Miles Teller Learned He Had Jet Fuel in His Bloodstream After Breaking Out in Hives on 'Top Gun 2' Set

Miles Teller said when he told his Top Gun: Maverick costar Tom Cruise about having jet fuel in his blood, Cruise replied, "Yeah, I was born with it, kid"

Miles Teller made a wild discovery while making the sequel to Top Gun.

Chatting with Seth Meyers on Late Night Tuesday, Teller recalled filming the recently released, box-office-shattering Top Gun: Maverick, revealing that he discovered he had "flame retardant, pesticides and jet fuel" in his bloodstream after breaking out in hives on the high-flying set of the movie.

"We landed, and I'm just like, 'Man, I'm not feeling too good.' I was really hot and I just started itching like crazy. So I get out of the jet and I'm just covered in hives — like, head to toe," said the actor, 35.

Teller went to the doctor for a blood test and soaked in an oatmeal bath that night for relief ("I have sensitive skin anyway, truth be told," he told the host of his "Irish-Scottish skin").

"My bloodwork comes back and I have flame retardant, pesticides and jet fuel in my blood," he added.

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Miles Teller plays Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw in Top Gun: Maverick from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Miles Teller in Top Gun: Maverick (2022). Paramount Pictures

While Teller was thrown for a loop at first, "Then I thought, wait a second, this is actually kinda cool," he admitted to Meyers, 48.

The next day, he returned to set, where costar and legacy cast member Tom Cruise asked him what the bloodwork found.

"I was like, 'Well, Tom, it turns out I have jet fuel in my blood,' " Teller said. "Without even skipping a beat, Tom just goes 'Yeah, I was born with it, kid.' "

"So that was a very Tom moment for me," he added.

MILES TELLER PLAYS LT. BRADLEY "ROOSTER" BRADSHAW IN TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Miles Teller in Top Gun: Maverick (2022). PARAMOUNT PICTURES, SKYDANCE AND JERRY BRUCKHEIMER FILMS

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the new film follows Cruise's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell 30 years after his graduation from TOPGUN Naval aviation program, when he is called back as an instructor for the elite fliers.

Among his young charges is Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Teller), the son of his late best friend Goose (Anthony Edwards in the first movie).

Teller is joined by a new class of pilots including Glen Powell, Greg Tarzan Davis, Jay Ellis, Monica Barbaro and Lewis Pullman. Jennifer Connelly and Jon Hamm also star, while Val Kilmer reprises his role from the original.

Following its opening weekend — when it raked in an estimated $124 million at the domestic box office — Cruise, 59, reacted to the film's success on Twitter. "Thank you to everyone who saw #TopGun: Maverick and helped make it a historic opening weekend," he shared.

Top Gun: Maverick is now playing in theaters.

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