Top 10 Behind the Scenes Facts About Top Gun 40th Anniversary

#10: Improvised Iconic Moments

The cast’s chemistry has always stood out as completely natural. That may be why some of the film’s standout scenes weren’t even part of the script. One of the most memorable is when Iceman breaks into a sarcastic cough while dismissing Maverick’s story. Reportedly, Val Kilmer improvised the scene, which may explain why everyone’s reactions feel so natural. Charlie and Maverick’s kiss is an even bigger moment, but the steamy exchange only happened by accident. Tom Cruise apparently forgot what he was supposed to say in response to Kelly McGillis’s line. And instead of stopping the scene, he chose to kiss her instead. Director Tony Scott loved the spontaneity so much, he decided to keep the take in the final film.

#9: Most of the Cast Reached for the Sick Bag

While every character gets their cool moment in the cockpit, it was apparently a miserable experience to shoot. Tom Cruise himself was hit with motion sickness during his first real F-14 flight with Lieutenant Commander Lloyd “Bozo” Abel. The latter wasn’t exactly the most tactful when it came to maneuvering the jet, paying little mind to the untrained members of the cast. According to Cruise, “Bozo” left him holding the sick bag to his face, pulling upwards for several moments at a time. Cruise wasn’t alone, either. Reports from production claim that nearly the entire main cast found it difficult to handle the intense G-forces. Anthony Edwards was reportedly the only one to get through filming without reaching for his sick bag.

#8: The U.S. Navy Capitalized on the Film’s Success

With blockbuster action, cool characters, and one-liners galore, “Top Gun” makes a dangerous premise actually look like fun. Film producer John Davis essentially called the movie a recruiting video. In his book “Guts and Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film,” historian Lawrence H. Suid described it as “the rehabilitation of the American military after it had been savaged in Vietnam.” The U.S. Navy also set up recruitment booths outside theaters. Although claims at the time reported an astounding 500% increase in recruits, this figure has since been disputed. Even so, the majority of applicants admitted to being influenced by “Top Gun.” Looking back at the “Danger Zone”-inspired “Join the Navy” ads at the time, it’s easy to see why.

#7: Conflicting Heights

Tom Cruise’s height has been pop-culture conversation ever since the actor shot to fame. It was no different on the set of “Top Gun,” where his co-star’s taller stature became a point of contention. Reportedly, Cruise’s 5’7 frame looked noticeably shorter next to Kelly McGillis, who stood at 5’11. In a 2022 post on Medium, producer David Paul Kirkpatrick recounted the “chemistry meeting” on the Paramount lot, detailing his reaction at the striking difference in the pair’s heights. To make the difference less obvious on camera, production used camera tricks, different staging angles, and avoided putting McGillis in heels. Their efforts ultimately paid off, as the actors look around the same height in the finished film.

#6: Charlie Was Based on a Real Person

Many fans have wondered why the character of Charlie Blackwood wasn’t an enlisted Navy member or among Top Gun’s initiates. This was reportedly the plan, but was scrapped to avoid suggesting any fraternization between officers and enlisted personnel. But Charlie goes beyond the land of fiction – she’s based on Christine “Legs” Fox, a civilian employee at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Fox would go on to become the president of the Center for Naval Analyses. She was also Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense, making her the highest-ranked woman in the United States Department of Defense. Another early version of the script placed an aerobics instructor as Maverick’s love interest before Charlie was selected in the final draft.

#5: Real-Life Tensions Between Tom Cruise & Val Kilmer

Turns out Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer were a real-life Maverick and Iceman all along. In his memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry,” Kilmer revealed Cruise deliberately avoided “revelry” on set, which created some distance. Kilmer also pranked his co-star, sending Cruise on a scavenger hunt for an expensive bottle of champagne. However, Kilmer’s method acting approach truly frayed relations. In the documentary “Val,” he admitted he “would purposely play up the rivalry between Tom's character and mine off-screen as well.” This ended up splitting the cast into two camps, one siding with Cruise and the other with Kilmer. In the end, though, the pair became just as close as their characters, with Kilmer calling Cruise “a real friend” and himself his lifelong “wingman.”

#4: Val Kilmer Tried to Sabotage His Own Audition

Kilmer’s rivalry with Tom Cruise makes more sense once you learn he didn’t even want to be in the movie. In his memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry,” he admitted he was “tortured” into auditioning by his agent, who also represented Cruise. To sabotage his own chances, Kilmer showed up in what he described as “oversize[d] gonky Australian shorts in nausea green.” Despite giving an indifferent reading, he still won the part, much to his disdain. Since he was on a studio contract, Kilmer was obligated to shoot the film, even though he found the script to be “silly.” In the documentary “Val,” the actor also claimed to have invented his own backstory for Iceman after feeling there was “very little” depth to the character.

#3: Sparing No Expense

Although the film’s $15 million budget sounds on the lower side, the incredible aerial footage came at a pretty steep price. To make the movie authentic, the U.S. Navy allowed production to use real F-14 fighter jets, aircraft carriers, and the VF-51 “Screaming Eagles” squadron. However, the real cost was the thousands of dollars per hour whenever military equipment was used outside normal operations. Director Tony Scott’s insistence on sunset shots during takeoff and landing was particularly costly. As revealed by Scott and United States Naval Aviator Pete Pettigrew in the “Top Gun” home media release, simply turning the aircraft carrier for the backlight effect cost $25,000. Scott wrote the captain a check immediately, but also claimed his check bounced.

#2: The Art Scholl Tragedy

Art Scholl was a legendary aerobatic pilot, aerial cameraman, and flight instructor, appearing across numerous media, including film and television. Tragically, “Top Gun” would be his last hurrah. While filming over the Pacific Ocean, capturing an inverted flat spin maneuver in his Pitts S-2 camera plane, Scholl radioed in, saying, “I have a problem, I have a real problem.” These would turn out to be his final words, as his plane impacted five miles off the coast of Carlsbad, California. Neither Scholl nor the plane was ever recovered, with investigators failing to determine what caused the technical fault, if any. The film was ultimately dedicated to Scholl, with the last tagline mentioning him by name.

#1: Tom Cruise Had to Be Convinced to Star in the Film

“Risky Business” may have launched him, but “Top Gun” cemented Tom Cruise as a superstar. And while it’s nearly impossible to picture anyone else, Matthew Modine was the studio’s first choice, who rejected the role in favor of “Full Metal Jacket.” Despite an alleged list of other possible names, producer Jerry Bruckheimer told “Variety” that “it was always Tom. Once we finished the screenplay, he was the only actor we talked to.” According to Bruckheimer, Cruise “hemmed and hawed” about accepting the role, and convincing him “wasn’t easy.” But one ride on an F-14 instantly changed Cruise’s mind, who then called Bruckheimer up to accept the role. Turns out Maverick was always part of Cruise’s identity, and all that was needed was bringing him out.

Can you think of any other “Top Gun” fun facts? Fly into the “Danger Zone” in the comments.