Top Gun Exposed: Onset Secrets They Didn’t Want Out

Tom Cruise Was Hand Picked

The role of Maverick in Top Gun was written specifically with Tom Cruise in mind, whose performance in All the Right Moves gave the writers the inspiration for the part of Mav. In All The Right Moves, Cruise was at his movie star best; he was charismatic, sparkling-eyed, and often broke into that great grin.

Tom Cruise was reluctant at first to take the role of Maverick, but his mind was immediately changed after his first time up in the air with the Blue Angels. While Cruise was debating whether to take the role however, producers considered several other big names for the part, reportedly including Patrick Swayze, John Travolta, and Nicholas Cage, who would go on to star in a similar (though much less successful) film called “Fire Birds”. Cruise is now known for his love of action parts and takes pride in doing many of his own stunts. In fact, he’s so well-known for this that The Telegraph has an article entitled “12 Times Tom Cruise has Cheated Death.”

Goose’s Death

The original (and oft-altered) script called for Goose’s death to be the result of a midair collision. The Navy wouldn’t approve a midair collision, so they changed it to a more realistic scenario, depicting an accident that actually happened (but which didn’t result in death).

In the movie, Goose and Maverick have to eject out of their fighter jet, but during Goose’s ejection, something goes wrong and he gets flung against the cockpit opening. As Maverick swims toward Goose’s lifeless body, buoyed in the ocean by his gear, he cries out to his friend, but Goose was dead before he ever hit the water. This is the pivotal turning point in the movie.