Miles Teller’s mustache is just one way he fully devoted himself to playing his character in Top Gun: Maverick, and the movie will be unlike any of his previous efforts. He’s one of the best actors of his generation who can seemingly do everything, but he’s never starred in a big-budget action movie that is so heavily anticipated.
Playing Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw could be another highlight on Teller’s acting resume, and not just because it has the potential to be a blockbuster. Teller’s mustache shows how fully he devoted himself to playing the character. He also created his character’s nickname and kept pace with his famous co-star during training for the film. But growing the mustache might have been the greatest challenge of all in preparing for the role.
Teller grew his character’s mustache in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Teller’s Top Gun: Maverick character isn’t exactly new to the franchise. Rooster is the son of Goose from the original movie. The child in Top Gun didn’t have any lines and hardly any screen time, but he appeared in the film, including a scene where he sits on top of a piano as Goose plays “Great Balls of Fire.” Goose’s glorious mustache (courtesy of actor Anthony Edwards) is on full display. Teller is keeping that trend going.
In the previews and press photos for Top Gun: Maverick, Teller sports a mustache that looks incredibly similar to Goose’s. To borrow a line from Seinfeld, it’s real (according to Teller via Empire), and it’s spectacular.
It’s not the first time he’s sported facial fuzz for a featured role. Teller grew a soup strainer to play Vinny Pacienza in 2015’s Bleed for This, which he admitted took some time to fully grow in, as he told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show (via YouTube).
However, growing a crumb catcher wasn’t the only way Teller got into character for the movie.
Facial hair wasn’t the only way Teller developed his character
Teller faced some stiff competition for the role of Bradley Bradshaw. He beat out Glen Powell and Nicolas Hoult, among others, to get the nod, but the character didn’t have a callsign until Teller stepped into the part.
He revealed that he came up with his character’s callsign Rooster. Tom Cruise, who not only stars but serves as producer on the film, gave the thumbs up. Teller put some thought into it, too, with the aim of keeping it somewhat related to Goose. Roosters are landbound while geese fly, but Teller’s choice of callsign clearly struck a chord with his co-star.
Teller pushed himself to his limits to prepare for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Teller is no stranger to big-budget movies. He starred as Reed Richards in the 2015 Fantastic Four reboot as well as the Divergent series. Top Gun: Maverick forced him to take things to another level.
Cruise often insists on performing his own stunts in all his action movies. Top Gun: Maverick was no exception, and Teller insisted on keeping up with Cruise in flight training during pre-production. Or trying to, at least.
Keeping pace with the energetic Cruise as they trained to deliver the most realistic stunts possible pushed Teller to his limits and proved to be just as much of a challenge as growing a mustache.
If Top Gun: Maverick performs as well as the 1986 original, however, Teller will have a certified hit to his name, and the training will all be worth it.
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