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:
It’s really easy to root for Monica Barbaro. She carries herself with a quiet and grounded confidence. From the first time I met her on the set of Top Gun: Maverick, I knew right away that we would be friends for life. She’s a total star but, more importantly, she’s a good person. As an actor, Monica is driven by curiosity—not ego—and she approaches her work with a thoughtfulness that allows her to really tap into the characters and people she plays.
This is just the latest example of how the Top Gun: Maverick cast are still close with each other. Danny Ramirez, who played Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia, shouted her out at the Oscars in March, when she was up for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in A Complete Unknown. Then in May, Jay Ellis, who played Reuben “Payback” Fitch, revealed that he, Barbaro, Ramirez, Glen Powell, Miles Teller and other Maverick cast members are “all on text chains together.” Still, it sounds like Barbaro and Powell have an especially tight bond if he’s the one who was selected to sing her praises for TIME.
As already mentioned, last year saw Monica Barbaro playing Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. Glen Powell also made sure to commend her for how she portrayed the popular folk singer, as well as share his prediction for the bright future she has ahead of her:
Watching the way that she totally transformed into Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown was extraordinary. It’s not easy to embody the spirit of another person and bring it to life onscreen, but she made it look effortless, garnering an Oscar nomination as a result. I really think this is the beginning of a long run for Monica, and I’m excited to see what she does next. Anything she sets her mind to, she can accomplish. The sky is the limit for her.
Along with Top Gun: Maverick and A Complete Unknown, Monica Barbaro also recently starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Netflix series FUBAR, which was cancelled after two seasons. She’ll next be seen sharing screen time with Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry and Barry Keoghan in Crime 101, which comes out February 13 on the 2026 movies schedule. As of the end of July, she was shooting the yet-to-be-dated Artificial with her boyfriend Andrew Garfield.
Glen Powell can currently be seen leading the Hulu subscription-exclusive series Chad Powers, and he’ll be back on the big screen in November leading the new film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man. It stands to reason that if Top Gun 3 gets the greenlight, Barbaro and Powell will be brought back, though maybe another project might pair them back together beforehand. For now, I’m just glad these two remain such good friends off camera.