Lake Orion Michigan Man Takes Flight in F-18 for New ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

"I feel the need, the need for speed".

If you've been rewatching the original Top Gun and have had a chance to take in the latest blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, you may be dreaming of climbing into the cockpit of a fighter jet and speeding through the air. A total pipe dream for most of us, but not for one  Michigan native.

Of course, we have all heard about Tom Cruise doing most of his own stunts for his movies, but when it comes to the intense fighter jet scenes in the latest Top Gun, there was a definite need to call in some authorities on the subject. That's where pilots like Michigan's own U.S. Naval Pilot Lt. Cmdr. Christian Frasher came into play.

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Frasher, a graduate of A Frasher joined other pilots at the controls for six weeks back in 2019 to film the movie. During that time he shared his cockpit with the film's stars Miles Teller, Glen Powell, and yes, Tom Cruise.

Frasher says the magic of Hollywood is what made the movie so real telling WXYZ,

“They do that Hollywood magic where they’re looking at the actors in the back seat and they’re looking forward at the pilot, the actual pilot in the front seat, and then they do the editing and it looks like they’re flying,” Frasher explained. "Tom Cruise never flew an airplane. They did a really good job making him look like it.”

So will you get a real glimpse of our Michigan son in the new movie? Not really. Lt. Cmdr. Frasher doesn't appear in the credits for the film or officially on camera.

"I saw the back of my head," Frasher said with a smile to WXYZ, recounting his first viewing of the film. "I saw the back of my head with a little hair piece they glued on the back of my hair to make me look like Maverick.”

You are still a star in our book sir and thank you for your service.