was pretty much in character when he arrived at the Top Gear: Maverick premiere, after flying in on a helicopter.
The 59-year-old actor was the star attraction at the San Diego event on Wednesday after making his grand entrance in a ‘copter with his own name – and ‘: Maverick’ – branded on the side.
After breezing into the event from the skies, Cruise casually hopped out the aircraft looking dapper in a full three-piece Brioni suit and tie and – very appropriately – a pair of aviator sunglasses.
As he strutted along the runway to join his co-stars, the actor looked every inch the blockbuster hero – even if the wind gave his hair an interesting blowout.
Cruise then flashed his Hollywood smile and gave onlookers a wave before making it to the red carpet where he posed for photos with his co-stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly and Monica Barbaro.
While chatting on the red carpet, Cruise revealed he didn’t actually fly the helicopter himself, telling ET Online: ‘No, not today. I do fly that helicopter, but not today.’
He also recently praised Lady Gaga’s new song for the movie’s soundtrack and revealed that the pop star has also helped to compose the score.
‘It just opened up the whole movie. She’s amazing,’ Cruise told James Corden this week.
‘It just opened those doors to the emotional core of the film that we had … in that moment, things just came together in such a beautiful way. Her song that she’d written just fell right in and became, really, the underlying score and the heartbeat of our film.’
as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, 30 years after the last instalment.
When Maverick finds himself training a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialised mission, he encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Teller), Rooster, the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw aka Goose.
Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.
Top Gun: Maverick hits cinemas on May 27.
