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Tom Cruise surprises James Corden with fighter jet flight: 'You're an actor, not a pilot'

Tom Cruise surprises James Corden with fighter jet flight: 'You're an actor, not a pilot'

James Corden lived the Top Gun: Maverick experience to the extreme when Tom Cruise visited The Late Late Show.

In 2018, Cruise took Corden skydiving; this time, he flew him in a vintage fighter plane and a modern war jet.

"I'm gonna go up in a 75-year-old plane with someone who isn't a pilot? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Corden says before running in the opposite direction.

Cruise promises Corden that he's not just an actor, but a pilot too, to which Corden retorts, "With all due respect, you played a lawyer in A Few Good Men, I wouldn't want you to represent me in court."

Through Corden's quips asking for the plane's Wi-Fi password and holding up a sign that reads "Help me," he laughs through much of the fear, mixed in with some blood-curdling screams.

As Cruise smiles for the duration of flight, in his element, he plays with Corden, taking him along for a dogfight with a neighboring plane, flying right over mountains and dropping at a 90-degree angle.

"The fact that this is your idea of a fun day out just tells me how different we are as human beings," a winded Corden says.

When the pair gets out of the plane and heads back to camp, Cruise reveals that the day is not yet over. They prepare for a second flight the way any high-intensity fighter pilots do: a game of slow-motion volleyball and a "You've Lost That Lovin Feelin" serenade.

"You're the first half of the film Goose," Cruise reassures Corden, comparing him to the Anthony Edwards Top Gun character before his death in the second half of the film.

THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN- Tom Cruise
THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN- Tom Cruise

Terence Patrick/CBS

The new Hollywood power duo ends their night in a tent, where Corden confesses, "Tom, if you kill me tomorrow, I'll haunt you for the rest of your life." Cruise replies, "James, if I kill you tomorrow, I'll be dead too."

When Corden and Cruise board the next plane, a much cushier, newer vehicle, the host seems to feel more at ease. Upon Corden's request, the action star says, "We'll just fly straight, just relax, just take it easy for a little bit" while he shakes his head at the camera. But Cruise doesn't hold out, nearing the plane to trees and cliffs and pulling off 360-degree loops and spins.

Finally done with the adventure, Corden seems relieved to be returning to the comfort of his studio: "You can be my wingman anytime," Cruise says. "You know what? I think I'm good," Corden replies with a laugh.

Hopefully for Corden's sake, Cruise won't sign him up for any other wild antics in his eighth and final season.

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