'Top Gun: Maverick' director says the movie showcases Tom Cruise's real-life personality
- Joseph Kosinski believes Maverick is the closest role to Tom Cruise's real personality.
- "He's always pushing the envelope," he said of Cruise.
Tom Cruise has played many characters over his career, but his latest director believes there's only one who is the most like the superstar.
"Of all the characters he's played, I think Maverick might be kind of the closest to his real personality," "Top Gun: Maverick" director Joseph Kosinski told The Guardian in a recent interview. "He's always pushing the envelope."
But the director added that it's not just that Maverick and Cruise have similar tastes when it comes to death-defying thrills and motorcycles, they both have won't-quit attitudes.
"Everyone knows he gives 110% every day," Kosinski said of Cruise. "But the amount of work it takes to make movies like this requires a level of commitment that's pretty astonishing. He just never gives up."
Kosinski said the level of commitment Cruise displayed had everyone in awe on set, especially Cruise's costars who were constantly learning from the star, very much how their characters were learning from Maverick in the movie.
"The young actors were so curious to just pick his brain," the director said. "Here's a guy who has the career that they all dream about and he's willing to talk about how he got there."
"Glen [Powell] read for the part of Rooster and didn't get it; Miles Teller did," Kosinski continued. "He didn't want the part of Hangman; he wanted the lead. Then Tom explained to him that as a young actor, you have to choose great movies, not great roles. It totally changed Glen's approach."
Earlier this year, Jay Ellis, who plays Payback in the movie, recalled to Insider what he took away from working with Cruise.
"We would be in the middle of shooting 'Top Gun' and he would talk about how he saw a scene last night in a movie he watched and described it in insane detail," Ellis said. "You realize he's in the middle of making 'Top Gun' but he's taking time every night to be a student and watch films. That is something that I've carried with me."