Racing superstar Lewis Hamilton is making the jump into Hollywood by producing Joseph Kosinski’s upcoming Formula 1 movie that stars Brad Pitt. But if it weren’t for a scheduling conflict with his racing career, he also could have teamed up with Kosinski on his last big blockbuster.
In a new interview with GQ, Hamilton recalled befriending Tom Cruise and lobbying the action star to cast him in a hypothetical “Top Gun” sequel years before Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick” materialized.
“I will even be a janitor,” Hamilton said to Cruise when they would discuss the prospect of a second “Top Gun” movie. “Just let me be in it.”
When the Paramount film entered pre-production, Cruise remembered Hamilton’s request and offered him a role as a pilot. But the racing star’s busy schedule and lack of acting experience prompted him to pass on the opportunity. It was a decision he says he came to regret when he saw the finished movie.
“Firstly, I hadn’t even had, like, an acting lesson,” he said. “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!”
Hamilton didn’t make the same mistake twice and signed on to work with Kosinski on the untitled Formula 1 movie. As an executive producer, he said that he focuses on making sure that the film is an accurate representation of life in the racing league so that it appeals to fans of all stripes.
“My point was: Guys, this movie needs to be so authentic. There’s two different fan groups that we have — like, the old originals, who from the day they’re born hearing the Grand Prix music every weekend and watching with their families, to the new generation that just learned about it today through Netflix,” he said. “I felt my job really has been to try to call BS. ‘This would never happen.’ ‘This is how it would be.’ ‘This is how it could happen.’ Just giving them advice about what racing is really about and what, as a racing fan, would appeal and what would not.”
