Original Cast of ‘Top Gun,’ Then and Now

The original "Top Gun" cast looks a little different than they did when the movie first came out in 1986.

“Top Gun: Maverick” was released on May 27, 2022, 36 years after the first “Top Gun” film was released in 1986.

Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer returned in the sequel, but what happened to the rest of the crew from the first movie? You might be surprised where the original “Top Gun” cast is today.

Then: Tim Robbins

Paramount Pictures / IMDb

Top Gun character: Merlin

Age when Top Gun was released: 28

Bottom line: Tim Robbins was born in West Covina, California, but he grew up in the Big Apple. Raised by a singer from the band The Highwaymen and an actress, he was destined for show biz.

Robbins studied drama at UCLA and formed the Actors’ Gang theater group, an avant-garde ensemble expressing radical political beliefs.

The 6-foot-5 actor got started in film in the 1980s. In “Top Gun,” Robbins played Sam “Merlin” Wells, a naval flight officer and Cougar’s radar intercept officer.

Now: Tim Robbins

Tim Robbins from the original cast of Top Gun

Brent N. Clarke / AP Photo

Age in 2022: 63

Net worth: $70 million

Career highlights:

Roles in “The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Player,” and “Mystic River”
Won an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards
Directed “Bob Roberts” and “Dead Man Walking”

What He’s Up to Today

Arthur Mola / AP Photo

Robbins has been quiet since the mid-2010s, but he was long married to actress Susan Sarandon, with whom he shares two sons.

Today, he’s in a relationship with Reed Morano, a director and cinematographer known for her work on “The Handmaid’s Tale. “

Then: Michael Ironside

Paramount Pictures / IMDb

Top Gun character: Jester

Age when Top Gun was released: 36

Bottom line: Born in Toronto, Canada with four siblings, Michael Ironside loved the arts from an early age. He wrote a play called “The Shelter” that won first prize in a contest for college students when he was just 15.

Once he started acting in earnest, he automatically fell into villain roles. In addition to numerous crooks, Ironside played Naval Aviator Lieutenant Commander Rick “Jester” Heatherly in “Top Gun.”

Now: Michael Ironside

John Salangsang / AP Photo

Age in 2022: 72

Net worth: $6 million

Career highlights:

Roles in “Extreme Prejudice,” “Watchers” and “Total Recall”

What He’s Up to Today

Danny Moloshok / AP Photo

Ironside has continued acting to this day, playing J.P. Morgan in four episodes of TNT’s “The Alienest” in 2018, and Don Lucas in Hulu miniseries “The Dropout” in 2022.

He’s happily married to Karen Dinwiddie and has two daughters, one from a previous marriage and one from his current marriage. Ironside also survived cancer twice, defeating both thyroid and prostate cancer.

Then: Tom Skerritt

Paramount Pictures / IMDb

Top Gun character: Viper

Age when Top Gun was released: 53

Bottom line: As hard as it is to picture a young Tom Skerritt, he was actually the youngest of three siblings. He had an ordinary upbringing, graduating from high school in 1951 before serving for four years in the Air Force as a classifications specialist.

His film debut came in 1962 in the movie “War Hunt,” and his list of credits since are long enough to form an essay. He played the tough Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf in “Top Gun,” and continued acting up until 2017.

Now: Tom Skerritt

Jordan Strauss / AP Photo

Age in 2022: 88

Net worth: $8 million

Career highlights:

Appeared in over 40 films and 200 television episodes since 1962
Best known for his roles in “M*A*S*H,” “Alien,” “The Dead Zone,” “A River Runs Through It,” “Poltergeist III” and “Up in Smoke”
Won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

What He’s Up to Today

Chris Pizzello / AP Photo

In addition to his acting career, Skerritt founded a Seattle-based media company called Heyou Media. He has a home on Lake Washington near Seattle, plus a second on Lopez Island.

He has five children, including three with his first wife, Charlotte Shanks, one with his second wife, Sue Oran, and one with his third wife, Julie Tokashiki.

Then: Anthony Edwards

Paramount Pictures / IMDb

Top Gun character: Goose

Age when Top Gun was released: 24

Bottom line: Actor Anthony Edwards grew up in Santa Barbara, California. He was always interested in pursuing acting, but his parents pushed him to attend college first.

He got a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in England, studying there and at USC for a short time. By the time he turned 19, he was getting enough offers to drop out and pursue acting full-time.

After a few smaller roles, playing Goose in “Top Gun” was what really got his career moving. His character was one of the most prominent, and his performance helped him land dozens of other roles, including that of Dr. Mark Green on the popular TV series “ER.”

Now: Anthony Edwards

Andy Kropa / AP Photo

Age in 2022: 59

Net worth: Around $40 million

Career highlights:

Best known for playing Dr. Mark Greene on the first eight seasons of “ER,” plus roles in “Zodiac,” “Miracle Mile,” “Revenge of the Nerds,” “Planes” and “Designated Survivor”
Won a Golden Globe and six Screen Actors Guild Awards

What He’s Up to Today

Evan Agostini / AP Photo

Anthony Edwards didn’t act much on-screen after his role in “ER.” Instead, he went into theater. He made his Broadway debut in 2018 in the revival of “Children of a Lesser God” at Studio 54, and appeared as Dr. Walker in the Broadway musical production of “Girl From The North Country” in 2022.

The actor also has four children with ex-wife Jeanine Lobell, and is currently married to actor Mare Winningham.

Fun fact: Edwards got a pilot’s license in 2012, so he can probably real-life fly planes better than any other member of the “Top Gun” cast aside from fellow pilot Tom Cruise.

Then: Val Kilmer

Paramount Pictures / IMDb

Top Gun character: Iceman

Age when Top Gun was released: 27

Bottom line: Val Kilmer grew up in Los Angeles, California, with two brothers, one of whom tragically drowned after having a seizure in a jacuzzi at just 15. He went to high school with the infamous Kevin Spacey, and dated Mare Winningham — yes, the same Mare Winningham Anthony Edwards married in 2021.

Kilmer was always a gifted actor. He was the youngest person at the time to be accepted into Juilliard’s Drama Division. His big break was in a comedic spy movie, “Top Secret!” in 1984 before being cast as Iceman in “Top Gun” a few years later.

Now: Val Kilmer

Mark Humphrey / AP Photo

Age in 2022: 62

Net worth: Around $25 million

Career highlights:

Roles in “Top Secret!” “Willow,” “The Doors,” “True Romance,” “Batman Forever” and dozens more
Won a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Humanitarian Award
Published a book, “I’m Your Huckleberry: A Memoir” in 2020

What He’s Up to Today

AP Photo

Kilmer has been known as difficult to work with, but his dating record is star-studded. He dated Cher, Cindy Crawford and even Angelina Jolie before marrying Joanne Whalley. They were married for eight years and share a son and a daughter.

Kilmer has long been a supporter of humanitarian causes, supporting Native American affairs, environmental protection and equitable access to healthcare. He continued acting until he was hospitalized for throat cancer in 2017, which left him unable to speak except with the use of an electric voice box.

Then: Kelly McGillis

Paramount Pictures / IMDb

Top Gun character: Charlie

Age when Top Gun was released: 29

Bottom line: Kelly McGillis is the eldest of three sisters, growing up in Newport Beach, California. She attended the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts and later graduated from Juilliard in 1983.

Her breakout film role was that of an Amish mother in the 1985 movie “Witness,” just a year before her role as Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood in Top Gun.

Now: Kelly McGillis

Kelly McGillis from the original cast of Top Gun

Victoria Will / AP Photo

Age in 2022: 64

Net worth: Around $5 million

Career highlights:

Roles in “Witness,” “Made in Heaven,” “The House on Carroll Street,” “The Accused,” “The Innkeepers” and “We Are What We Are”

What She’s Up to Today

Evan Agostini / AP Photo

Aside from her lengthy acting career that included credits in film, television and theater, McGillis has two grown daughters. She came out as a lesbian in 2009 and was in a civil union with Melanie Leis for about a year following.

Today, she lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and she’s taught acting at the New York Studio for Stage and Screen since 2013.

Then: Tom Cruise

Paramount Pictures / IMDb

Top Gun character: Maverick

Age when Top Gun was released: 23

Bottom line: Tom Cruise, one of the 1980’s favorite dreamboats, is actually named Thomas Cruise Mapother IV. He was born in Syracuse, New York, and grew up with an abusive father. His passion for theater helped him persevere, remaining a constant through a tumultuous adolescence.

His first role was in the 1981 film “Endless Love,” followed by a major supporting role in “Taps.” By 1983, his acting career was in full swing, and by the time “Top Gun” came out, he was a superstar.

Now: Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise from the original cast of Top Gun

Alberto Pezzali / AP Photo

Age in 2022: 59

Net worth: $600 million

Career highlights:

Nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards
Ranked the world’s most powerful celebrity in 2006 by Forbes
Known for dozens of roles in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, including starring parts in “All the Right Moves, “Risky Business,” “Rain Man,” “Born on the Fourth of July, “A Few Good Men,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Jerry Magurie,” “Magnolia” and “Collateral”
Runs a successful production company called Cruise/Wagner Productions

What He’s Up to Today

Ahn Young-joon / AP Photo

Today, multimillionaire Tom Cruise splits his time between several homes, everywhere from Beverly Hills, California, to Dulwich, London.

He was married to Mimi Roberts, known for first getting him involved with Scientology, followed by a marriage with Nicole Kidman, a relationship with Penelope Cruz and a marriage with Katie Holmes.

Rough relationship history aside, he remains an international superstar — Oct. 10 was even declared “Tom Cruise Day” in Japan in 2006. The actor is also a real-life aviator with multiple pilot certifications.