For Jay Ellis, being cast in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (May 24) was a “full circle” moment. “I grew up in the service, so for me, it is a world that I recognize,” Ellis told Newsweek’s Naveed Jamali on the Parting Shot. In fact, Ellis’ dad was a mechanic in the Air Force. But even a childhood spent around massive jets didn’t lessen Ellis’ excitement about getting to actually fly in the jets he had admired. “I feel like a kid in a candy store, and I'm literally eating all of the candy every single day.” 

The experience of filming the sequel to the 1986 Tom Cruise classic “was like a film school, a flight school, a master class, all wrapped into this cockpit.” Beyond acting, the actors operated cameras and equipment while in the cockpit with an experienced pilot. “There were times where I would get in there and fully forget that I had to act because I was just so enamored with every single thing around me. It was insane.” 

For Ellis, he’s most proud of how it was “insanely important to Tom” to accurately depict the diverse aviation community. “Representation matters and seeing yourself on screen matters. When you see it, you believe it.”

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For more Naveed, follow his work at Newsweek.com, listen to his Declassified podcast, and watch his new web series Unconventional, where he’ll speak with servicemembers working in the intersection of tradition and technology. Take flight with Naveed: youtube.com/newsweek

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