Tom Cruise may forever be associated with Top Gun, but he wasn't the first choice to play Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. There's a string of other rising 80s stars who were up for the role before Cruise was ultimately cast in Top Gun.
Released in 1986, Top Gun was directed by Tony Scott with the screenplay by Jim Cast and Jack Epps Jr. inspired by the California magazine article "Top Guns." Cruise was joined by Kelly McGillis as Charlie, Val Kilmer as Iceman, Anthony Edwards as Goose, and Tom Skerritt as Viper. The story sees Maverick and Goose train at the US Navy's Fighter Weapons School at the Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. Though Top Gun opened to mixed reviews - with critics lauding the aerial stunts but lamenting the thin, adolescent character dynamics - it was a huge commercial hit, earning $356.8 million against a $15 million production budget. This made it the highest-grossing movie of that year, and Top Gun has since become cult classic, even joining the the National Film Registry in 2015.
Cruise's first starring role was in 1983's Risky Business, but it was Top Gun three years later that solidified his place as a Hollywood action star. Playing the cocky fighter pilot Maverick is arguably one of Cruise's most iconic roles. However, if things panned out differently, the character may have played by a different actor. Maverick was first offered to Matthew Modine, fresh off his acclaimed performances in Birdy and Mrs. Soffel. Modine was particularly sought for the part, but the film's Cold War-era politics motivated Modine to choose Stanley Kubrick's anti-war Full Metal Jacket, which proved to be a star-making role for Modine as Private Joker.
Other actors considered were Cruise's The Outsiders castmates, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, and Emilio Estevez, and Sean Penn, and Michael J. Fox, who would later star in another war film, 1989's Casualties of War. Considering their eventual career paths, Jim Carrey, Scott Baio, and Tom Hanks now seem like odd candidates, but they too were considered for Maverick.
Looking back at it now, it's difficult to imagine any other actor playing Maverick in Top Gun. Between Cruise's boyish charm and arrogant disposition, he effectively brought the cocky fighter pilot to life. Given the actor's love for extreme stunts in the service of the movie, he was effectively able to sell the aerial action sequences that the movie is known for. It had already been decades since he portrayed the role, but his impending return to the big screen in Top Gun: Maverick is exciting a lot of fans especially considering how meticulously crafted the fight scenes for the sequel seem to be.
