As soon as director Tony Scott saw Kelly McGillis’s audition, he knew that he had found his “Charlie.” However, the executives had other ideas, as they were looking for someone younger and, in their words, “more fashionable.”
Despite their demands, Scott didn’t budge, and after some intense discussions with the studio, McGillis was finally awarded the part. Tony Scott seems to have made the right decision as the 5’8″ blonde stunner stole the hearts of viewers after playing the role.
Edwards Was the Only Actor Who Didn’t Throw Up
Most of the actors filming the pilot scenes got sick during the filming due to flying around in actual VF-114 Aardvarks and VF-213 Black Lions. Apparently, Anthony Edwards, who played the role of Goose, was the only actor who didn't throw up during filming.
The fighter jets were flown by military pilots who wanted to give the actors as real of an experience as possible, similar to the ones they face on a daily basis. However, there was one major difference between the military pilots and the actors and that was their ability to stomach the flights.
Kelly McGillis as Charlie
One year before "Top Gun" was released, Kelly McGillis had already catapulted to fame for her breakout role as an Amish mother alongside Harrison Ford in the 1985 film "Witness". For her performance in the film, she was nominated for a Golden Globe. It's no surprise that McGillis gave a stellar performance considering the acting training she had received, having attended school at Julliard and the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts.
Once she landed the role of Charlie, she was already a well-versed performer. One of the most important casting calls of "Top Gun" was finding the right female lead to act as the love interest of Tom Cruise’s Maverick.
Christine Fox
Kelly McGillis’s character, Charlie, is based on a woman named Christine Fox who, like McGillis is tall, blonde, leggy, and has a liking for clacking high heels. “They always know when I’m coming,” Fox told People in 1985, “because I'm one of the few people around here whose heels click.” The fictional Charlie is an astrophysicist, while Fox is a mathematician who worked at the Center for Naval Analyses.
From December 2013 to February 2014, Fox was the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, which made her the Defense Department's highest-ever-ranking female officer.
Sweet Meg
At the time of "Top Gun", Meg Ryan had played several small roles in various films. Because she hadn't yet been in many films, "Top Gun's" director Tony Scott was apprehensive about casting the future superstar. He was unimpressed by her and didn’t consider her the first choice for the role. One of the reasons why he wasn’t comfortable casting Ryan, is because she had just worked on the soap opera "As The World Turns".
In the end, she won the part as the wife of Goose in Top Gun. While the role is obviously not her biggest to date, she gave a flawless performance and fans adored her. Meg would soon star in several films that would make her a household name and the queen of romantic comedy. After "Top Gun" was released, Meg Ryan played an even bigger role in the film "Armed and Dangerous". Continue reading to see who Ryan was secretly dating during the filming of "Top Gun".