'Top Gun: Maverick' star Jay Ellis says he didn't mind not being in the shirtless beach scene because he was 'butt naked' on 'Insecure' for years

• There is no shot of Jay Ellis in the "Top Gun: Maverick" beach football scene.
• Ellis told Insider he has no problem with it as he was "butt naked" on "Insecure" a lot.

When it comes to the beach football scene in "Top Gun: Maverick," you may notice there's one person missing: Jay Ellis.

In an homage to the famous shirtless beach volleyball scene in the first movie, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) takes his Top Gun pilots for a little R&R with a trip to the beach to play a unique style of football where both sides are playing offense. We seriously have no clue what they are doing, but it looks like they are having fun.

Like the beach volleyball scene, all the actors are showcasing their glistening abs and toned bodies as they run around in the sand. And though Cruise, Glen Powell, and Miles Teller all get their glam shots, we never see Ellis.

Ellis admits he did notice the omission.

"I remember the first time I saw that and I was like, 'Huh. Wait! What?'" the actor told Insider.

"But then I had this moment where I realized I've spent the last six to seven years butt naked on TV," Ellis added, noting that he had several nude scenes while playing Lawrence on the HBO series "Insecure." "I'm happy for people to recognize me in my clothes. It's a new thing for me."

Ellis also joked: "I will also say, I realized I look better than all of them shirtless. What can I say?"

"I don't want to embarrass the biggest movie star in the world!" he added with a laugh. "It wouldn't be fair to Tom. And Miles and Glen. Any of them."

The 40-year-old actor admits he's never been shy about being unclothed on-screen. Before getting his big break on "Insecure" he played a football player on the BET series "The Game," in which he was often shirtless in the locker room. So not being featured in the beach scene wasn't a big deal.

"Honestly, it didn't bug me because it was the first time I was like, I'm not a piece of meat after all," he said.

"Top Gun: Maverick" is currently playing in theaters.