Lewis Hamilton revealed he was left heartbroken when he was forced to turn down the opportunity to star alongside Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick.

The F1 ace was all set to star as Lieutenant Mickey ‘Fanboy’ Garcia in the 2022 box office sensation, rubbing shoulders with Cruise, who is a close friend. The 61-year-old actor not only starred in the hit, but he also produced the movie. Hamilton and Cruise go way back, having first bumped into each other on the Edge of Tomorrow set.

Since then, Cruise has been spotted hanging out at numerous Grand Prix events as Hamilton’s VIP guest. The pair could’ve been co-stars in Maverick, which was the eagerly awaited follow-up to the iconic ’80s hit Top Gun.

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Cruise got Hamilton a chat with Maverick’s director Joseph Kosinski, who dangled the role of Fanboy in front of him. But, as fate would have it, the shoot clashed with the nail-biting climax of the 2018 F1 championship battle against Sebastian Vettel, leaving Hamilton no choice but to pass on the gig, reports the Mirror.

Back then, he was knee-deep in the scrap for the title and couldn’t juggle both the track and the film set. Despite knowing he made the smart call, the Mercedes legend can’t help but rue missing out on the Hollywood dream.

“My assistant called me: ‘Tom Cruise has invited you to the set.’ I was just like: ‘Shoot, yeah?! Cancel anything I have’,” Hamilton confessed to GQ about his bond with Cruise.

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“I said, ‘Dude, if you ever do Top Gun 2…’-which had not been spoken of, there was no story yet-‘I will even be a janitor-just let me be in it.’ Firstly, I hadn’t even had, like, an acting lesson. 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!”

After Hamilton declined the role of ‘Fanboy’, professional actor Danny Ramirez was cast. The American has since expressed his gratitude to Hamilton for giving him the opportunity to appear in the film.

He tweeted: “When Joe Kosinski introduced us and said that Lewis’ role was gonna be Fanboy, I thanked him for saying no haha. Appreciate the assist Lewis Hamilton.”

Hamilton continues to maintain a close relationship with Cruise and is serving as a producer on the new major Hollywood F1 film, directed by Kosinski and featuring Brad Pitt. The seven-time world champion has provided advice to the filmmakers during the process, with some of the filming taking place at last year’s British Grand Prix.