As it turns out, there are a few actors – not just Tom Cruise – who handled G-forces and the intense training really well while filming Top Gun: Maverick.
While Tom Cruise – best known for his role as the fighter pilot Maverick in Top Gun and now the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick – has performed many of his own death-defying stunts over the years during his long and successful career, it turns out that there are two other Top Gun actors who would make better fighter pilots.
Kevin LaRosa Jr., the aerial coordinator and lead camera pilot for Top Gun: Maverick revealed during an interview with The Independent that Monica Barbaro, who plays Lieutenant Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace in the Top Gun sequel, reined supreme when it came to the rigorous training the Top Gun: Maverick actors underwent.
The training included being rotated underwater in an ejection seat and while LaRosa Jr. said, “It’s not something you look forward to doing,” he declared that “Monica just did incredible; really good with G-forces.”
The other actor that impressed LaRosa Jr. was Glen Powell, who plays Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick. Apparently, Powell was very good at “handling his business” – business being code for vomit.
Obviously, the cast was exposed to severe G-forces and therefore, many actors threw up during filming. But LaRosa Jr. said,
“Most people when they get air sick, you’re kind of done. You’re out for the count. Glen would be in the back seat of an F-18, dogfighting and would feel it. He would take care of his business and then he’d be like, ‘Okay, let’s go!’ and he’d be right back.”
Kevin LaRosa Jr.
Of course, LaRosa Jr. also praised Cruise and said the 59-year-old has an “iron stomach” and is “sharp and focused… it really makes you want to get on your A-game.”
Perhaps if Cruise, Barbaro or Powell ever want to retire from acting they could go into the fighter pilot game. They’ve all certainly got the stomachs for it.
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