‘Unnamed guy that dies’: Glen Powell recounts how Tom Cruise once pranked him while flying a helicopter

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Anyone but You' star Glen Powell had an extraordinary experience as a passenger in a helicopter that Tom Cruise was operating.

Powell would not have preferred the experience to be less complicated than it was as the 'Mission: Impossible' actor feigned losing control of the helicopter.

Glen Powell recalls Tom Cruise pranking him

The 35-year-old 'Hit Man' star recounted in an interview with British GQ Hype that Cruise, 61, once feigned to lose control of a helicopter while operating it, with Powell riding along as his passenger.

According to the publication, the prank took place when the two were returning to London from Pinewood Studios, which is roughly 18 miles outside of the capital city of England, where they were filming reshoots for 'Top Gun: Maverick'.

Powell recalls, "Tom goes, 'Oh no, oh no,’ and he starts dropping the helicopter over London. I was like, ‘Am I about to be the unnamed guy that dies with Tom in a smoking hole in the middle of London?'"

Powell noted that throughout the making of 'Top Gun: Maverick', he had been in awe of Cruise.

Although Powell holds a pilot's license, he revealed in the interview that in contrast to Cruise, he doesn’t yet fly cross-country but has taken friends to Vegas, Palm Springs and Napa Valley.

The 'Scream Queens' alum said, "I thought I could be Tom Cruise. He has a helicopter and he’s flying actual jets. If I have to pop over to New York or Texas, in this SR-22, it’ll take me forever."

Powell portrayed Lt Jake 'Hangman' Seresin in the 2022 film 'Maverick,' which is a follow-up to Cruise's hugely successful 1986 film 'Top Gun.'

More than 30 years after the first movie's debut, Cruise returned to the character of Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell in the more recent picture.

'Maverick' follows the titular role of Cruise as he prepares a new batch of pilots for a risky top-secret mission, including Powell's character and Miles Teller's Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw, per PEOPLE.

Glen Powell reveals how Tom Cruise convinced him to join 'Top Gun: Maverick'

Powell has previously disclosed that following his first audition for Miles Teller's role, which he didn't get, and his initial lack of interest thereafter, Cruise convinced him to become part of 'Top Gun: Maverick'.

The 'Anyone But You' star told PEOPLE in April 2022, "[Tom and I] sat down for a couple hours and talked about his life and his career and how he chooses movies, and how he develops roles and those sort of things."

"It was really a series of those conversations that convinced me that this could be a role that could actually be exciting, that I could have a little bit of creative license. I could make it my own and make something that could be really special," Powell said at the time.

"And I have to give Tom credit, a lot of times people just try to get you on the hook to get you in a movie and none of the promises are fulfilled," he added.

"But he fulfilled every single one of those promises. And I'm really proud of the movie and I'm proud of my role in it."

In the recent British GQ Hype interview, Powell also mentioned how the two became "kindred spirits" and bonded over their love of movies.

"I got to watch a guy who knew every department. He was able to clearly interface with everyone, and be so friendly and respectful and be able to communicate that vision," he said.