F1 champion Lewis Hamilton turns down the role of Top Gun: Maverick

Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has announced he has had to turn down the role of a fighter pilot in Tom Cruise’s hit Top Gun: Maverick, directed by Joseph Kosinski.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Cruise’s friend Hamilton says he watched “Top Gun” as a kid and was fixated on becoming a fighter pilot. “So when I heard the second one came out, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I have to ask him [Cruise],'” Hamilton told Vanity Fair. “I said, ‘I don’t care what role it is. I’ll even do some sweeping, cleaning in the back.” ” In this case, Cruise agreed and the role was not that of a cleaner but of a fighter pilot.

However, the film’s schedule clashed with the Formula One season finale and Hamilton was unable to take on the role. He briefed Cruise and Kosinski and described the call as “the most upsetting phone call I’ve ever had.”

Hamilton will have another chance to hit the screen in the form of the as yet untitled Formula 1 film, starring Brad Pitt and directed by Kosinski, of which he is a co-producer. In the project, hosted by Apple, Pitt plays a driver who comes out of retirement to compete alongside a rookie driver and the titans of the sport.

Hamilton arranged for Pitt to tour the factories in Britain where that year’s Formula 1 car for Mercedes was being built. Hamilton also served as a script consultant, telling Vanity Fair, “To hear the BS that’s in the script because the Americans who are writing it are just getting used to F1.”

The world champion is also grateful to George Lucas, who elevated Hamilton to “hero status” after a rare slip in Abu Dhabi in 2021. “That’s one of the greatest compliments you can get,” Hamilton said. “It’s very, very surreal growing up on Star Wars and having Yoda’s father say positive things about you.”