The Top Gun: Maverick shirtless football scene blessed us all this summer. Showing off the cast’s abs and making it clear they are all in tip-top shape. It also brought us iconic moments that will live on forever as viral gifs like the Rooster wiggle. However, a scene like that does not just happen, the actors had to work hard to get in such good shape, and Glenn Powell is pointing that out with a recent behind-the-scenes post.
The film’s director Joseph Kosinski called this scene the “Super Bowl of, you know, shirtless scenes.” Turns out this scene almost didn’t happen, Kosinski said he didn’t want to make a montage that was the “cover band version of Top Gun.” Well, it wasn’t a second-rate version of the iconic Volleyball scene, if anything it met or even exceeded expectations. I feel like it’s safe to say that a massive reason they were able to pull this off is because of how hard the actors worked to get into shape, even on the day of the shoot, as Powell posted on his Instagram:
Powell is right, “montages are” indeed “forever.” I have a hunch he’s right in regard to this iconic scene. At least, I know I’ll never forget about it. These dudes (and gal) are in perfect shape and look so incredibly good in this scene how could you forget about it?
Top Gun: Maverick has been one of the most successful movies of 2022. With it being such a cultural phenomenon, the stars have spoken at length about how they made the movie and have shared lots of fun behind-the-scenes posts. Powell, in particular, has talked a lot about making the blockbuster, specifically the football scene. The other stars have also told funny stories about Powell’s training. For example, Lewis Pullman, who plays Bob, talked about training for the shirtless scene and how he caught Powell in the gym whispering to himself “montages last forever.”
Meanwhile, Jay Ellis, who plays Payback, didn’t mind missing out on the scene. It’s understandable, he had to be naked for 6 or 7 years while he worked on Insecure and said he is happy to have people recognize him in his clothes. While he was missed from the scene, I respect his point.
While the entire montage will for sure last forever, Miles Teller’s little dance he did will likely live on long past forever. The two-second clip of him dancing has gone viral and Teller revealed that the move was something he and his friends would do at parties.
These shirtless scenes clearly highlight all the hard work the actors put into their training. Their training was no joke; Tom Cruise put them through intensive pilot training to prepare for the movie. Obviously, it paid off physically for the actors. However, there was also a major payoff on the filming side of things. They were able to capture the action in the airplanes which was able to break “the glass ceiling,” as Danny Ramirez, who plays Fanboy in the movie, put it. Without their physical and pilot training, none of this would have been possible.
Top Gun: Maverick is a feat of physical and film achievement, and boy am I happy people like Powell keep posting all this sizzling BTS content. They all deserve to show off their abs and their hard work.