Jennifer Connelly Said Tom Cruise Reshot ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Scene to Fulfill His Speed Craving
Jennifer Connelly revealed the scene that Tom Cruise wanted to reshoot for Top Gun: Maverick to fulfill his speed craving. However, these thrill-seeking stunts find their way into every inch of the movie. Connelly doesn’t get very involved in the Top Gun: Maverick flight sequences, but she does get to operate a boat.
Jennifer Connelly is the love interest alongside Tom Cruise in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Top Gun: Maverick picks up after Maverick (Cruise) has worked in the service for over 30 years. He continues to push the envelope as a test pilot in a project that continues to see a downward trend in funding. However, Maverick is sent to train a group of graduates for a special assignment that puts their lives on the line.
Meanwhile, Top Gun: Maverick finds the protagonist meeting up with a longtime friend named Penny (Connelly). She works at a bar and their chemistry immediately takes off. However, there are clear mixed feelings regarding their history. Nevertheless, the pair continue to meet throughout the movie.
Jennifer Connelly said Tom Cruise reshot the boat scene to fulfill his speed craving
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert interviewed Connelly about her role in Top Gun: Maverick. They talked about one of her key scenes in the movie, where Cruise and Connelly set sail together. Her character, Penny, drives the sailboat, but she learns that Maverick doesn’t actually know how to operate a boat.
Host Stephen Colbert wanted to know if it’s true that Connelly actually did her own stunts and sailed the boat. “I do,” Connelly responded. “I’m at the helm of a vessel.”
However, there’s more of a story that explains why Cruise needed to film the scene twice for more speed.
“We filmed that sequence twice, actually,” Connelly recalled. “We filmed it the first time outside of San Diego and it was very beautiful. You know, lovely shots and there were dolphins even, swimming beside us. Tom was like, ‘This isn’t fast enough,’ so we redid the scene. We went to San Francisco for the rough weather, for the wind. That’s what we have.”
Connelly took sailing lessons in preparation for Top Gun: Maverick. However, it was an overall great experience for the actor.
“I loved it,” Connelly said. “It was great, it was amazing. I was taking lessons and I started in New York because I live in Brooklyn. I was taking lessons in the harbor, which was interesting.”
He wanted the sequel to put the audience in the pilot’s seat
Cruise wanted to put the Top Gun: Maverick cast through some serious preparation to prepare for the filming, including Connelly. The characters in jets had to learn how to actually withstand the force in one of these crafts with experts flying them. As a result, some of the cast puked during training, but the audience experiences some truly wild flight sequences.
However, this resulted in a lot more work for the cast. It isn’t too surprising, given that Cruise always enjoyed the adrenaline thrill of performing his own stunts. Nevertheless, Connelly had a positive experience learning how to get onto a sailboat for the scene, even in the rougher waters of San Francisco.
