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REVEALED: Tom Cruise offered Lewis Hamilton a role as a FIGHTER PILOT in Top Gun: Maverick – but the F1 calendar meant he had to turn it down in a phone call he admitted was ‘the most upsetting I’ve ever made’
- Lewis Hamilton revealed Tom Cruise offered him a role as a fighter pilot in Top Gun: Maverick after the Mercedes driver asked to be in the box office hit
- The 37-year-old was a fan of the original film and insisted he would have been happy just being a cleaner in the sequel
- But filming took place during the climax of the F1 season and Hamilton said he could not justify sacrificing preparation to turn up on set
- Top Gun: Maverick supplanted Titanic as the seventh-biggest film ever at the domestic box office last weekend
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Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton revealed he agonizingly had to give up the chance to star alongside Tom Cruise in the Top Gun: Maverick film.
Hamilton, 37, has enjoyed minor forays into Hollywood in the past, making a cameo in Zoolander 2 and lending his voice to Cars 2 and Cars 3 but he almost landed his dream role.
The Brit was a fan of the original Top Gun film as a child, which made him ‘fixated’ on being a fighter pilot.
Although he ended up on the track rather than in the skies, Hamilton revealed he almost had the chance to live out his dream on the big screen.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hamilton said he begged his friend Tom Cruise to let him have a role in the Top Gun sequel.
‘Basically I’m a friend of Tom,’ Hamilton said before adding, ‘Cruise.’
‘One of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. He invited me to his set years ago when he was doing Edge of Tomorrow and then we just built a friendship over time.’
Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton (right) revealed he agonizingly had to give up the chance to star alongside Tom Cruise (left) in Top Gun: Maverick
Hamilton said he begged his friend Cruise to let him have a role in the Top Gun sequel
‘So when I heard the second one was coming out, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I have to ask him,’ he added.
‘I said, “I don’t care what role it is. I’ll even sweep something, be a cleaner in the back.”‘
Cruise reportedly not only said yes but told Hamilton he didn’t have to settle for being a cleaner but could be a fighter pilot.
But then reality struck as the Mercedes driver realized filming would take place during the climax of the Formula One season.
The Mercedes driver realized that filming would take place at the height of the F1 season
The seven-time World Champion insisted he could not justify sacrificing preparation to turn up on set, claiming he is a ‘perfectionist’.
He was forced to reluctantly contact Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski to turn down the role in what he described as the ‘most upsetting call he has ever had.’
Hamilton not only missed out on a big screen breakthrough but also a potentially massive payday.
Top Gun: Maverick supplanted Titanic as the seventh-biggest film ever at the domestic box office last weekend having now earned $662 million in ticket sales.
The sequel, now in its eleventh week of release, added $7 million to its total and beats James Cameron’s 1997 tragedy by $3 million, having raked in $659 million.
Top Gun is only the 12th film to ever cross the $600 million mark at the domestic box office
While Titanic is now in eighth place, Top Gun is now creeping up on sixth placed Avengers: Infinity War at $678 million and Black Panther with box office receipts of $700 million.
Films that have grossed even more including Avatar, Spiderman: No Way Home, Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: The Force Awakens will likely not be surpassed, however it could well mean Top Gun: Maverick makes it into fifth place.
Top Gun is only the 12th film to ever cross the $600 million mark at the domestic box office.
Internationally, it holds the number three spot for the studio’s highest-grossing titles ever.