Joseph Kosinski Says Jon Hamm's Role in TOP GUN: MAVERICK Was Almost Given to Josh Brolin
Top Gun: Maverick was an enormous hit for movie theatres, Universal, star Tom Cruise, and director Joseph Kosinski. While fans were stoked about the fantastic story, incredible action, and massively talented cast, it turns out that one character was almost played by another actor.
In the film, the character Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson was played by Emmy-winner and Golden Globe-nominee Jon Hamm. But we could have seen another great actor in the role, as it was down to Hamm and Oscar-nominee Josh Brolin (Milk, No Country For Old Men, Avengers: Endgame).
Kosinski recently sat down with the Happy Say Confused podcast, where he explained:
"Brolin was on my mind. For me, you know, you always have to – you can't put all your eggs in one basket – so for me it was Brolin and Hamm were the top two ... Yeah, Josh would have done this role. We did actually talk about it, but he was having a baby literally the moment we were going to start photography, so I knew it just wasn't a possibility. Brolin and Hamm, both guys I'd be thrilled to work with again."
Josh Brolin would have been great in the role, but Jon Hamm did a fantastic job. Both are great actors and sure bets. There’s no word yet as to whether Hamm will be back for Top Gun 3, but I would assume that it’s safe to say we could see him again.