CALIFORNIAN actress Kelly McGillis rose to the top of the Eighties’ Hollywood pile in Top Gun, Witness and The Accused and went on to appear on stage in Sir Peter Hall’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hedda Gabler on Broadway.

Now 52, the former Golden Globe nominee is starring in the British tour of Terrence McNally’s love story Frankie & Johnny In The Claire De Lune, playing hard-boiled waitress Frankie to Rolf Saxon’s lovestruck, cocksure short-order cook Johnny. Michael Lunney’s production arrives in Leeds on Monday.

How did you become involved in this production?

“I guess the producer-director, Michael Lunney, called my agent, asked me to look at the script, and asked if I wanted to do the play on tour. So I read it, and I said yes. Pretty simple, really.”

Have you spent much time in Britain previously?

“I bought a boat a few years ago and spent a couple of months in Southampton having it fitted out. I’ve also been to London quite a few times, but I’ve never been to any other places in Britain, so I’m really excited that I get to see a lot of it now.

“I think it’s a great idea to go around the country with a purpose – and I get paid for it. Also, I get to meet people who live in these places. I think when you do what I do, it’s such a great gift because you get to find out what it’s really like to live in a place.”

How does the play differ from the 1991 film version of Frankie And Johnny that starred Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer?

“I don’t know, I remember the film hardly at all, which I’m really grateful for. I don’t like to compare myself, but I think the film would be very different. The play takes place in Frankie’s apartment, and there is no escaping it, it’s very claustrophobic. The interesting thing about the play is that there’s nowhere to go, so there’s a certain pressure on the characters.”

You have done plenty of theatre work in the past, haven’t you?

“Yes, mostly classical theatre. I have tried, ever since I left Julliard, to do at least a play every other year. So that’s quite a lot – I graduated from there in 1983.”

Do you prefer appearing in plays to making big Hollywood films such as Top Gun?

“I don’t really have a preference. I think acting is acting, no matter where I do it. Maybe the preparation is different, but that’s all. What I love about live theatre is that the audience is an integral part of the experience. I always find it very surprising watching what happens on stage, I really love that about theatre.”

What else do you have in the pipeline?

“After this I’m going to Canada to do a little movie, but after that I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Is that what you enjoy about acting, because every day is different?

“Actually, I don’t like having unpredictability in my life. I have an underlying terror that I’ll never work again and that I’ll have to go wait tables again, because I don’t have any other skills in life. So, I don’t really like not knowing what’s coming up, but it’s a double-edged sword, everything has its pros and cons.

“The codicil to that is I can never be bored with my life. There is always something very different going on, and that I find very exciting.”

• Middle Ground Theatre Company presents Frankie & Johnny In The Clair De Lune at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, from February 15 to 20 at 7.45pm, plus 2pm Thursday and Saturday matinees; free after-show discussion on Tuesday. Box office: 0113 213 7700 or wyp.org.uk

Did you know?

Kelly McGillis is also a professional counsellor, primarily concerned with substance abuse.