Jennifer Connelly believes Tom Cruise 'deserves' Oscar nomination

 Hollywood diva Jennifer Connelly is all in for her 'Top Gun: Maverick' co-star Tom Cruise! The 52-year-old star expects to hear Cruise's name when the 95th Academy Awards nominations are to be revealed today.

"He's extraordinary," she explained to Variety. "I think he does an amazing job in the movie," she added.

"He's extraordinary as a person and fantastic as an actor, and I think that he is just...perfect. I think that he embodies that character so beautifully... I think he absolutely deserves it," she said in reference to rumblings Cruise could grab an Oscar o.

According to Fox News, a US-based news outlet, Cruise produced "Top Gun: Maverick," in addition to reprising his role as Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell from the first "Top Gun" movie.

"I think the film is a really well-made film, and it's really hard to make a film like that, you know," Connelly continued of the movie that grossed over $1.4 billion, internationally.

Connelly, who portrays Penny Benjamin, Cruise's love interest, was quick to acknowledge Cruise's contributions to the movie as a whole.

"And also, thinking about Tom's work...think of the things that he did for that role," she explained. "Besides all the stuff on the ground and how wonderful he is in those scenes and creating those relationships - I think that relationship he has with you know, Miles' character, is so beautiful and moving," she said of Cruise's relationship with actor Miles Teller's character Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw.

She also praised the actor's piloting abilities, many of which he had developed independently.

"The work that he did to accomplish those flying sequences...it's something else. It really is," she noted to the outlet as quoted in a report by Fox News.

Although "Top Gun: Maverick" was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards--in Best Motion Picture, Drama, and Best Original Song--neither the movie nor Cruise received an award.