Kurt Russell is revealing how he taught Tom Cruise how to fly a plane.
Russell, who is a former pilot, personally helped Tom Cruise earn his wings after starring in 1986’s “Top Gun.”
The legendary actor tells Entertainment Weekly, “I flew for 30 years. I’m not current anymore, but I flew a lot of different airplanes. Matter of fact, I helped Tom after he did ‘Top Gun.’ He and I got together. He wanted to go flying. We flew in my plane, and then I saw that he really wanted to learn to fly and did what I could to help him out in that regard.”Cruise continued his studies and became a pilot, thanks to Kurt’s help and director Sydney Pollack, who gifted the actor flying lessons after starring in his 1993 film “The Firm.” Tom continued to put his talents to the test in films like “American Made” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Russell said of Cruise’s piloting, “He’s a good stick man. And it was nice to see in the reprise of that character so many years later. I loved what they did with ‘Top Gun.’ I just thought it was great.”
Cruise has passed his passion on to another actor, his “Maverick” costar Glen Powell.
The “Running Man” actor revealed in a 2020 Instagram post that the “Risky Business” star personally paid for Powell to get his pilot’s license.
“Try not falling in love with aviation after living out every pilot’s dream while shoot[ing] @topgunmovie,” Powell began his IG caption.
He continued, “Especially when you see the way @tomcruise flexes it. After wrapping a shooting day, Tom would rocket off into the sunset in his P-51 while I would limply shuffle into the cast van. The wings were just so much cooler than the wheels…and for Christmas, Tom bought me an iPad with my flight school downloaded and prepaid. And yesterday, after months of flying, studying, and testing…I’m the real deal.”
The real question is, how much do tickets cost on a Tom Cruise or Glen Powell piloted flight? (Asking for a friend)
