Miles Teller reveals that he literally had jet fuel in his blood while filming scenes for Top Gun: Maverick. Acting as a sequel to 1986's Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick continues the story of Tom Cruise's hotshot pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and sees him return to the titular Navy fighter pilot school to teach a new batch of recruits for a dangerous mission. The film, directed by Joseph Kosinski, has been a massive hit both critically and commercially, with praise leveled at Cruise's performance, the intense aerial combat sequences, and the new cast members.
To prepare for their roles in the film, much of the cast of Top Gun: Maverick took part in what has since been dubbed "Tom Cruise boot camp." The training included a host of flights in real aircraft to prepare the actors for when they would be sitting in the cockpits of actual fighter jets to film their scenes. Kosinski previously revealed that over 800 hours of footage was shot for Top Gun: Maverick, with countless hours captured of the actors in real fighter jets flown by real Navy pilots. In addition to Cruise and Teller, Top Gun: Maverick stars Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, Monica Barbaro, Charles Parnell, and Lewis Pullman, among others.
In a new interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers, Teller reveals that he literally had jet fuel in his blood while filming some of his scenes. Teller explains that, after one outing in a fighter jet, he broke out in hives and was sent to the crew doctor for blood work. Surprisingly, his blood work revealed a number of chemicals in his system, including actual jet fuel, which he was keen to brag about to Cruise. Check out Teller's full comment below:
"We landed and I'm just like, 'Man, I'm not feeling too good.' I was really hot and I just started itching like crazy, so I get out of the jet and I'm just covered in hives, like head to toe. Instantly, I go to a doctor, I do like a blood analysis, this, that whatever. I'm in an oatmeal bath at night.
"So I go to the doctor and my blood work comes back and I have flame-retardant, pesticides, and jet fuel in my blood. Then I thought, 'Wait a second, this is actually kind of cool.' So I go to set the next day and Tom [Cruise] is like, 'So how did it go, Miles? What did they find?' I was like, 'Well, Tom, it turns out I have jet fuel in my blood.' And without even skipping a beat, Tom just goes, 'Yeah, I was born with it kid.' So that was a very Tom moment for me."
Cruise is renowned for his commitment to filming his movies as practically as possible and Teller's story about the jet fuel in his blood is a reminder of the intense dedication of the cast and crew of Top Gun: Maverick. Thankfully, Teller was okay, but the story is a reminder that despite the abundant safety precautions and training involved, filming in real aircraft does carry with it a number of risks. Cruise's response is characteristically funny, but there is some truth to the claim, with the actor having possessed a pilot's license since 1994.
Top Gun: Maverick is one of the most exhilarating blockbusters of recent memory, and much of that is due to Cruise and Kosinski's commitment to shooting as much of it as practically as possible. Although Teller's experience on that particular day does sound unpleasant, most of the actors seem to have really enjoyed their time in the fighter jets (even if most of them did throw up at one point or another). The rivalry between Cruise and Teller in the film is also one of the highlights of Top Gun: Maverick, an element that evidently was present to some extent off-screen as well.
Source: Late Night With Seth Meyers
Miles Teller literally had jet fuel in his blood while filming scenes for Top Gun: Maverick, but it still wasn't enough to impress Tom Cruise.Ryan Northrup