'Top Gun: Maverick' director photoshopped Miles Teller's mustache in a casting pitch to Tom Cruise
- Director Joseph Kosinski spoke about "Top Gun: Maverick" in an interview with Vulture.
- Kosinski suggested Miles Teller for the film and showed a photoshopped picture to Tom Cruise.
The "Top Gun: Maverick" director showed a photoshopped picture of Miles Teller to Tom Cruise ahead of casting for the film.
In an interview with Vulture's Bilge Ebiri, Joseph Kosinski discussed the "Top Gun" sequel and shared details on how he convinced Cruise, 59, to back the film. Kosinski told the outlet that he initially suggested Teller, 35, join the cast after working with him on the 2017 film, "Only the Brave."
"I was actually in post on 'Only the Brave,' this was May 2017, so Miles Teller was on my mind," Kosinski told Vulture. "The relationship in that movie is a very paternal one with Josh Brolin's character. So I showed Tom a picture of Miles because Miles has blond hair in that film. And I think I'd Photoshopped a mustache on him. I'm like, 'I just worked with this kid. He's really good.'"
Kosinski continued that "Top Gun: Maverick" eventually had an audition process and "Miles won the role on his own."
Teller plays Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, the son of Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, in the new sequel. Cruise reprised his role as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell from the original 1986 film.
"Top Gun" was the biggest movie of 1986, and 36 years later the sequel gained $156 million during opening weekend. The Los Angeles Times reported that "Top Gun: Maverick," released in theaters May 27, broke previous Memorial Day box office records.
"These results are ridiculously over-the-top fantastic," Paramount president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson told BBC.
In addition to Cruise, the film also saw Val Kilmer reprise his role as Tom "Iceman" Kazansky. Fortune reported that a London tech company used artificial-intelligence technology to re-create his voice for the sequel after being diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014.