Kelly McGillis: How the “Top Gun” star got “too old” to shine

“I’m not that pretty,” replied the reporter who asked him if he had never thought about being a model. At 27, he finally enjoyed the fame he sought for most of his life.

Despite having only a mini-movie role in the curriculum, in 1985 she managed to star in a major Hollywood production in “The Witness”, alongside Harrison Ford, who had just created two of cinema’s most iconic characters: Han Solo. and Indiana Jones. A true dream come true.

“When I was younger, it was very heavy. Today I still see myself as it was then. At school no one asked me to go out or go to prom, “he explained.

A year later, Kelly McGillis’ career took another stratospheric leap. This time, it was Tom Cruise’s romantic couple in “Top Gun” – a film that has been seen in all countries, from all continents.

Now, more than three decades later, at a time when Cruise prepares to shine in the long-awaited sequel to the action film – the premiere was supposed to be in 2020 but has been postponed due to the pandemic – there’s no sign of the McGillis name in the cast. As always, the answer itself has it.

“I’m old and fat, I look right for someone my age and it doesn’t exactly match the Hollywood scene,” she confessed in an interview with “Entertainment Tonight” in 2019.

The actress who has come to be compared to Grace Kelly is now 63 years old and despite continuing to work as an actress, she leaves in the air the feeling that old age is an impediment to participating in great films. It won’t be just that. He claims that, at some point, he decided to step away from the Los Angeles productions.

“I prefer to feel absolutely safe in my own skin and who I am at this age, instead of appreciating all these other things,” he concluded.

The girl everyone wanted to have

As soon as she was announced as Harrison Ford’s partner on “The Witness,” all attention turned to the young actress who still shared a house and worked in a bar to pay the bills.

He became a movie star, literally overnight, thanks to the role of an Amish widow who becomes the only witness to a brutal crime. Ford is the cop he falls in love with.

“No, no, no, no, no,” she repeated several times when faced with the possibility of getting married. “My career is the most important thing,” he confessed at the time. A claim that would have been completely disproved years later.

“She has the honesty and simplicity of a young Grace Kelly, her unlimited scope and possibilities,” praised director Peter Weir. The critics were delighted. “Her beauty is sturdy and intelligent, yet as delicate as a Vermeer painting”, reads the “New York Times”.

In 1986, she met Tom Cruise, one of the biggest stars of that decade, and her life took another turn. Indeed, it was the actor himself who decided to make a change to the script: McGillis’s character, originally a dancer, changed her profession to an astrophysics teacher and instructor at the academy. The justification? Beautiful, mature women were becoming big in movies.

The choice was right, even the duo of Maverick and Charlie and the film proved to be a huge success at the box office, earning over 300 million euros.

The role launched McGillis on a spiral to the top of Hollywood, which ended up radically changing her opinion of the actress. “Fame has made me unhappy. I didn’t trust anyone, I was terrified. I was afraid of being recognized on the street, “he confessed a decade later, in an interview with” The Independent “.

He had everything he dreamed of: money, an expanding career, beauty. The secret of fear was in the past.

Other memories

It was a serious case of success, so much so that after Cruise and Ford, he made a new couple, not romantic, but client and victim, this time with Jodie Foster, who would win an Oscar for the role.

“Os Acusados”, the 1988 film that portrayed a real case of violation – which involved the Portuguese community, although the film never mentions it, and which NiT revisited in this article – was the work that made criticism surrender to your talent.

Unfortunately for McGillis, the film’s plot was too familiar. It was after the first one that she felt the need to get rid of her bad memories and reveal that she too had been raped by two strangers, years before she became famous, in a violent assault on her home.

The two men – one of them was only 15 years old – broke into the door and, with the threat of a knife, raped her in turn. “They always said they would beat me to death. At that point I thought I was going to die, I was already resigned ”.

“During the first few weeks after the accident, I was unable to eat or sleep. Suddenly he started panting without being able to control him, “he told People in 1988.

The episode sent her into depression. He found relief in alcohol and food. He gained over 12 pounds and ended up being admitted to a rehabilitation clinic. Many years later he turned to drugs.

However, the career in Hollywood remained intact. In 1989 he had the opportunity to shine again in Abel Ferrara’s new film, “Seduction”. Always insecure, he even underwent cosmetic surgery to try to integrate into the environment and, perhaps, to be at peace with his lack of self-esteem.

Arriving on the recording set, he stumbled upon a scene that would be his. On the bed, naked, was a double body. He lost patience. “I watched it for four minutes and left. If this is cinema, I never want to do it again. I love acting, but I don’t want to work with more idiots, ”he confessed. So it was.

She moved to the other side of the country with her husband and two daughters and opened a restaurant. By the way, Hollywood was left behind, but not for that reason the representation.

After a quieter phase, divorce arises and then rumors that he was having an affair with one of his employees. He ended up assuming homosexuality, something he had already denied several times.

Despite being far from big productions, it was still the subject of a lot of media attention. “I tried for a long time not to be myself, someone who was not gay, and it ruined my life. But you’ve reached an age where you’re just shitting yourself for everything, ”he later revealed.

On the press, the shock. Renowned gay magazine Advocate made the announcement a headline with great pomp: “A ‘Top Gun’ star has come out. And he’s not Tom Cruise.”

Growing up, she also felt that she could and should explain her disappearance and all the drama and addictions that had marked her life. She confessed, as early as 2009, that long before the rape she had also been abused by three men. I was only 12.

He exorcised demons to help others. He devoted himself to working in rehabilitation clinics and despite continuing to accept roles in film and television, the fame never returned. And she doesn’t want to know either.

“I got many calls from agents saying that I had ended my life. They are no longer my agents. I worry about what I do, I worry about getting old. Being 43 years old in this industry and not willing to do a thousand trades is difficult. I want to be an actress of character, but soon there will be no actors in America who look 50, because age is so feared, ”she explained in 2001.

This film is not for the elderly

McGillis is now 63 years old. 14 years older than Jennifer Connelly, the actress chosen to play Maverick’s new couple, which marks the return of Tom Cruise in the role 34 years later. In turn, Connelly is eight less than the protagonist.

The criticisms of the former “Top Gun” actress have raised the question of age in Hollywood, especially in women, often replaced by much younger protagonists. The disparity between romantic couples is undeniable: they are almost always younger than male partners.

As soon as the critical interview went public, the comments flooded social media. “This is the ‘Top Gun’, not the sequel to ‘Free Willy’,” it reads. Another pointed out that it was “possible to be sexy at 60, but apathy usually wins.” “Looks like his mother, not his girlfriend.”

Despite noticing the absence of any invitation to participate in the film – and implying that she might even say more about Hollywood than herself – she reiterates that she is so happy, unknown, to play her little roles in peace. And most importantly, away from actors, actresses and directors.

“I haven’t been in touch with anyone,” he explains before saying he’s happy that Connelly “has this opportunity.” Today he lives with his two daughters and his new partner in North Carolina. Sober and happy.

“It was difficult trying to find my identity. Raising my daughters and being the best mother I could be became my priority. My life priorities have changed. “