Val Kilmer had several iconic roles throughout his career, but the late actor will always be remembered as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky from the 1986 movie Top Gun.
Before he signed on to play the cocky naval aviator in the movie, Kilmer almost turned down the role.
“I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me,” Kilmer wrote in his 2020 memoir I’m Your Huckleberry. “My agent, who also represented Tom Cruise, basically tortured me into at least meeting Tony Scott, saying he was one of the hottest directors in town.”
He added: “I read the lines indifferently. And yet, amazingly, I was told I had the part. I felt more deflated than inflated. I had to get out of there.”
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Despite his nonchalance about the role, Kilmer returned for the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick and even formed a longtime friendship with former costar Cruise. Nearly three years after the second film came out, Kilmer died at age 65 from pneumonia.
Keep scrolling to see what the Top Gun franchise stars have said about Kilmer over the years:
A Personal Update
Cruise offered an update on Kilmer’s health battle in 2018. (Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but didn’t go public with the news until 2017.)
“He’s doing really well,” Cruise told Extra at the time.
Bringing Positive Vibes
Miles Teller starred as Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw in the Top Gun sequel and initially teased all “the feels” when seeing Cruise and Kilmer reunite on screen. Teller also told Entertainment Tonight in May 2022 that Kilmer was always hanging around during filming.
“He would be on set even if he wasn’t in the scene. Val was on set and actually a lot of the guys from the original would kind of pop in and out from time to time,” Teller said. “And that just adds to the glee factor.”
Teller also said Kilmer had “positive energy.” The actor added: “He’s so full of life and to see him on set and chat with him was good.”
Growing Up With Kilmer
Before Jon Hamm shared the Top Gun screen with Kilmer, the actor — who played Beau “Cyclone” Simpson in the sequel — remembered seeing him in the first film.
“You don’t want to be Iceman,” Hamm admitted to Rolling Stone in May 2022. “But it’s funny, I just watched that documentary on Val Kilmer’s life and just watching him go through his whole life and his career and how young he was and how important that was for him, too, and how good he was in the film.”
He added, “He’s a genuinely believable kind of heel, even though he’s playing kind of both sides of the equation. It’s a really great performance that he brings to it as well.”
An Emotional Moment
Cruise spoke candidly about getting teary-eyed while reuniting with Kilmer for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I just want to say that was pretty emotional,” the actor shared during a February 2023 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “I’ve known Val for decades, and for him to come back and play that character … he’s such a powerful actor that he instantly became that character again. You’re just looking at Iceman.”
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Cruise added, “I was crying. … I got emotional. He’s such a brilliant actor, I love his work.”
Using Kilmer as a Model
Glen Powell appeared in the Top Gun sequel as Jake “Hangman” Seresin and the actor told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2024 that he wanted his role to be “reminiscent” of Kilmer’s Iceman.
When Kilmer crossed paths with Powell, the legend took notice.
“When we were leaving Miramar, I was moving out of my hotel room and I had one of those luggage carts — had already moved all my stuff out. The only thing on the luggage cart at the end was some weights, protein powder and tequila,” Powell said in August 2022. “I got caught in the elevator with Val. And he looked at the luggage cart and he took a picture of it. He was like, ‘That’s Top Gun right there! That was my Top Gun.’”
Remembering Kilmer
Danny Ramirez, who played Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia in Top Gun: Maverick, remembered his time with Kilmer in an April 2025 Instagram Story.
“In the brief time I spent with him on set, he was nothing but kind, joyous and playful. I felt lucky to be in the same room,” the actor wrote. “A brilliant and generous performer and one of the coolest to ever do it. Rest in peace, Val.”
