Given how long humans have been obsessed with the idea of taking flight,
it's no surprise that many movies have been centred around pilots. We're
going to highlight five of the most famous movie aviators below, but if you
want to experience the thrill of aviation there are sites that allow you to
try an
Aviator demo
without leaving the ground.
Pete "Maverick" Mitchell
Perhaps Tom Cruise's most iconic role, we first met Pete Mitchell as a
brash young US Navy in 1986's Top Gun. That film saw Mitchell, also known by
his call sign "Maverick", juggle a romance with his instructor (Kelly
McGillis) while competing with rival flyer "Iceman" (Val Kilmer) to become
the best of the best. Cruise made a triumphant return to the role in 2022's
Top Gun: Maverick, whose massive box office takings showed audiences still
couldn't get enough of this aviator.
Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger
This cinematic aviator was ripped form the headlines. On January 15th,
2009, Sully left New York's LaGuardia Airport at the helm of an Airbus A320.
When the plane hit a flock of birds, both its engines were damaged. Everyone
on board owes their lives to the quick-thinking pilot, who miraculously
landed the plane in the Hudson River. The feat was celebrated by director
Clint Eastwood in the 2016 biopic Sully, which saw Tom Hanks play the
praised pilot.
William "Whip" Whitaker
Far less reputable a pilot was William "Whip" Whitaker, the protagonist of director Robert Zemeckis's
2012 drama Flight. Played by Denzel Washington, Whip is an airline pilot
struggling with alcoholism and cocaine addiction, a condition he conceals
from his employers until a mechanical fault causes him to crash land his
plane. While praised for his actions, Whip's alcohol and drug use comes to
the fore. Washington is so good in his portrayal of the troubled aviator
that he was nominated for Best Actor t the 85th Academy Awards.