Meg Ryan roles followed, including appearances in "Charles in Charge", "Armed and Dangerous", "Amityville 3-D" and "Promised Land"; for her role in the lattermost she received her first Independent Spirit Award nomination. In 1986, she played Carole Bradshaw, the wife of Naval Flight Officer Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (played by Anthony Edwards) in "Top Gun". Ryan appeared in the film "Innerspace" (1987) with her future husband Dennis Quaid, and later in the remake of "D.O.A." (1988) and in "The Presidio" (1988). Her first leading role was the romantic comedy film "When Harry Met Sally..." (1989), which paired her with comedic leading man Billy
Meg Ryan the Cut". Co-producer Nicole Kidman had originally been cast in the lead, but the actress eventually dropped out after five years of development, leaving the role to Ryan, who appeared nude in a lengthy and rather graphic love scene for the first time in her career. Although her image-conflicting depiction earned Ryan and the film much media attention, the film failed with critics and grossed only $23 million in theaters. She continued the strategy of acting against type with a leading role in Charles S. Dutton's directorial debut "Against the Ropes" (2004), a fictionalized sport drama about American boxing manager