The following contains very minor spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick.
While the original Top Gun was focused on aerial combat, one of the most iconic moments in Top Gun is a fairly simple game of volleyball, mostly without shirts. The sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, has its own take on this moment, with several members of the cast, including Tom Cruise, taking part in a game of football on the beach, again, mostly without shirts. But if anybody was looking forward to seeing co-star Jon Hamm catching a football topless, you will unfortunately be disappointed. Hamm, however, doesn’t mind.
In speaking with Uproxx, Jon Hamm admits to a little bit of FOMO when it comes to not being able to do any flight scenes in Top Gun: Maverick (though he doesn’t mind that he got to skip the extensive training the other Top Gun actors had to go through). It wouldn’t be that surprising to hear that he felt the same way about the scene where the cast plays football. The scene has the potential to become as iconic as the volleyball scene in the first Top Gun. But Hamm says he’s cool with keeping his clothes on. The actor explained…
No. I was very happy to keep my shirt and my shoes on, in that particular moment. There’s something uniquely me about being on a beach, watching the sunset in loafers and socks.
Most people likely still think of Mad Men when they think of Jon Hamm, and with that in mind, the idea of seeing the actor fully dressed, in this case, in full military uniform, on a beach, probably does fit well with their impression of him. Seeing Jon Hamm “cut loose” just isn’t something we’re used to seeing on screen.
And ultimately it wouldn’t make much sense for Jon Hamm’s character in Top Gun: Maverick to be playing beach football. His character is high up in the chain of command in the film and so it could be seen as inappropriate for him to be playing football with the other pilots. The fact that Tom Cruise’s character is doing so is an issue of tension between the two.
It sounds like the reason Jon Hamm is happy to have kept his shirt on is similar to the reason he’s glad he didn’t have to fly in Top Gun: Maverick. There likely would have been some expectations regarding just how the actor would look with his shirt off, meaning he would have needed to really to work out for the scene. He says he didn’t want to get involved in a competition over who was the most buff.
Whether you’re bummed that Jon Ham remains fully clothed or not, based on the early response, there is plenty more about Top Gun: Maverick that likely makes the long-awaited sequel worth seeing. It hits theatres tomorrow.
