These Top Gun Stars Didn't Join Top Gun: Maverick, But Here's What They've Been Up To
Top Gun: Maverick has wowed fans around the world, expecting to make $400m with no major competition in American multiplexes. Die-hard fans of the original 1986 film have expressed disappointment that most of the stars who appeared in the iconic first film would not be making an appearance in its long-awaited sequel.
Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer were the only two stars of the original '80s military movie to be asked back for bthe sequel. Tom Cruise, the mastermind behind the new movie, revealed he had to "beg" producers to add Kilmer to the cast list, 30 years after they first brought Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky to the big screen.
Director Joseph Kosinski explained that he didn't want to simply reprise the original storyline three decades later, but rather breathe new life into the iconic action movie.
While there might not be the usual familiar faces, there is a whole new cast of cocky pilots and officers. What happened to the much-loved stars missing from the original line-up, and where are they now?
11 Meg Ryan Faced Acting Burnout
Meg Ryan was only 25 years old when she played Carole Bradshaw, wife to Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw. After starring in Top Gun, the now-60-year-old went on to become one of the biggest stars of the '90s and the queen of romantic comedies. She made a name for herself in films like When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle.
Ryan's successful hit career hit a roadblock following her role in the 2000 thriller, Proof of Life. Not only was the movie a box-office flop, but Ryan's off-camera affair with co-star Russell Crowe damaged her reputation.
An attempt to shake up her wholesome image with the 2003 erotic thriller In the Cut only damaged her career further. "When I did 'In the Cut,' the reaction was vicious," Meg Ryan told The New York Times in 2019. "I feel like that might've been the last movie I did."
Meg Ryan's film career never fully recovered from these flops. She directed Ithaca in 2015, and her last acting credit was 2018 TV series Picture Paris. "I didn't feel like I knew enough anymore about myself or the world to reflect it as an actor. I felt isolated," she told The New York Times.
Ryan's son Jack Quaid is the star of Amazon Prime's The Boys and starred in Scream 5. Her relationship with Dennis Quaid ended in 2001, and she was in an on/off relationship with John Mellencamp between 2011 and 2019.
10 Kelly McGillies Quit Hollywood To Find Herself
Kelly McGillis, 64, played Maverick's love interest, Charlotte Blackwood in the original movie. After her role in Top Gun, McGillis appeared in some films including The Accused alongside Jodie Foster. She dropped out of Hollywood in 2002 and worked as a counselor but made a comeback in her role as Colonel Davis in The L Word.
McGillis officially came out as gay in an interview in 2003. She now resides in North Carolina with her two children. Explaining why she left Hollywood, McGills said she "got sober" and was "on a journey to figure out who the hell" she was.
"It was very challenging for me to have any kind of sense of self or self-identity or real self-worth other than what I did for a living," she admitted. "And it just -- it didn't become a priority; what became the priority initially was raising my girls and being the best sober parent I could be."
"It wasn't like a major decision that I made to leave, it was just that other things became more important. I love acting, I love what I do, I love doing theater, but I don't know. To me, my relationships to other people became far more important than my relationship to fame."
When asked if she had received a call about the sequel, she responded, "Oh my God no they did not, and nor do I think they would ever... I’m old and I’m fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is. And that is not what the whole scene is about."
9 Anthony Edwards Found Award Success With ER
Anthony Edwards played the role of Maverick’s best friend Goose in Top Gun. After starring in the '80s movie, he found success playing the role of Dr. Mark Greene on the first eight seasons of ER. For the role as a lovable doctor, Edwards has won a Golden Globe, six Screen Actors Guild Awards, and was nominated for four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards.
While appearing on ER, the actor also had roles in The Client, Playing by Heart, and Zodiac. He later starred in Big Sur, Consumed, Drew and Controversy, in addition to voicing Echo in Planes. He would also have recurring roles in Law & Order: True Crime and Designated Survivor
More recently, Edwards starred in Inventing Anna and WeCrashed. In 2021, he married Academy Award-nominated actress Mare Winningham.
8 Tom Skerritt Starred in Over 40 Films
Tom Skerrit played Viper but was a household name long before Top Gun for his roles in M*A*S*H and Alien. He has since gone on to appear in Picket Fences (1992-1996), for which he won an Emmy. Tom has appeared in over 40 movies, and over 200 TV episodes, including Steel Magnolias, Contact and A River Runs Through It.
He was originally supposed to appear in a crowd scene in Top Gun: Maverick, but he does not make the final cut. "So I went down there for a day, and I was in that scene [but] I don't think that I'll be in the film at all. It's just me in the crowd of people," he explained. Although he has slowed down, he recently starred in East of the Mountain alongside Mira Sorvino.
7 Michael Ironside Became A Cult Sci-Fi Star
Canadian-born Michael Ironside began acting in movies in the late 1970s, but gained attention after playing scheming psychic Darryl Revok in David Cronenberg’s 1981 Scanners. He was known for playing intimidating characters in low-budget movies until he was cast in Top Gun as Viper’s No. 2 instructor, Jester.
After Top Gun, he returned to sci-fi, appearing in films like Highlander II: The Quickening, Total Recall and Starship Troopers. He’s also had a prolific television career, with parts in shows like Tales From the Crypt; Walker, Texas Ranger; ER; and Desperate Housewives. More recently, he appeared in Hulu’s The Dropout.
6 Tim Robins Earned Acclaim And An Oscar
Tim Robbins had barely graduated from UCLA when he earned a recurring role on the TV series St. Elsewhere in 1982. Although he had a minor role in Top Gun as Merlin, he went on to have an illustrious career in film and TV.
This break out role came in 1988s Bull Durham, which would be followed by a string of successful 1990s films including Jacob’s Ladder, The Player and The Shawshank Redemption, which is often considered one of the best performances of all time.
Robbins earned an Oscar for 2004’s Mystic River, and he still has a successful career in film and television. He played Reginald “Pop” Merrill in Hulu’s Stephen King-adapted anthology series Castle Rock and a felonious DuPont lawyer in the 2019 film Dark Waters.
Robbins was in a relationship to Susan Sarandon between 1988 and 2009.
5 John Stockwell Became A Successful Director
John Stockwell booked a handful of roles in the '90s after playing Cougar in Top Gun, but he seemingly aimed his focus more towards directing. Although he starred in Christine and comedy Losin It, Top Gun is still his most popular role.
Stockwell directed several films in the 100s, including Cheaters (where he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special), Crazy/Beautiful, Blue Crush,Into the Blue, the Gina Carano star-vehicle In the Blood, and the 2016 Kickboxer reboot.
4 Whip Hubley Focused On TV
Whip Huble played the wingman in Top Gun after starring in St. Elmo's Fire (1985), as well as episodes of Magnum, P.I. and North and South. Hubley's most-Top Gun career was mainly spent in TV movies, and picked up '90s credits in Life Goes On, Murder, She Wrote, Coneheads, Species, Executive Decision, and A Very Brady Sequel.
In the years since, he has mainly worked in television, landing bit roles in one-off episodes of The Practice, Charmed, The District, and CSI: Miami.
3 Barry Tubb Quit Acting In 2014
Tall Texan Barry Tubb has not worked since 2014. He started his career in Hill City Blues and western Lonesome Dove before playing Wolfman in Top Gun. He also had supporting roles in Mask and The Legend of Billie Jean. Barry soon turned to independent filming and other interests outside of Hollywood.
In 1991, he moved to France and rode in a Wild West show. Barry starred, directed, produced, and co-wrote a low-budget thriller Blood Trail which led to no major offers for distribution. His last role was in the 2014 TV movie, Deliverance Creek.
2 Clarence Gilyard Jr. Became A '90s TV Star
After appearing in episodes of Diff'rent Strokes, CHiPs, and The Duck Factory, Clarence Gilyard Jr. joined Top Gun as Sundown.
After starring in the film, Gilyard Jr. appeared in Die Hard and spent four years starring in Matlock as Conrad McMasters before playing James Trivette in Walker, Texas Ranger. He starred in the series from 1993 to 2001 and later appeared in spin-offs as the pop character.
Gilyard is an associate professor in the College of Fine Arts – Department of Theatre at the University of Nevada and serves as the consultant of the communications committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
1 Heroes Actor Adrian Pasdar's First Role Was Top Gun
Adrian Pasdar made his on-screen debut as unit lieutenant Chipper. He then spent the late '80s and early '90s acting in film and TV, starring in Solarbabies, Near Dark, and Carlito's Way. He went on to earn to star in Mysterious Ways, Judging Amy and Desperate Housewives. He also lent his voice to The Super Hero Squad Show and the Iron Man series.
He has had more recent roles in Castle, Political Animals, The Lying Game and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He is probably best known for his role as Nathan Petrelli on Heroes.
He was married to Chicks' singer Natalie Maines for 17 years. Maines revealed that the Chicks' 2020 album Gaslighter includes songs written during the divorce. The album surrounds the topic of a husband gaslighting and cheating on his wife.
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