Kelly McGillis

“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,” the actor said.

Kelly McGillis, who memorably played love-interest Charlie opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun, doesn’t seem to mind that she’s not involved in the upcoming sequel to the ’80s classic. In a refreshingly candid interview with Entertainment Tonight, the Golden Globe nominee said she wasn’t asked to be part of the film. And she’s not surprised, to be honest.

“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,” the 62-year-old told the outlet. “But…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.”

In the upcoming film, Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise reprises his role the titular Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, starring opposite Jennifer Connelly as the main love interest. In the ET interview, McGillis gave Connelly her blessing, saying “I’m glad for her.”

Since Top Gun, McGillis’s blockbuster career has slowed down, though she has continued acting and teaching acting classes in Asheville, North Carolina, where she has lived for several years with her two daughters Sonora and Kelsey Tillman. McGillis said she initially moved away from the industry in order to get sober.

“It was very challenging for me to have any kind of sense of self or self-identity or real self-worth other than what I did for a living,” she said. “And it just—it didn’t become a priority; what became the priority initially was raising my girls and being the best sober parent I could be.”

Her movement away from acting wasn’t necessarily intentional, she said. “It wasn’t like a major decision that I made to leave, it was just that other things became more important,” she added. “I love acting, I love what I do, I love doing theater, but I don’t know. To me, my relationships to other people became far more important than my relationship to fame.”

McGillis doesn’t keep up with many people from the Top Gun production, she said. “I don’t really keep in touch with anybody. I think I’ve spoken to a couple of people occasionally, but the truth is, movies are very odd work situations because you have a lot of people who come together from all different parts of the world.”

As for the new Top Gun, McGillis said she has not yet seen the new trailer, nor is she counting down the days until the film’s release.

“I’m not racing to the theater and I’m not racing away from the theater,” she said. “It’s not on my little list of things that I would like to get done.”

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