Considering Kurt Russell has been acting in Hollywood since the 1960s, he’s seen the myriad of changes the industry has gone through across the past 60 years. Arguably the biggest change of them all lately is the prominence of streaming. (The 74-year-old star even has his own series among the 2026 TV schedule). So, when Top Gun: Maverick showed the big-screen blockbuster wasn’t a thing of the past, he reached out to the man that made it happen: Tom Cruise.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Russell revealed that Tom Cruise gave him hope regarding the future of the movie industry with Maverick. With that, Russell made sure the actor/producer knew about it. In his words:
I actually sent Tom a note because I thought that this was the type of movie that we needed to try and get the movie business back on track, which it’s been struggling to do ever since COVID. People got out of the habit of going to watch something collectively and got used to watching things at home.
After a couple of dismal years for Hollywood following the COVID-19 pandemic, Top Gun: Maverick was one of those big movies that helped prove there was still a big moviegoing audience who wanted to leave their homes for a great experience in a cinema. The film made nearly $1.5 billion worldwide during its 2022 box office run. It ended up being the No. 2 movie of that year, behind Avatar: The Way of Water’s $2.3 billion success. And, as of this writing, the Cruise-fronted flick sits at No. 15 of the highest-grossing movies of all time.
The movie also earned six Oscar nominations, winning one for Best Sound. Kurt Russell is just one of many celebrities who have sung Maverick's praises in recent years. Even Steven Spielberg memorably said that Cruise “saved Hollywood’s a–” and that Maverick “might have saved the entire theatrical industry.” It’s great to know Russell took the time to reach out to Cruise to commend him for what he achieved with the high-flying action film.
Both Cruise and Russell starred in Cameron Crowe’s 2001 film Vanilla Sky, and they seem to have a personal relationship, based on other comments Russell shared with EW. The seasoned actor reveled he actually helped Cruise learn how to fly a plane after he initially found that passion on the set of the original Top Gun. With that knowledge in mind, it's fair to say Russell's guidance (eventually) helped Maverick, given Cruise did get to do his own flying in the sequel after not doing any real aerial driving in the original 1986 film.
Tom Cruise is currently working on a third Top Gun movie and is set to star in the black comedy film Digger, which hits theaters this fall as part of the 2026 movie schedule. I'd like to think that Kurt Russell will continue to cheer on Cruise as he continues to bring new experiences to the big screen.
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