'Top Gun: Maverick,' inspired Chalamet while filming 'Dune: Part Two'
Hollywood stunt coordinator shares Tom Cruise praise
Freddy Bouciegues, a stunt coordinator in Hollywood, has high praise for Tom Cruise, but points out actors still need stunt doubles for safety.
There is no one better than Tom Cruise to offer insight into the lengths it takes to be a successful action star in Hollywood.
Actor Timothée Chalamet, who stars in the upcoming sequel to his critically acclaimed 2021 film "Dune," says he was on the receiving end of that gift, telling GQ, "After I met [him] right after finishing the first ‘Dune,’ he sent me the most wonderfully inspiring email."
The email included pertinent contacts for Chalamet, such as a motorcycle coach and stunt training expert.
'TOP GUN: MAVERICK' STAR GLEN POWELL EXPLAINS THE CUDE ADVICE TOM CRUISE GAVE HIM
Tom Cruise, left, had some sage advice for actor Timothée Chalamet after meeting the young star. (Han Myung-Gu/VALERIE MACON/Getty Images)
"He basically said, in Old Hollywood, you would be getting dance training and fight training, and nobody is going to hold you to that standard today. So it’s up to you," Chalamet explained. "The email was really like a war cry."
The email was not the only thing Chalamet took from Cruise, admitting that while filming "Dune: Part Two," he saw "Top Gun: Maverick" a whopping eight times. While filming in Budapest, Hungary, he actually rented out a movie theater and took the entire cast and crew to watch the blockbuster.
Josh Brolin, left, and Timothée Chalamet in a scene from "Dune." (Warner Bros.)
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"'Top Gun' was just hugely inspiring to me last summer when we were making ‘Dune,’" he admitted. "Some of the crew were kind of scoffing at going, but I just thought it was one of the greatest films I’ve ever seen."
Representatives for Cruise and Chalamet did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Tom Cruise in a scene from "Top Gun: Maverick." (Skydance Media/Paramount Pictures)
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Cruise has frequently offered advice to the next generation of Hollywood. Actor Glen Powell, who starred with Cruise in "Maverick," previously revealed that his co-star encouraged him to "lean into the d-----baggery" of his character.
In the movie, Powell plays Lt. Jake "Hangman" Seresin, a cocky pilot being trained by Cruise's character, Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.
"Sometimes you can fall into the trap of wanting to be liked on camera," Powell explained during a conversation with Kate Hudson for Variety. "And in a movie like this, where you know there’s going to be a lot of eyes on it, you don’t want to be Draco Malfoy," he said, referencing the bad boy in the "Harry Potter" series.
Glen Powell says that Tom Cruise told him to "lean into" playing a d-----bag for his character to be believable in "Top Gun: Maverick." (Marc Piasecki/FilmMagic)
"Tom gave me this advice: ‘For the ending to work, you have to completely lean into that. Everybody else in the movie is questioning their own ability,'" Powell said, recalling what Cruise said about Powell’s character.
"You’re the only guy that’s not questioning it. So, if there’s any sort of apology in anything you say, the movie doesn’t work. Lean into the d-----baggery of it all."
Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer. Story tips can be sent to
