Entertainment Movies Anthony Edwards Told Tom Cruise 'Mission Accomplished' with 'Top Gun: Maverick' : 'They Did It' "It was fantastic," Top Gun star Anthony Edwards raved of the 1986 film's long-awaited sequel Maverick after catching an early screening of the film with costar Tom Cruise By Glenn Garner Glenn Garner Instagram Twitter Glenn Garner is a Writer/Reporter who works heavily with PEOPLE's Movies and TV verticals. Since graduating from Northern Arizona University with a dual major in journalism and photography, he got his professional start at OUT Magazine, The Advocate and Teen Vogue, and he's since consistently kept his finger on the pulse of the LGBTQ community. His first book The Guncle Guide was released in 2020 and was featured on Katie Couric's list of 100 recommended books of the year. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 11, 2022 02:50 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock; Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock Anthony Edwards may not physically appear in Top Gun: Maverick but he was one of the sequel's earliest fans. The Golden Globe winner, 59, gave his seal of approval to the follow-up of his 1986 movie after catching an early screening with costar Tom Cruise, which he spoke about at Thursday's Tribeca Film Festival world premiere of Jennifer Lopez's Halftime documentary. "If you do the first movie, you're lucky enough," Edwards told ET. "I was lucky enough that Tom called me up. He screened it for me in person." ER's Anthony Edwards Joins Wife Mare Winningham in Girl from the North Country as Last-Minute Understudy He noted that his son Bailey, 28, who walked the red carpet with him, also tagged along for the intimate sneak peek at the Dolby screening room in New York City, which he said had "the best sound ever," adding: "It was fantastic." Everett Collection Edwards appeared in the original Top Gun as Lt. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, the closest confidant of LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Cruise). And although the character tragically died in the first film, he lives on in the sequel through the character of his now-grown son Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller). "It's the biggest movie that I'm in that I never had to show up for a day of work, so it was fun," Edwards raved. The ER alum also praised the sequel for living up to its predecessor. "When something's that successful, people had a certain feeling in the original one," he said. Paramount Pictures "And [Top Gun: Maverick] does exactly what it felt like seeing it the first time, only more," Edwards explained. "As I said to Tom, 'Mission accomplished.' They did it. They really did though. It's a lot of work that went into that. But it had the feel, it had the tone, it had what people wanted." RELATED VIDEO: 'Top Gun: Maverick" Stars Tom Cruise, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller & More on Filming the "Love Letter to Aviation" Cruise, 59, reprises his role in Top Gun: Maverick more than 35 years after appearing in the original. The sequel sees Maverick still flying as one of the Navy's top aviators, avoiding a rank promotion that would keep him grounded. Meanwhile, he trains a new class of fighter pilots for the mission of a lifetime, while confronting ghosts from his past. Top Gun: Maverick is now in theaters.