Top Gun: Maverick Star Calls Tom Cruise An 'Amazing' Mentor, But Not Someone You Want To Race

Tom Cruise flying jet in Top Gun: Maverick trailer

The sequel to the wildly popular '80s classic Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick sees the role reprisals of Tom Cruise as protagonist Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and Val Kilmer as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky and the introductions of new characters in the forms of Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Jay Ellis, and others. But, as with the first film, it's Cruise who will steal the show. And according to one of his co-stars, Cruise is just as much a scene-stealer in real life as he is in his many movies ( his hilarious Tropic Thunder role being the only one even he could probably never top).

Jay Ellis, one of the franchise's new additions, recently spoke with Collider's Perri Nemiroff, who asked him about his upcoming projects and picked his brain about the highly anticipated Top Gun sequel.

I did get to work quite a bit with Tom [Cruise]. It was amazing. He's a mentor, he's a filmmaker, someone who has a very strong point of view and can communicate it very clearly. It allows you to be able to go out and play. And he definitely, he looked out for us.

Adding humor to the interview was Jay Ellis's anecdote about Tom Cruise being a fast runner -- after Ellis was asked if he raced Cruise on set. It's a fun little glimpse into how people perceive 57-year-old Cruise's astonishing athleticism. The Tom Cruise run is famous, after all.

I did not run him in a race. Nobody wants to see the Tom Cruise race. You can't see Tom Cruise's feet! He's just too fast! Nobody wants that.

Jay Ellis also revealed a teeny-tiny bit about his character, saying:

I'm a pilot, so I may or may not fly. There's only so much I'm allowed to say. Paramount's going to be mad at me, there's only so much I'm allowed to say. But it was absolutely an amazing experience.

It's an understandable response. The movie doesn't come out until next year so anything he says now will absolutely impact publicity going forward. And given how big this film will be, it is in Paramount's best interests to keep things relatively quiet until the film is closer to release. Still, this is harmless, amusing information that just strengthens the notion that Tom Cruise is a great dude.

We don't yet know quite what to expect from Top Gun: Maverick, other than the facts that Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer are returning and that the film will use brand-new technology (presumably for its aerial scenes).

Could you beat Tom Cruise in a race? Would you even want to try? Sound off the comments below and make sure you acquaint yourself with what's scheduled for release in 2019. There are some incredible-looking films on the horizon so start planning movie dates now!