Lewis Hamilton has opened up on his decision to turn down a role in Top Gun: Maverick, with the F1 star admitting it 'broke his heart' to turn down the chance to star alongside Tom Cruise.
The second instalment in the Top Gun series earned rave reviews upon releasing in 2022.
And Hamilton could have been part of it.
The Briton, speaking to GQ Magazine, has revealed he was offered the chance to star alongside Cruise.
However, this was back in 2018 - with the Mercedes star involved in a battle for the F1 title, which he'd eventually win, at the time.
Hamilton says it was Cruise who invited him to the set for the first time.
“My assistant called me: ‘Tom Cruise has invited you to the set,’" he recalled.
“I was just like: ‘Shoot, yeah?! Cancel anything I have!"
Hamilton then struck up a good rapport with Cruise, who had previously starred in the first Top Gun film back in 1986.
One night, at dinner, the F1 star showed Cruise his watch - which had a Top Gun logo on the back.
"I said, ‘Dude, if you ever do Top Gun 2 I will even be a janitor' – just let me be in it."
However, in the end, things didn't go to plan.
Director Joseph Kosinski, who previously helmed films such as Oblivion, Tron: Legacy and Only the Brave, offered him the chance to play one of the pilots.
Yet Hamilton opted to reject the role, admitting it was a decision that 'broke his part' in the process.
“Firstly, I hadn’t even had, like, an acting lesson," he admitted.
“And I don’t want to be the one that lets this movie down. And then secondly, I just really didn’t have the time to dedicate to it.
"I remember having to tell Joe and Tom – and it broke my heart.
"And then I regretted it, naturally, when they show me the movie and it's 'it could've been me!"
Fast-forward to now and Hamilton is currently in the middle of his last year with Mercedes.
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The F1 icon will be leaving for Ferrari at the end of the season, having confirmed his exit back in February.
Yet Hamilton remains as determined as ever to achieve success and has vowed to give everything between now and the end of the campaign.
"I’m training harder than I’ve ever trained," he said.
"I feel the most physically prepared I’ve ever been.
"So I’m really excited about the present, knowing that nothing is promised beyond that.
"Honestly, I've manifested everything I've ever wanted to do."
When asked if he manifested the move to Ferrari, he said: "Yeah. I think perhaps more unconscious manifesting from the early period of my life.
"But it’s always been up there for me. For now, though, I’m gonna lift Mercedes as high as I can this year.
"The way that I exist, I don't look at it as on the way out.
"My commitment to the team is exactly the same as previous years: I want to kill every other team.
"We want to beat them. My approach remains the same, right until the end.
"And can’t let too much of my mind be distracted by what’s afterwards. You can’t really tap into that until next year.”
