The actor played Jester, one of the instructors at the United States Navy’s elite aviator academy.
Among the supporting characters that appeared in the classic 1980s film “Top Gun,” a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and Kelly McGillis, was Jester, one of the veteran instructors at that aviator academy. elite of the United States Navy, played by actor Michael Ironside.
After the release of the film, one of the highest-grossing films of 1986, Michael Ironside admitted that on one occasion, while filming scenes from the film in real military installations, he felt very insecure about his performance as a military character, thinking that he was not doing it right. well and that his scenes looked very forced.
At that precise moment, a young lieutenant, a real member of the Navy who ran by him, upon seeing Ironside dressed as his character, stopped short, performing a military salute before him. The young man had thought that Ironside was a real officer and obviously did not realize that he was just an actor.
Ironside, at that moment, reprimanded the officer, saying: “Slow down,” to which the young lieutenant responded: “Sorry! Yes sir!”.
At that moment Michael Ironside realized that his character was much more believable than he thought. “Maybe I like this,” the actor thought.
