How Old Was Tom Cruise When He Made Top Gun In 1986?

screenrant.com:

Tom Cruise has been the leading star in several movies since he was very young, but how old was he when he made the original Top Gun film in 1986? The recent, long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick has sparked new conversation about the actor and his illustrious career in Hollywood. Considering Tom Cruise started his career at a young age, it’s great to see him continue to do what he loves, but it's sometimes easy to forget how young he was when he found superstardom.

Tom Cruise began his acting career at only 18 years old. He started off in smaller roles as most beginning actors do. He was part of the ensemble cast of The Outsiders in 1983, but his career started to blossom when he starred in Risky Business that same year. His star status was locked in place after leading the original Top Gun in 1986. The movie centered around the Navy's flight school, TOPGUN, that trains fighter pilots. Tom Cruise plays the reckless adrenaline junkie Pete «Maverick» Mitchell, alongside co-stars Val Kilmer as Iceman and Anthony Edwards as Maverick’s right-hand man, Goose. The film was packed full of action, plane stunts, tragedy, and iconic songs that are still well known today. Audience members and critics were very fond of his performance in the film and wanted to see more of him on the big screen–the rest is history. Tom Cruise is now one of the most accomplished actors in the industry, going on to star in, among other things, the Mission: Impossible franchise, Jerry McGuire, and Born on the Fourth of July.

Related: Why Top Gun: Maverick Reviews Are So Positive

Though he had already been acting a few years before his big break, Tom Cruise was still only 24 years old when he starred in the classic film Top Gun in 1986. That role is