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Formula One icon Lewis Hamilton almost turned his hand to acting in the billion-dollar box office blockbuster success, Top Gun: Maverick. Hamilton has revealed that he was offered a role in 2022’s legacy sequel, which saw Tom Cruise take to the skies once again as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell some 36 years after starring in the first Top Gun. Speaking with GQ, Hamilton revealed that Hollywood legend Tom Cruise had unexpectedly reached out to him to invite him to the set of Edge of Tomorrow back in 2014. Sharing an interest in racing, the Top Gun: Maverick role came about after the F1 champion showed Cruise his Top Gun themed watch.

“I said, ‘Dude, if you ever do Top Gun 2…’—which had not been spoken of, there was no story yet—‘I will even be a janitor—just let me be in it.’ ”

Tom Cruise returns as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and keeps pushing the envelope as a seasoned aviator for the Navy in this sequel to the original Top Gun film.

So, when Top Gun 2 became a reality, Cruise remembered Hamilton’s fondness for the original, inviting him to play the part of the fighter pilot “Fanboy.” But Hamilton knew he was not ready to make the leap to the big screen just yet.

“Firstly, I hadn’t even had, like, an acting lesson. And I don’t want to be the one that lets this movie down. And then secondly, I just really didn’t have the time to dedicate to it. I remember having to tell Joe and Tom—and it broke my heart. And then I regretted it, naturally, when they show me the movie and it’s: It could’ve been me!”

Top Gun: Maverick Star Danny Ramirez Thanks Lewis Hamilton for ‘the Assist’

Since the interview, Top Gun: Maverick star Danny Ramirez, who went on to star as Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia, has taken to social media to thank Hamilton for stepping aside.

“When Joe Kosinski introduced us and said that Lewis’ role was gonna be Fanboy, I thanked him for saying no haha. Appreciate the assist @LewisHamilton.”

RelatedAs one of the biggest action films in recent cinematic history, here’s why Top Gun: Maverick ended up better than the original.

However, while Lewis Hamilton may not have felt ready to take Hollywood by storm in Top Gun: Maverick, he may get another chance, as Top Gun 3 is now in the works. Set to bring back both lead actor Tom Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski, as well as stars Miles Teller and Glen Powell, producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently revealed that the story for the threequel has now been found.

“We have a story. Joe Kosinski had a wonderful story idea for it, and he (Tom Cruise) said I really like that, so we’re developing it. But you never know when it’s going to get made because Tom is so busy. He’s doing Mission: Impossible right now, he’s got a picture after it. Hopefully, we’ll get a screenplay that he loves, and we’ll be back in the air again.”

Released back in May 2022, Top Gun: Maverick picks up more than thirty years after director Tony Scott’s original and finds Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell training a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission. The follow-up saw huge success at the box office, becoming Tom Cruise’s highest grossing movie ever, and was well-received critically, standing at a ‘certified fresh’ rating of 96% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.