When you think of Top Gun, it's not just fighter jets, cool sunglasses, leather jackets and shirtless volleyball scuffles that you think of! There was also the 'too hot to handle' chemistry between Tom Cruise aka Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and Kelly McGillis aka Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood that took our breath away, all the pun intended! 36 years later, in Top Gun: Maverick, Maverick finds himself a new love interest in the gorgeous, talented Jennifer Connelly as Penelope "Penny" Benjamin.
Having watched the movie, I can bet that fans are going to go gaga over Tom and Jennifer's palpable chemistry, especially with how intimate Maverick and Penny seem with the latter being the former's voice of reason through and through. I had the humble opportunity to indulge in a tête-à-tête with Jennifer Connelly, during Top Gun: Maverick's press junket, and the 51-year-old actress spoke candidly about how she and Tom Cruise went about building the palpable chemistry between Maverick and Penny, how it felt to have Lady Gaga's iconic voice singing Top Gun: Maverick's theme song Hold My Hand - a romantic anthem fit for Maverick and Penny, how euphoric her experience was flying, inspite of her fear, with the "incredibly dependable" Tom Cruise and what her perception is of Tom Cruise "The Superstar," especially after having worked with him so closely in Top Gun: Maverick.
When talking particularly about her perception of Tom Cruise, who could be considered Hollywood's Maverick, Jennifer was all praises for her co-star: "He has enormous skill and talent and I think he has enormous drive to perpetually work on himself, question how he can make things better. He has more enthusiasm and passion and dedication to making movies than anyone I've ever come across. I mean, it's just... he's tireless. It's perpetual and it's really extraordinary. He just literally takes nothing for granted, was my perception. In terms of the script, always questioning how it can be refined, how we can work on it to make it better, working on technologies for capturing the action sequences, pushing himself. It's just... he's so... he strikes me as someone who loves movies so much and is so grateful for the opportunity to make movies. And so grateful for his fans that he's always just doing everything in his immense power to do all that he can to deliver, which, it's quite extraordinary."
Watch Jennifer Connelly's EXCLUSIVE interview with Pinkvilla for Top Gun: Maverick HERE.
How excited are you to see Jennifer Connelly and Tom Cruise's tantalising chemistry shine in Top Gun: Maverick? Share your excitement with Pinkvilla in the comments section below.
Meanwhile, Top Gun: Maverick releases on May 27.