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Before Thomas Mapother Cruise IV entered the danger zone, Paramount Pictures and producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer had another young actor in mind for their flyboy tentpole “Top Gun”.
Being a relatively fresh face at the time – whose only other real hit was “Risky Business” (1983), whose success some may instead attribute to a nice round of rumpy-pumpy on a train to the sounds of Phil Collins – Tom Cruise wasn’t exactly the guy one uses as their lead in a $15m (a lot of money by 1986 standards) action film, and that’s essentially why he wasn’t atop of casting director Margery Simkin’s wish list for the film.
The first choice for the role of charming fighter-pilot Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell was Matthew Modine, then fresh from acclaimed performances in “Birdy” and “Mrs. Soffel”. Modine had the looks and the chops, and dives into every role head-first, giving each turn his all, but when the producers of “Top Gun” offered him the role of ‘Maverick’ he was torn.
It wasn’t the first time Modine had turned down a role other would’ve jumped at either, just a year earlier he famously passed on an offer to play Marty McFly in “Back to the Future”. The producers were looking to recast the title role, after it didn’t work out with Eric Stoltz, and with Michael J.Fox unable to escape “Family Ties”, the producers were forced to look elsewhere. Fox was ultimately able to do it (a couple of years later, Modine woudl also turned down “Wall Street”, because he couldn’t read the whole script before committing).
Though a big-name production for a very reputable studio, which was very enticing, the actor and activist had some issues with the “Top Gun” script. As he saw it, the movie was promoting war. It just didn’t feel right to him. Reluctantly and famously, he rejected the part. (Modine wasn’t the only artist to nix back an offer from “Top Gun” – musician Bryan Adams knocked be a large sum to have his song ‘Only the Strong Survive’ featured in the film, because he too felt the film glorified war).
A number of other young actors at the time were approached for the role – including TV superstar Michael J.Fox, Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez and Matthew Broderick, who all passed – but it ultimately went to an enthusiastic Cruise, who quickly won the producers over with his performance in and out of the cockpit.
“Top Gun”, released in 1986, ultimately went on to snag a wowza $356.8 million dollars at the box office and cemented Cruise’s career. The following year Modine would star as Pvt. Joker in Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam War epic “Full Metal Jacket”.
