Charles Parnell of "Top Gun: Maverick" on Working with Tom Cruise and More (Podcast)

Just in time for the theatrical release of the highly anticipated Top Gun: Maverick, we are joined by actor and voiceover artist Charles Parnell who plays Rear Admiral Solomon "Warlock" Bates. He chats with us about working on a film that was four years in the making, how Sidney Poitier was a huge influence on him growing up, and how his younger self would react to hearing that he’d star in the sequel to one of the biggest films of the '80s.

Parnell says that the younger cast members portraying the Top Gun pilots, including Miles Teller, Glenn Powell, Monica Babaro and Lewis Pullman, underwent an intense flight training program that star Tom Cruise designed, sharing, "I tell all the young actors how happy I am for them, how I proud I am of them and how impressed I am that they went through and survived this 'Tom Cruise training camp' and have done what they’ve done in this film. I can’t wait to see their careers blow up. It's a joy to see their rise just beginning."

Top Gun: Maverick opens in theaters May 27th.

You can watch the full interview above or listen wherever you download your podcasts:Apple, GooglePodcasts, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Stitcher and

Juan Ayala

Juan Ayala is a Brooklyn-based writer, podcaster and columnist at MediaVillage. He covers programming aimed toward diverse, multicultural and LGBTQ+ audiences under his  Multicultural TV column. His love for TV and film ranges from workplace comedi… read more