Although Tom Cruise has starred in many films since he was a young child, what was his age when he filmed the first Top Gun movie in 1986? Recently, the eagerly anticipated Top Gun: Maverick sequel has reignited discussions about the actor and his remarkable Hollywood career.
It’s wonderful to watch Tom Cruise doing what he loves, especially considering how young he began his career. However, it’s sometimes easy to forget how young he was when he discovered superstardom.
Tom Cruise was just eighteen when he started his acting career. Like other aspiring actors, he began with modest roles. In 1983, he appeared in The Outsiders as a member of the ensemble cast, but it was not until he featured in Risky Business that year that his career truly took off.
After directing the first Top Gun in 1986, he cemented his place in the spotlight. The Navy’s TOPGUN flight school, which instructs fighter pilots, served as the focal point of the film. Alongside Val Kilmer as Iceman and Anthony Edwards as Maverick’s right-hand man, Goose, Tom Cruise plays the reckless adrenaline junkie Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
Action, tragic scenes involving planes, and well-known songs from the film were all abundant in this picture. His performance in the movie won over both critics and audience members, who expressed a strong desire to see more of him on the big screen.
The rest is history. Currently regarded as one of the most skilled performers in the business, Tom Cruise has starred in films such as Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry McGuire, and the Mission: Impossible trilogy.
Tom Cruise was only 24 years old when he starred in the iconic 1986 movie Top Gun, despite having been acting for a few years prior to his big break. It was that job that launched his career in Hollywood.
In the 1980s, Tom Cruise’s career took off thanks to the joint success of Top Gun and Risky Business. Following his success in Top Gun, he went on to star in and win praise from critics for his parts in The Color of Money and Rain Man in the same decade.
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How Old Is Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick?
A sequel to Top Gun was released over 36 years after the original film. Top Gun: Maverick proved that Tom Cruise’s glory days are far from over. When Top Gun: Maverick was released in 1986, the actor was 59 years old, and not much has changed since then.
Cruise, like the man he plays in the film, is an adrenaline junkie. He is well-known for performing his own stunts in films, no matter how dangerous they are. He flew genuine helicopters and fighter jets while filming and has held a pilot’s license since 1994.
It’s clear that Tom Cruise enjoys both acting and action. He’s been working in his profession since he was 18 years old, and he rose to prominence only a few years later with Top Gun. Decades later, the actor shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. He will return as top spy Ethan Hunt in two more Mission: Impossible films, both of which will be released within the next two years.
