Ahead of tomorrow's series finale, we were able able to sit down with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier star Danny Ramirez earlier this week, and in addition to speaking to us about playing Sam Wilson's new wingman Joaquin Torres, he also shared details about what it was like working with the one-and-only Tom Cruise on his highly anticipated action sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
With Maverick (Cruise) serving as an instructor in the film, it sounds like Cruise also naturally took on a mentorship role for his relatively young cast - which includes Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Monica Barbaro, Manny Jacinto, Jay Ellis, Jake Picking, Raymond Lee, and of course, Ramirez - and installed a "door's always open" policy that proved to be quite valuable to Ramirez and the fresh-faced cast, as they were able to get a top-level film education on one of the biggest and most practical blockbusters in recent memory.
"I think it’s one of the most valuable experiences of my career and, in hindsight, I look back to it as my life. It was ten months of what seemed to be a masters in film degree cause early on, he emphasized to us that the door was always open if you had any questions. He was like if you literally have any questions about anything with storytelling, anything with film, anything in life, door’s open, we’re here for you.
And, you hear that all the time, anytime you’re new on the job. “Hey, door’s always open buddy!” So, I was like maybe, maybe not. So, I started asking, as we started filming, and things came up and I would always ask and the door was really always open. So, throughout the entire time, he took his mentorship role pretty seriously and was there for us at any given moment, with any questions. Even since we finished the project, he’s helped us out with a bunch of different things.
So, yeah, it’s been amazing to pick his brain and it’s not like he was trying to hold onto his knowledge, you felt that he was trying to pass on everything he knew about film, everything about story, why it was important to him, and so Chris McQuarrie, Joe Kosinski, Claudio Miranda, Eddie Hamilton, everyone was very much in that same mindset of endowing us with their knowledge."
Along with the years and years of film knowledge, Cruise also designed an intense training regimen, including about three months of flight training, for the entire cast that prepared them to make the long-awaited sequel as authentic as possible.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale debuts tomorrow, only on Disney+, while Top Gun: Maverick jets into theaters November 19!
Check out our full video interview (which includes mild SPOILERS) with actor Danny Ramirez below, and please don't forget to like and subscribe!
Marvel Studios’ “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson aka The Falcon, and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier. The pair, who came together in the final moments of “Avengers: Endgame,” team up on a global adventure that tests their abilities—and their patience. Directed by Kari Skogland with Malcolm Spellman serving as head writer, the series also stars Daniel Brühl as Zemo, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter, and Wyatt Russell as John Walker.