Tom Cruise's latest movie, Top Gun: Maverick, may well become the biggest film of 2022. So far, this highly anticipated sequel has already eclipsed all of Cruise’s previous hit films, having made at least $160 million during the Memorial Day weekend.
Top Gun: Maverick sees Cruise reprise the film’s titular character, a role that he previously played almost three decades ago. Meanwhile, true to the original, the latest movie also features a football scene that’s similar to the volleyball one that the actor and original co-star, Val Kilmer, shot before.
This time, however, there are more shirtless men (and a whole lot more sweat). Unbeknownst to many too, it was the very scene that also led to some emotional distress while on the set.
The Football Scene Was To ‘Show Off’ Tom Cruise And His Co-Stars
The original Top Gun introduced fans to Cruise’s Maverick as a fighter pilot who is never afraid to take risks in the air, much to the annoyance of his fellow pilots and commanders. And while there are plenty of scenes involving air action, the most popular scene from the movie to date is still the volleyball scene.
The late Tony Scott, who directed the movie, once admitted that although the scene was unnecessary, it made for great eye candy. “I didn’t have a vision of what I was doing other than just doing soft p***,” Scott lightheartedly remarked while doing an interview in honor of the film’s 30th anniversary.
“I knew I had to show off all the guys, but I didn’t have a point of view… so I just shot the s*** out of it. I got the guys to get all their gear off and their pants and sprayed them in baby oil.”
Aside from Cruise, Kilmer also appears shirtless in the scene. However, he barely had full-body shots compared to his co-star.
“I always suspected Tom Cruise might have cooked my volleyball close-ups. If you notice, I don’t have any,” the actor jokingly added. “I think Tom went in there, a little payola [to get them excised] because I looked good.”
No Way A ‘Top Gun’ Sequel Was Getting Made Without A Shirtless Sports Scene
With the volleyball scene in the original film being so iconic, there was no way that it can be left out once Cruise finally agreed to do a sequel.
“When people found out I was working on Top Gun, that was usually their first question, ‘Is there going to be a shirtless, oily, volleyball scene?’ And the answer that everyone wanted me to say was yes,” Joseph Kosinski, who directed Top Gun: Maverick recalled.
“So I knew it was kind of a requirement and how disappointed people would be if it wasn't in there.”
Once that was settled, Kosinski also figured that they would do more than just another volleyball scene. “So then the thing was like: How do we work it into our story? Because we're not just gonna do it for the sake of doing it. There's got to be a reason for Maverick to allow his pilots to do this,” he explained.
“So writer Ehren Kruger coined the term 'dog fight football,' offense and defense at the same time, which seemed like a great concept. Again it seemed like it turned it into a teachable moment, right? And so once we felt like it was there for a reason, we had fun with it.”
Cast Members Had ‘Emotional Breakdowns’ While Filming The Shirtless Football Scene
Once the cast knew that the scene was happening, they understood what had to be done next. They had to get buffed in time and that meant going through an intense preparation regimen.
“Those actors had that date on the calendar circled six months out as you can imagine,” Kosinski said. “And they’re working out in the gym until midnight the night before, starving themselves.”
Actor Glen Powell, who was also in the iconic scene, also recalled that everyone was getting ready to do it up to the last moment.
“It was every cast member, until about midnight, the day before we shot that, in that gym, trying to eke out the last bit of anything they had, just trying to do crunches and pull-ups,” the actor recalled. “On game day, there was [sic] resistance bands and weights on the beach. It was so funny.”
And when Kosinski was finally ready to do the shot, some started having “emotional breakdowns” after discovering that they may not be shown shirtless after all.
“Originally, I conceived the scene as shirts versus skins. And I got there, and I started dividing them up, you know, shirt, skin, shirt, skins. And everyone who I told was a shirt started having emotional breakdowns,” the director explained.
“One of the actors came up to me and said ‘I've been working out for six months! Please, please don't make me put on the t-shirt.’”
In the end, Kosinski decided that everyone can be skins. And now, the latest football scene has got everyone talking again.