{"id":37627,"date":"2026-01-29T15:43:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T15:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=37627"},"modified":"2026-01-29T15:43:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T15:43:13","slug":"i-was-starting-to-get-nervous-jennifer-connelly-reveals-the-safe-taxiing-scene-involved-1-world-war-ii-fighter-plane-and-an-unplanned-aerobatic-stunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=37627","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI Was Starting To Get Nervous.\u201d \u2014 Jennifer Connelly Reveals The “Safe” Taxiing Scene Involved 1 World War II Fighter Plane\u2026 and An Unplanned Aerobatic Stunt."},"content":{"rendered":"

On the set of Top Gun: Maverick<\/span><\/span><\/em>, realism wasn\u2019t a buzzword\u2014it was a mandate. And for Jennifer Connelly, that mandate turned a supposedly harmless scene into one of the most nerve-racking moments of her career.<\/span><\/p>\n

Connelly, who plays Penny Benjamin, has openly admitted she has a deep fear of flying. When she signed on to the film, she was relieved to learn that her character was mostly grounded\u2014sailing boats, running a bar, staying far from jet engines and cockpits. So when she was told that one brief aviation scene would involve nothing more than \u201ctaxiing\u201d on a runway, she agreed.<\/span><\/p>\n

What she didn\u2019t know was who would be piloting the plane.<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cSafe\u201d Scene That Wasn\u2019t<\/span><\/h3>\n

The aircraft waiting on the tarmac wasn\u2019t a prop or simulator. It was a genuine World War II fighter: a North American P-51 Mustang<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, owned and piloted by none other than Tom Cruise<\/span><\/span> himself. Cruise has been a licensed pilot since the 1990s and is famous for insisting on real machines, real stunts, and real reactions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Directed by Joseph Kosinski<\/span><\/span>, the scene was meant to capture a quiet, romantic moment between Maverick and Penny as the plane rolled along the runway. But once the canopy closed and the engine roared to life, Connelly sensed something was off.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the aircraft began moving, Cruise casually turned to her and asked a question that immediately spiked her anxiety: Had she ever done aerobatics before?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Before she could fully object, Cruise reassured her\u2014calmly, confidently\u2014that it would be \u201cvery graceful\u201d and \u201cvery elegant.\u201d Moments later, the Mustang lifted off the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Real Reaction at 10,000 Feet<\/span><\/h3>\n

What followed wasn\u2019t in the script. Cruise performed full aerobatic maneuvers, including barrel rolls, high above the desert. Connelly\u2019s surprise\u2014and fear\u2014were genuine. Cameras kept rolling as the plane soared, capturing expressions that required no acting whatsoever.<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, Connelly revealed that she initially thought something had gone wrong when flames burst from the exhaust, only to learn mid-air that this was completely normal for a P-51. The flight reportedly lasted several hours, beginning at dawn, and by the end, her terror slowly gave way to awe.<\/span><\/p>\n

That transformation is visible on screen.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Tom Cruise Signature Move<\/span><\/h3>\n

During the film\u2019s press tour, including an appearance on The Graham Norton Show<\/span><\/span><\/em>, Connelly described the experience as both terrifying and oddly empowering. Cruise hadn\u2019t been reckless\u2014he was meticulous\u2014but he had absolutely pushed her past her comfort zone.<\/span><\/p>\n

The result? One of the most authentic moments in the film.<\/span><\/p>\n

By turning a \u201csafe\u201d taxiing scene into an unexpected flight, Cruise didn\u2019t just capture realism\u2014he forced it. For Connelly, the World War II fighter plane became more than a prop. It became the unlikely vehicle that helped her confront a lifelong fear.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that slightly stunned, breathless look on her face as the plane twists through the sky?<\/span>
That wasn\u2019t Penny Benjamin acting.<\/span><\/p>\n

That was Jennifer Connelly, for real.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the set of Top Gun: Maverick, realism wasn\u2019t a buzzword\u2014it was a mandate. And for Jennifer Connelly, that mandate turned a supposedly harmless scene into one of the most nerve-racking moments of her career. Connelly, who plays Penny Benjamin, has openly admitted she has a deep fear of flying. When she signed on to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}