Tom Cruise Gave Glen Powell A Thrilling Christmas Gift After Shooting Top Gun: Maverick

Tom Cruise is one of Hollywood’s most prominent stars, with over four decades of experience under his belt. However, not only is Cruise famous for his talent and unwavering enthusiasm, he’s also a renowned gift-giver. We’re not talking about the occasional cashmere sweater or serving dish either — serious thoughtfulness goes into it when the A-lister is giving someone special a present.

When shooting wrapped on “Top Gun: Maverick,” the actor gave his co-star, Glen Powell, a thrilling Christmas gift that effectively turned Powell into a pilot for real. Being generous with his presents is not out of the ordinary for Cruise, as he’s very well known for putting quite an effort into making his friends happy. From skydiving lessons to shark diving, Cruise’s favorite things to give are not material.

In addition to the action-packed experiences he enjoys gifting others, Cruise is also known for sending out his signature coconut cake each year to mark the Christmas holidays. As the adventurer Christopher McCandless once put it, happiness is only real when it’s shared, and Cruise sure knows it.

Cruise helped Powell make his childhood dream come true

Tom Cruise is apparently the world’s greatest colleague, as he gifted Glen Powell flying lessons. Powell shared his excitement over obtaining a pilot’s license in an Instagram post, confirming that it was all his co-star’s doing. “For Christmas, Tom bought me an iPad with my flight school downloaded and prepaid,” Powell wrote. “After months of flying, studying, and testing … I’m the real deal.” In a conversation with Kate Hudson for Variety, Powell revealed he has been a fan of aviation since he was a child but never went through with making his flying dreams a reality.

That is until he worked on “Top Gun: Maverick” alongside Cruise, of course. “When you see Tom’s love of flying, it’s the most infectious thing,” the actor gushed. According to ATP Flight School, which is located in Florida, an individual with no previous flying experience would have to cash out a little over $100,000 in order to become a pilot.

If you’ve previously obtained a so-called “private pilot certificate,” the cost is slightly cheaper — just under $81,000. While it’s unclear whether Powell had the certificate to begin with or not, Cruise was more than generous with his endowment, which is something he’s no stranger to.

Cruise is a notorious cake-gifter

Pom Klementieff, Tom Cruise’s character’s assassin in the seventh installment of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, got another type of lesson as a gift from the star. The French actor explained to People that she wanted to skydive with Cruise on set but wasn’t allowed as she didn’t have a license. “When I wrapped the movie, [Cruise] gifted me, as my wrap gift, the lessons of learning how to skydive,” Klementieff revealed.

Simon Pegg, Cruise’s co-star in multiple “Mission: Impossible” movies and a close friend off-set, also shared the elaborate gift Cruise once treated the filmmaking team to after a long day on set: Shark cage diving. “He’s always very keen to show his appreciation,” Pegg said. If he’s not gifting experiences, Cruise’s surprise holiday gift to everyone on his list usually does the trick. Dubbed “the Tom Cruise cake,” the famous Bundt coconut cake from Doan’s Bakery in California has been making headlines for years.

According to The Sun, some of the lucky A-listers who’ve gotten it to date include Jimmy Fallon, Henry Cavill, and Rosie O’Donnell. There’s no special story behind the tradition, as Cruise himself noted on “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” When the actor’s in training, he can’t eat sugar, which is why Cruise sends his friends delicious cakes. While that may be a bit naughty, his love language is clearly gift-giving.