5. Mike Metcalf “Viper” (Tom Skerritt)
Then: Skerritt had already starred in another multimillion dollar blockbuster “Alien” before he landed a role in “Top Gun”. In “Top Gun”, he was cast as Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf. Viper was Maverick’s chief instructor. Another notable movie in which he acted in the ‘80s was “Ice Castles”.
Now: Just like Kilmer, Skerritt did not restrict himself to movies. From ‘92 to ’96, he acted in TV Drama series “Picket Fences”, a show that was helmed by David E. Kelley. Another one of Skerritt’s TV gig was a recurring role in a series called “Brothers and Sister”. Just like Kilmer, he wasn’t exclusive to TV series either. He landed gigs in movies such as “Poison Ivy”, “The Other Sister”, “A River Runs through It” and “Steel Magnolias”. Another noteworthy mention is his role in the movie adaptation Carl Sagan’s novel “Contact”. In the years following 2010, he starred as himself in Seth McFarlane’s “Ted”. He also appeared in “Beer for My Horses”. He hasn’t shunned TV gigs either, with guest starring slots in various series such as “The Closer”, “White Collar” and “Leverage”
6. Rick Heatherly “Jester” (Michael Ironside)
Then: Ironside’s role in “Top Gun” was that of Lieutenant Commander Rick “Jester” Heatherly. Prior to Top Gun, his most noted role was in “Scanners”. In “Top Gun”, Ironside played one of Maverick’s instructors at the academy that was simultaneously impressed with his student’s skills but was also extremely annoyed with his recklessness.
Now: Michael Ironside went on to have an extremely busy acting career. His most impressive roles were in sci-fi movies. He starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Total Recall”. He was then cast in the movie adaptation of the seminal military science-fiction novel “Starship Troopers”. He then went on to star alongside Christian Bale in “The Machinist” as well as “Terminator Salvation”. Another sci-fi flick he was part of is “X-Men: First Class”. He has also acted in various TV series. A few of them are science-fiction series “Smallville”, comedy series “Community. His voice could be heard in several animated shows such as “Justice League Unlimited”, “Superman: The Animated Series” and “Justice League”. He also landed a part in the series “Justified”
