happy to help.

“I flew for 30 years,” Russell explained. “I’m not current anymore, but I flew a lot of different airplanes. After Top Gun, Tom and I went flying in my plane. I could tell right away that he really wanted to learn, so I helped him however I could.”

That early encouragement paid off. Cruise later became a licensed pilot with additional support from director Sydney Pollack, who gifted him flying lessons after working together on The Firm.

Cruise has since put his flying skills to use on screen, including in American Made and the hugely successful sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

“He’s a good stick man,” Russell said with a smile. “And it was great to see him return to that character years later. I loved what they did with Top Gun: Maverick. I thought it was fantastic.”

The sequel, directed by Joseph Kosinski, follows Pete “Maverick” Mitchell as he trains a new generation of Navy pilots for a dangerous mission.

While Russell says he’s staying grounded these days, he recently teamed up with Kosinski again for a new Michelob ULTRA commercial airing during the Super Bowl. The ad also stars Lewis Pullman, who appeared in Top Gun: Maverick.

Asked if anyone brought up returning to the cockpit for a possible Top Gun 3, Russell laughed. “No, we didn’t talk about that,” he said. He did, however, praise Kosinski’s latest work on F1: The Movie and said the one-day shoot was “a blast.”

Russell also had kind words for Pullman. “Lewis was fun and open to trying different things,” he said. “He really nailed that ‘zero to hero’ energy.”

And the flying tradition continues. Cruise has now passed his passion on to another co-star. Glen Powell, who appeared in Top Gun: Maverick, revealed that Cruise personally paid for his pilot training.

“For Christmas, Tom bought me an iPad with my flight school downloaded and prepaid,” Powell wrote on Instagram in 2020. “After months of flying and studying, I’m the real deal.”

From mentor to student — and now mentor again — Cruise’s journey from movie pilot to real one all started with a little help from Kurt Russell. ✈️