Top Gun: Maverick Star Jon Hamm Teases Clash With Tom Cruise

While its release date has been delayed multiple times amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the hype surrounding Top Gun: Maverick has continued to grow. The film will provide a long-awaited follow-up to the 1986 film of the same name, bringing new characters into the orbit of Tom Cruise‘s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Among those will be Vice Admiral Cyclone, portrayed by Mad Men and Good Omens star Jon Hamm. In a recent interview with Men’s Journal, Hamm teased what fans can expect from the character, including a bit of a conflict with Maverick himself.

“Yeah, it’s sort of tangentially related [to Viper],” Hamm revealed. “It’s not so much of a father figure, the way Viper was to Tom. He’s air boss of the fighter wing. He has a lot of authority and responsibility. When that rubs up against Maverick, there’s friction, as you would guess. I provide the friction.”

While their characters might be at odds onscreen, Hamm had nothing but kind words to say about Cruise, and the way he led the entire cast.

“Well, I’ll say this about Tom, he is 100 percent movie star and 100 percent a leader,” Hamm revealed. “On Mad Men, I learned that if the person at the top of the food chain behaves in a certain way, then that’s how the rest of the folks are going to behave. Tom’s always ready. He’s already prepared. He’s always on time. He’s got 900 things going on that you don’t even know about. But that never comes into the daily work. If there was any pressure to perform and be great, or uphold the legacy of this film, it didn’t show. You could tell that he was having the time of his life, and that enthusiasm completely washed over the rest of the cast. My first day on set, I said to Tom, “This has to be just surreal for you. Like you’re literally in the same hangar, 30 years later. In nearly the same costume. What’s that like?” And he goes, “Man, it’s unreal. How cool is this?””

Top Gun: Maverick is currently set to be released on July 2, 2021.