It was a little over three years ago when Glen Powell and Monica Barbaro blew up in a big way, among others, thanks to Top Gun: Maverick, which can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription. Their characters, Jake “Highball” Seresin and Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, were among the crop of pilots taken under the wing (pun intended) of Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick Mitchell. Powell and Barbaro have remained friends since making the Top Gun sequel, and the former had some kind words to pass along to the latter.
Barbaro is on TIME’s list of the world’s most influential rising stars in 2025, and Powell, who reunited with her over the summer, wrote the actress’ entry. He started off by talking about how he knew right away that she’d be an important person in life when they started working together on Top Gun: Maverick, saying:
