Who Was Penny In The First Top Gun?

Who was Penny to Maverick in Top Gun 1

How Do Penny and Maverick Know Each Other? – Penny Benjamin used to be Maverick’s girlfriend, long before Maverick fell in love with Top Gun instructor Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood (portrayed by Kelly McGillis in the original Top Gun movie ). When Maverick first sees Penny at her bar during his return to Top Gun school as an instructor, they both reestablish their chemistry by casually flirting with each other and briefly talking about the past.

There are some comical moments, especially when Penny tells Maverick that he’s required to buy a free round of drinks for all the customers for having his cell phone at the bar table. She also tells Maverick to not give her a certain look, signifying that she won’t be enticed by Maverick’s charms to get her to sleep with him.

Penny is not the same person she was years ago when she was in love with Maverick, and cannot afford to be reckless or be thrust back into a relationship that is short-term or won’t work at all, especially with her daughter Amelia as her top priority.

Why is Penny in Top Gun 1

Who Was Penny In the First Top Gun Movie? – While Connelly wasn’t a part of the Top Gun 1986 cast, her character was mentioned in the film. The original Top Gun framed Maverick’s bad-boy heroics as something of a backlash against his father’s reputation. The elder pilot was killed in Vietnam, and held accountable for a mission failure that wasn’t his fault.

Maverick, in response, tends to color outside the lines, using his piloting skills to get away with stunts like ignoring orders and buzzing the tower. That also includes an infamous incident with a woman referred to as “the admiral’s daughter.” It starts when his commanding officer reads a litany of his bad-boy behavior as exposition, including “high-speed passes over five air-control towers and one admiral’s daughter.” At the accusation, Goose whispers the woman’s name: Penny Benjamin.

Meg Ryan’s Carole also mentions the incident later in the film, teasing Maverick about the time he went “ballistic” with Penny Benjamin, the admiral’s daughter. It’s presented as part of a pattern of womanizing and one-night stands that Charlie breaks with true love.

When was Penny introduced in the first Top Gun?

Was Penny in the original Top Gun? – In Top Gun: Maverick, Penny Benjamin is the rekindled love interest of Tom Cruise’s character Maverick. However, original Top Gun fans will remember that the star pilot was in love with Charlie Blackwood, played by Kelly McGillis, an astrophysicist at the Top Gun academy.

1. Penny was never seen in the original movie but was introduced through other characters’ dialogue.
2. The first time she was brought up was when Maverick and Goose, played by Anthony Edwards, were getting yelled at after a reckless stunt.
3. While they were being disciplined, Stinger, played by James Tolkan, recalled all the times he had to punish the pilot, adding that he had “a history of high-speed passes over five air control towers and one admiral’s daughter.” Goose then leans towards Maverick and whispers, “Penny Benjamin?” which Maverick shrugs off.

Penny is brought up again after Goose’s wife visits and tells Maverick that he “told me all about the time you went ballistic with Penny Benjamin.”

How did Maverick know Penny in Top Gun?

Biography – Penny is first referenced when Maverick and LTJG Nick “Goose” Bradshaw are getting chewed out by CDR Tom “Stinger” Jardian (after the LT Bill “Cougar” Cortell incident), who indicates that Maverick has been previously disciplined (twice by Stinger himself) for “a history of high-speed passes over five air control towers and one admiral’s daughter!” Goose then whispers Penny Benjamin’s name to Maverick as if to remind him of who she was.

Was Penny in Top Gun 2 in the first one?

Is Penny Benjamin in the Original “Top Gun”? – Penny, played by Jennifer Connelly, is not physically in the first “Top Gun” movie, but she does exist in it, though only mentioned in passing. She is never actually seen on screen. In one scene, Maverick’s past exploits are said to include “a history of high-speed passes over five air-control towers and one admiral’s daughter,” and Maverick’s BFF Goose mutters Penny’s name under his breath — making her the “admiral’s daughter” in question.

• That’s later confirmed when Goose’s wife, Carole, teases Maverick about his romantic history, telling her that Goose “told me all about the time you went ballistic with Penny Benjamin.” While she never appears in person in the first “Top Gun,” Penny becomes a major character in the sequel,
• Now played by Connelly, Penny owns a bar that is the downtime destination of choice for the TOPGUN crew.

She’s less than thrilled when Maverick shows up again, and their dialogue definitely implies that they’ve had a bit of an on-and-off romance throughout the years between the two movies. “It started the first time when they were quite young. And you get the sense that they sort of come together, they have this sort of fiery romance, and then it falls apart,” Connelly described in an interview with FilmIsNow,

Why wasn t the original penny in Top Gun: Maverick?

Kelly McGillis Wasn’t Asked To Reprise Her Charlie Top Gun Role – Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick isn’t scared to lean on nostalgia with various callbacks to the 1986 film. That said, it doesn’t bring back many of the characters from the original Top Gun, and among the absent is Charlie. There are two reasons that explain why the Charlie Top Gun character isn’t in the sequel.

• According to director Joseph Kosinski, they wanted Top Gun: Maverick to look forward instead of backward, so they were meticulous in deciding which legacy characters would be back in the new blockbuster.
• Ultimately, instead of re-pairing Maverick with Charlie, the decision was made to properly reintroduce Penny Benjamin from Top Gun, instead.

However, Charlie actress Kelly McGillis believes that there’s a different explanation for not being called back for Top Gun: Maverick : her age and looks. ” I’m old, and I’m fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is, and that is not what that whole scene is about,” she said in a 2019 interview.

Was Hondo in the first Top Gun?

Top Gun: Maverick introduced Hondo, Maverick’s new best friend, and a loyal all – but the Top Gun sequel doesn’t cover the backstory of how they met. There’s one important story that Top Gun: Maverick failed to tackle. Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun follow-up sees the return of Tom Cruise’s daredevil pilot, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell more than 30 years since he was introduced. In Top Gun: Maverick, however, he’s stuck in the past; despite all the changes around him, he refuses to get in on with the times.

Osinski’s Top Gun sequel also introduces a string of new Top Gun characters that are meant to eventually take over the franchise, including Top Gun 2 ‘s CWO4 Bernie “Hondo” Coleman. Maverick clearly knows Hondo from his previous job, functioning as his assistant instructor. Maverick and Hondo don’t share a lot of scenes together, but it’s clear that they have a great friendship.

The fact that Hondo pretty much backs Maverick in all his ridiculous decisions proves his loyalty to him. However, Top Gun: Maverick doesn’t reveal exactly how Maverick met Hondo. Hondo wasn’t in the original Top Gun film making it more curious how he first came across Mitchell.

While it prominently features neophyte pilots such as Jake “Hangman” Seresin (Glen Powell), Natasha “Phoenix” Trace (Monica Barbaro), and Bradley “Goose” Bradshaw (Miles Teller) — the son of Mitchell’s fallen RIO, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), Top Gun: Maverick remains focused on Maverick’s story as he struggles to let go of the past and move forward in his life.

Ultimately he learns his lesson after what very well could be his final mission, with the film leaving him at a much better place both professionally and personally than when it started. Hondo’s role in this story is one of the more understated parts of the narrative.

Why was the original penny not in Top Gun: Maverick?

Why Kelly McGillis isn’t in Top Gun: Maverick: “I’m old and I’m fat, and I look age-appropriate” and returned to the Navy for, but one familiar face missing from the sequel is, who played Cruise’s love interest in the 1986 original. According to McGillis, she wasn’t asked to join the film, and she matter-of-factly cited her appearance for her exclusion.

1. Asked McGillis way back in 2019 if the makers of Top Gun: Maverick had asked her to be in the film.
2. Oh my god no.
3. They did not, nor do I think they would ever,” she replied, almost laughing at the idea.
4. I mean, I’m old and I’m fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is, and that is not what that whole scene is about.” Fortunately, McGillis didn’t seem to be upset by her very realistic explanation.

“I’d much rather feel absolutely secure in my skin and who and what I am at my age, as opposed to placing a value on all that other stuff,” she said. The 64-year-old actress told ET that she left Hollywood to get sober and focus on raising her family, and isn’t necessarily itching to see the sequel anyway.

“I guess it depends on what kind of reviews it gets,” she said. “I’m not racing to the theater, and I’m not racing away from the theater to see it.” McGillis played astrophysicist and training school instructor Charlie Blackwood in the original Top Gun. In this iteration, Jennifer Connelly portrays Maverick’s new love interest, Penny Benjamin.

The long-awaited sequel was directed by Joseph Kosinski and also stars Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, and Glen Powell. Editor’s Note: Grab your very own “Age-Appropriate” T-shirt in or variations, now available on the or via the Buy-Now buttons below.