Terminator Salvation director McG cut a "beautiful" topless shot of Moon Bloodgood out of the action blockbuster - even though the stunning actress was thrilled with the scene.

The Charlie's Angels director thought the shot would add a little tenderness and understanding about Bloodgood's character Blair Williams - but it just seemed out of place when McG was cutting the film together in the editing suite.

He tells WENN, "We tried to echo that scene in (film) Witness where Kelly McGillis turns around and says, 'I'm not ashamed. I know that I'm raised in a puritanical fashion and this is who I am but I trust you, Harrison Ford, so let's have a moment' - and they never even touch.

"We had a scene opposite Sam Worthington's character that sort of echoed that but it ended up feeling like, 'Here's the topless scene in a genre picture' - and it felt gratuitous.

"I didn't want people to have a reason to say, 'I can't take this film that seriously. They're still playing grab ass and the film's made by a bunch of teenagers who just want the boob shot.' So we ultimately left it out.

"Moon would be the first to say she thought it was beautiful. I mean one of the things that the Resistance (in the film) is fighting for is the softness of the flesh. It's the defining characteristic of the difference between us and machines."