A Formula 1 schedule conflict prevented Lewis Hamilton from making a cameo appearance in Tom Cruise's new blockbuster, Top Gun: Maverick. The sequel to 1986's original Top Gun was released worldwide in May 2022 after years of delays due to filming setbacks and the COVID-19 pandemic. It has earned over $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, with Cruise lauded for his role as Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. Now it has been revealed that, but for a scheduling conflict, Hamilton would have made his Hollywood debut in the film.
Hamilton almost set for fighter pilot Top Gun role
During an interview with Vanity Fair , seven-time World Champion Hamilton detailed how he approached long-time friend Cruise and asked for even just a minor role in the new film. "When I heard the second one was coming out, I was like: ‘Oh, my God, I have to ask him,'" the Mercedes driver explained. "I said: 'I don’t care what role it is. I’ll even sweep something, be a cleaner in the back.' Preparations with director Joseph Kosinski (with whom Hamilton is collaborating with Brad Pitt on an F1 movie) were then made for Hamilton to cameo as a fighter pilot along the likes of Cruise and co-star Miles Teller. After the news broke, actor Danny Ramirez revealed that director Kosinski had told him at the Spanish Grand Prix that Hamilton was sent to play his character, Lieutenant Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia.
F1 reality stops Hamilton Top Gun cameo
However, with filming for the movie taking place back in 2018 and 2019, the proposed dates for shooting Hamilton's scenes coincided with the run in to the end of the campaign – when the World Championship was up for grabs in the former. Hamilton then had to reluctantly inform Cruise and Kosinski that he would be unavailable and the cameo canned, something he recalled as: "The most upsetting call that I think I’ve ever had." However, Hamilton has appeared in films before. He made a cameo in 2016 Zoolander 2 and also lent his voice in Cars 2 and 3. The Briton's extra-circular activities away from F1 also include an appearance on singer Christina Aguilera's 2018 song Pipe as artist XNDA.
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