

Of all the call signs, Pullman’s “Bob” (also his character’s first name) is the most mysteriously straightforward. Where you’ve seen him before: “Outer Range,” “Bad Times at the El Royale,” “Catch-22” “That was my first offer, and having an offer is an actor’s dream.” Lewis Pullman “I put the phone on mute and jumped up and down and screamed,” Davis said. While “Maverick” was in postproduction, he got a call from Christopher McQuarrie, the writer-director of “Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One” the frequent Cruise collaborator was asking him to join the cast, no audition required. So I decided to give it a shot.” In a role reversal, Davis, who has gone by Tarzan since his own “wild” youth, said he felt like a kid throughout production, enthralled by the aviation toys and tasked with learning new things. “But I realized I wasn’t doing that - because my dream was to be an actor. I would preach that to my students,” Davis said. “I’m a big believer in following your dreams. Not long before landing “Maverick,” Davis was an elementary schoolteacher in his home state of Louisiana. Where you’ve seen him before: “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Good Trouble,” “Chicago P.D.” He’s like, ‘This is ‘Top Gun’ right here.’” Monica Barbaro

“I’m literally wheeling them on a luggage cart into the elevator, and as the doors are about to close, Val steps in.

“The last things that I moved out of my room were protein powder, weights and tequila,” Powell said. When Powell moved out of the San Diego hotel where he had stayed during filming, he bumped into Kilmer, who had just arrived to shoot his scene. Still, the cocky, confrontational pilot shares more than a few traits with Iceman - as does Powell with Kilmer. Cruise persuaded Powell to sign on, and they worked together to make the character distinctly Powell’s own. Then, when Powell was offered the role that would become Hangman, he turned it down for fear it would be a copy-and-paste take on Val Kilmer’s antagonistic Iceman in the 1986 film. Powell originally auditioned to play Rooster (then called Rascal) but lost out to Miles Teller. Where you’ve seen him before: “Set It Up,” “Hidden Figures,” “Scream Queens”
