Tom Cruise flies ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ plane during MTV Awards acceptance speech

At the MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday, Tom Cruise, the "Top Gun: Maverick" actor, got an award for best performance in a movie for his role in the 2022 picture and delivered his acceptance speech in a pre-recorded video that showed him flying a jet.

Cruise thanked viewers for voting for him and stated, "I love you, I love entertaining you," reports CNN.

Cruise piloted the jet personally, according to a Paramount spokesman who verified this to CNN on Sunday. She went on to say that the jet Cruise was flying was his, and that it was the same P-51 Mustang he flew in "Top Gun: Maverick."

Cruise is known for performing his own stunts, and he even thanked audiences for their support of the blockbuster sequel in a video released to his verified Instagram last year, in which he was shown free-falling from a jet.

Steven Spielberg himself dubbed Cruise the "Savior of Movies," and he ended his speech on Sunday by adding, "See you at the movies."

"Top Gun: Maverick," the sequel to the 1986 hit "Top Gun," was the highest-grossing movie of 2022, following years of instability at the box office caused by the pandemic, and is Cruise's first film to exceed the billion-dollar mark.

Overall, Cruise flying a jet to receive an award adds new meaning to the line from "Top Gun: Maverick" character Rooster (Miles Teller), "It's not the plane, it's the pilot," the report concluded.