Lady Gaga really takes Tom Cruise's breath away.
Cruise, 59, is back in action as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to his classic 1986 film. The Hollywood legend chatted exclusively with E! News' Francesca Amiker at the film's premiere on May 4 about Lady Gaga's original song for the movie, "Hold My Hand," and a recent trip he took to see her Vegas residency.
"I just was entertained, and she just blew us all away. I have so much respect for her," Cruise told E! News's Daily Pop about seeing Gaga in concert, adding that her song for Top Gun: Maverick "opened up doors for this film."
"['Hold My Hand'] matches and brings a level of cinematic emotion to this," he said. "When I heard it, I was like, ‘You're over there, we're over here, and somehow, we are telling the same story here,' and it just works in a way that took those moments and they became more transcendent. So, I just think she's a force of nature, and I love Gaga."
What reaches even greater heights than Gaga's vocals? The gravity-defying stunts Cruise and the rest of the cast and crew pulled off. He revealed to E! News the wildest thing he did while filming the sequel.
During a scene which features him flying a jet underneath a bridge, "The craziest thing that I saw was how close those walls were as we're going through it," Cruise said. "That was crazy. We were going through it with the G-force in those jets, and flying with those men and women that know how to command those aircraft, and to be able to fly in it was so much fun."
Fans aren't the only people impressed by Cruise's many talents, as his co-stars gushed about him on the red carpet with E! News.
"I think we all know he's so talented," said Jennifer Connelly, who plays Cruise's newest love interest, Penny Benjamin. "He's so devoted to what he's doing. He's so passionate about his work and enthusiastic. It's not a new story but it really is the truth."
"Tom's as fast in real life as he is in the movies," added co-star Glen Powell, who plays a pilot trainee who goes by the call sign "Hangman." "I tried to chase him on the beach football scene and didn't get close. Not even close."
Another cast member that says he was "unsurprised" by Cruise? None other than Jon Hamm.
"He is as advertised," said Hamm. "He comes in, he is full throttle, and he is prepared and he is the hardest working guy on set and he is the most knowledgeable guy, he's the most enthusiastic guy, and he is used to excellence. He expects it, and he delivers it."
Top Gun: Maverick premieres only in theaters May 27.