Quebec City-born Jerome LeBlanc plays Top Gun’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell for a living, creating a thrill-seeking Tom Cruise persona so authentic, the movie star himself might do a double take.

The 38-year-old Canadian actor has been playing California Tom Cruise for 17 years. But he plays it safe in real life. LeBlanc has his phone on speaker for an interview on the drive to Yuma, Ariz., to meet up with his professional wingman, Brian Ernst. Ernst plays Val Kilmer’s Top Gun Iceman to LeBlanc’s Maverick.

LeBlanc calls himself a “Maverick interpreter,” rather than an impersonator.

“I literally, I think, bring people back in the ’80s,” said LeBlanc. “It’s like being an illusionist and it’s mixed with nostalgia, which is a very powerful feeling.”

He makes more than 200 appearances a year, mainly promotional events around Southern California. He’s often hired for events like Kansas City Barbecue, where scenes from Top Gun were shot. He also works outside the decommissioned aircraft carrier U.S.S. Midway in San Diego as Midway Maverick, posing for photos with kids and families.

When I met him at a travel media conference in Anaheim several years ago, people couldn’t get enough of his take on Cruise, right down to the signature laugh. They patiently lined up to pose for thumbs-up photos with him.

Like Cruise, he’s slightly built. When LeBlanc took off his ever-present aviator shades, he’s less of a ringer. Could he be even better looking than the young Cruise?

I can make the comparison because I’ve seen Cruise up close. We met for a one-on-one interview in a Toronto hotel when he was promoting historical thriller Valkyrie in 2008. LeBlanc could be his Top Gun twin, right down to the perfect smile.

“I bring back the feeling of such an impactful movie in the ’80s. Top Gun was a huge hit and (he) was a huge crush for many women. So, I use that to bring back that lovin’ feeling,” LeBlanc said.

The lovin’ feeling seems strong, judging from the enthusiastic reaction when LeBlanc strides in dressed in a circa-1986 Top Gun-style flight suit. Or maybe he’ll wear one of 50 tight white T-shirts in his closet underneath a leather jacket covered with colourful flight patches. He never forgets the aviator shades.

Then there’s that Tom Cat grin. He’s grateful to his mom for finding the money for braces when he was a 21-year-old, gap-toothed architecture student. LeBlanc credits his Montreal-area orthodontist with kick-starting his career. The braces came off et voila! Tom Cruise and that 1,000-watt grin.

His mother also encouraged his acting aspirations.

“My mom always believed in everything is possible. And she says, go for it. And she really gave me that idea that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve it and the power of manifestation,” said LeBlanc.

He transferred to UCLA to finish school and tried to break into acting.

“I would hear it every single day. You look like Tom Cruise in Risky Business,” LeBlanc said. “I never heard it in Canada because before I had braces, I wasn’t smiling.”

Unable to work because he was in the U.S. on a student visa, LeBlanc decided to try posing as Maverick for tips and photos on tourist-clogged streets. Street performing helped him work on his acting skills by playing Maverick.

Architecture soon took a back seat. He switched to acting classes, including The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, The Groundlings Theatre & School and the Beverly Hills Playhouse.

He can thank Cruise for meeting his wife Nicole — yes, that’s her name. He met the New Jersey native while mimicking Maverick on Hollywood Blvd. She handed him her phone number.

The couple has three young kids, with a daughter due in September. LeBlanc is also an artist. His works are inspired by classic cars and vintage movies and are often used for charity fundraisers.

LeBlanc said Nicole and her Brooklynite dad gave him better voice lessons than his 18 months of dialect coaching. His Québécois accent is still there in the background and occasionally he searches for a word in English.

He speaks French with his kids and reads to them in his first language, showing them the French films and cartoons he grew up with, like Tintin. He’s even made them poutine.

Although his family comes to California to visit, it’s been about five years since he’s been back to Quebec.

Does he still feel Canadian?

“Yes and no,” he said. “I miss Canada, but I’m so adapted to living in California now and in the States.”

He feels nostalgic for the seasons, the people, the culture and his family, but California is his home. If he did go back to Canada, he’d choose British Columbia. “I’m a nature guy and I realized being in California, that I love the mountains.”

It’s a busy time for LeBlanc as Top Gun marks its 40th anniversary. Because the original movie and 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick were shot in San Diego, the area draws a lot of Top Gun tourists, and a Maverick sighting adds a certain “buzz the tower” thrill to their visit.

He’s the go-to guy for Top Gun events. And there are a lot of them. “The sky is the limit, honestly, or I would say this, it’s not the limit.”