It was no coincidence that the production of Top Gun chose Skerritt to be the Viper commander, because of all the cast, he was the only one who was actually part of the U.S. Air Force during his youth in the 1950s. Skerrit is also one of the actors from this list that has the longest filmography.

He began his acting career in 1962 in the film War Hunt, and in 2021, at 88 years of age, he starred in the films East of the Mountains and Catch the Bullet. Among his almost 70 films, his appearances in Alien, Ted, Dead Zone and, of course, Top Gun stand out.