“Top Gun” star Tom Cruise visited the crew of the Norfolk-based USS George H.W. Bush last week while the warship is in the Adriatic Sea.

Cruise, as well as Hannah Waddingham from the Apple TV+ show “Ted Lasso,” led a special viewing of “Top Gun: Maverick” for sailors in the hangar bay on March 3.

Tom Cruise meets with Sailors aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) during a visit to the ship, March 2, 2023. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Novalee Manzella) (Petty Officer 2nd Class Novalee Manzella/USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77))

“I know our sailors will never forget that night in the hangar bay, and I am equally as certain that neither will Mr. Cruise,” said Rear Adm. Dennis Velez, commander of the strike group, in a statement released Thursday by the Navy.

The carrier’s commanding officer and a Top Gun graduate, Capt. Dave Pollard, said thevisit “paid dividends” toward crew morale.

“It buoys my spirits to know that the leading entertainers and filmmakers of our day not only conceptually know what we do, but they can relate to what our nation’s warriors do on a daily basis through their personal experiences aboard USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77),” Pollard said.

[ To keep crew’s spirits up, Norfolk-based Navy captain turns to ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ ]

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After departing Naval Station Norfolk more than seven months ago, the crew are nearing the end of a scheduled deployment to the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa’s area of responsibility.

Tom Cruise addresses the crew on the 1MC during a visit to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), March 3, 2023. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Samuel Wagner)

Tom Cruise addresses the crew on the 1MC during a visit to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), March 3, 2023. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Samuel Wagner) (Petty Officer 3rd Class Samuel Wagner/USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77))

“This is my first deployment, and it’s difficult sometimes to be gone from home and family for such long time,” said Olivia Morton, an aviation support equipment technician, in the release. “Spending time with my friends at the hangar bay event and getting a photo with all of the guests – especially Tom Cruise – was the highlight of a memorable deployment.”

Cruise and Waddingham were also joined on the carrier by “Top Gun: Maverick” writer and producer Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton.

Waddingham will share the screen with Cruise for part two of “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning.”

Caitlyn Burchett, [email protected]

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