The London premiere of Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick had some particularly distinguished guests of honor; Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appeared at the showing, greeted by the cast and crew of the film.
But some members of the Top Gun team enjoyed the greeting a little more than others, as actor Jon Hamm revealed on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show. He cheekily recounted the reaction that fellow star Miles Teller had upon making eye contact with Prince William; whose eyes apparently left Teller completely awe-struck and marveling about how much he got lost in them. Neither Fallon nor Hamm could hold back their laughter over the photo of the fated meeting.
Teller plays mission candidate Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw in the upcoming film. He is the son of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s (Tom Cruise) best friend and colleague Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, who died during the events of the prequel in a training accident. With Mitchell set to face the ghosts of his Top Gun trainee days in the film, his dynamic with Teller’s Bradshaw is bound to be a high point of intrigue in the film.
Hamm, meanwhile, plays Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson, the commander of Naval Air Forces and boss of the Pacific Fleet.
Tom Cruise reprises his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a former Top Gun graduate now taking on instructor duties at the school. Only Val Kilmer, who played Mitchell’s rival and friend Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in the original film, reprises his original role alongside Cruise.
Top Gun: Maverick releases to theaters across the United States on May 27.