The iconic Top Gun movie catapulted Tom Cruise to stardom.
But the woman who starred as his love interest in the movie, Kelly McGillis, went down a wholly different path.
Today, it’s hard to recognize the 65-year-old actress – she’s faced a lot of age shaming over the last few years…
I don’t think I was the only one who couldn’t help but think of Kelly McGillis when I went to the cinema to watch Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to the classic 80s film. I knew that she wouldn’t appear – but somehow, I still hoped that I would get to see her.
Obviously, McGillis never showed up, while Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer reunited in a very emotional scene. According to McGillis, she wasn’t asked to join the cast. In 2019, Entertainment Tonight wondered if the filmmakers of Top Gun: Maverick had offered her a role in the sequel.
“Oh my god no. They did not, nor do I think they would ever,” McGillis said,
“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.”
However, the 65-year actress didn’t seem to care about being left out of Top Gun: Maverick, which became the smash blockbuster movie of 2022.
“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,” she said.
The truth about her character in Top Gun
In the eighties, McGillis was one of only a handful of women who could command million-dollar fees. In Top Gun, the well-known actress starred as the astrophysicist and training school instructor Charlie Blackwood.
The blonde, long-legged, beautiful actress made a lasting impression as Maverick’s love interest – her brainy-but-gorgeous character became iconic….CONTINUE READING