On Friday, Sept. 27, the 62-year-old actor surprised the audience at London’s Royal Albert Hall during its Top Gun: Maverick concert, which featured a showing of his 2022 movie set to a live performance of the film’s score from the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and composer Lorne Balfe.
In fan-recorded footage from the event shared to X (formerly Twitter), the Top Gun star could be seen standing in a suit in front of the large orchestra as he introduced the film and commended the presentation of it with a live score.
While onstage, Cruise referred to Balfe — who composed the Maverick score alongside Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga and Hans Zimmer — as a “dear friend” who he considered “brilliant.”
“I also want to thank tonight’s orchestra and all of your exceptional talents,” Cruise said. “I’ve always wanted to experience a film like this with a live, full symphony orchestra, synchronized to picture, in front of a packed audience in the grandeur of a classic movie palace.”
“Thank you all for being here and thank you for making this dream come true,” he added, before telling the crowd to “enjoy” the experience and that he’ll be watching along with them.
According to the Royal Albert Hall’s website, the Top Gun orchestral performance was part of its Films in Concert series, which also features forthcoming showings of Avatar, Gladiator, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and Home Alone. The venue’s next Live in Concert show will be Ghostbusters on Oct. 26, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by original composer Elmer Bernstein’s son Peter Bernstein.
Cruise’s latest surprise appearance comes after the actor closed out the 2024 Paris Olympics in August by swinging from atop Stade de France in Paris and landing on the stadium’s field. Once on the ground, he was greeted by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and gymnast Simone Biles, who presented him with the Olympic flag, four years ahead of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
During a panel on Sept. 10, Casey Wasserman, president and chairman of LA28, revealed that Cruise actually made his appearance at the Olympics for free.
“The original idea was a person in the stadium as a stunt double,” Wasserman explained, per The Hollywood Reporter. “About five minutes into the presentation [Cruise] goes, ‘I’m in. But I’m only doing it if I get to do everything.’ ”
As Wasserman shared at the event presented by CNBC and Boardroom, the actor “got more involved and more engaged” every “step of the way.”
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