“Top Gun” Star Kelly McGillis Reveals Why She Wasn’t Asked to Be In The Sequel

Top Gun/Instagram

Top Gun: Maverick, the highly-anticipated sequel to the 1986 blockbuster hit Top Gun, took the box office by storm over Memorial Day weekend. While the movie stayed true to the original in many ways, fans noticed that one of the original stars was absent from the sequel.

Kelly McGillis, who portrayed Tom Cruise’s love interest Charlie Blackwood in the first film, was noticeably absent from the sequel, leaving fans with questions. In a 2019 interview, McGillis told Entertainment Tonight that she hadn’t been asked to be in the film.

“Oh my god no. They did not, nor do I think they would ever,” she replied. “I mean, I’m old and I’m fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is, and that is not what that whole scene is about.”

McGillis wasn’t bothered by the reality, saying: “I’d much rather feel absolutely secure in my skin and who and what I am at my age, as opposed to placing a value on all that other stuff.”

The now-64-year-old actress left Hollywood to get sober and raise her family. She told ET that she wasn’t exactly anxious to see the Top Gun sequel.

“I guess it depends on what kind of reviews it gets,” she said. “I’m not racing to the theater, and I’m not racing away from the theater to see it. It’s not on my little list of things that I’d like to get done.”

Another actress that wasn’t brought back for the sequel was Meg Ryan who played the wife of “Goose” Bradshaw, the best friend of Maverick (Tom Cruise). Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski told Insider that bringing back the women was an option he never considered.

“Those weren’t stories that we were throwing around. I didn’t want every storyline to always be looking backwards,” Kosinski said. “It was important to introduce some new characters.”

Hear Kelly McGillis talk about her exclusion from Top Gun: Maverick in the interview below.