Tom Cruise has revealed that before he became famous he wanted to be either a pilot or an actor.

• READ MORE: Top Gun: Maverick review: an engaging if brainless return to the danger zone

The Hollywood star is currently promoting his latest film, Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to Tony Scott’s 1986 action classic, in which he reprises his role as fighter pilot Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. He is also a producer on the blockbuster.

Speaking in a new interview, Cruise said he had always dreamt of being a pilot or an actor growing up, and when he was able to combine both careers in the original Top Gun, it was a “life-changing” moment for him.

“All I ever wanted to be was a pilot or an actor, so Top Gun was a huge moment in so many respects, including my passion for aviation,” he told HELLO! magazine (via Contact Music). “It was life-changing for me.”

He continued: “I got to actually fly in an F-14 jet which was a dream come true, and play a character I loved in Maverick.”

Cruise then went on to explain that for Top Gun: Maverick he got to do more plane stunts than ever before.

“The P-51 Mustang you see in the movie is actually my plane, so I got to pilot in those sequences, he said. “I also got to be in the jet fighter a lot more this time, which was thrilling. It was something I had been working up to.”

Meanwhile, Twenty One Pilots singer Tyler Joseph has claimed that he was asked to write a song for the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack before Tom Cruise rescinded the offer.

“I was working with the music placement person for the new Top Gun on writing a new song for them and then I believe Tom Cruise just came in and just fired everyone,” Joseph told Californian radio station KROQ [via MusicNews].

According to Joseph, he hadn’t actually started work on the project when Cruise allegedly pulled the plug. He added that his input was likely affected by changes made to the film as a result of the COVID pandemic.

The soundtrack features original songs by Lady Gaga and OneRepublic, and a live version of Teller performing Jerry Lee Lewis’s ‘Great Balls of Fire’.