Top Gun turned Val Kilmer into a star, but the late actor wasn’t so sure about playing Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky. Right from the start of his career, Kilmer built a reputation for not being desperate. In the early ‘80s, he declined a role in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders because he had prior theater commitments. Many young actors would have jumped at the opportunity to work with the director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, but Kilmer valued the Broadway stage more than a movie set.
Kilmer was also multi-talented, so he wasn’t keen on trying himself in one particular area. He wrote poetry, sang, and engaged in advocacy activities. His first major role would eventually come in the spy comedy spoof, Top Secret!, in which he played an American rockstar. Kilmer reportedly sang all the songs in the movie and released an album under the character’s name, “Nick Rivers.” After that, he turned down a role in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet before being cast as the iconic naval aviator in Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise.
Iceman Is a Symbol of Discipline and Excellence in ‘Top Gun’
The ultra-lavish Top Gun has a lot going for it. It features great costumes and art design, bro-based banter and mind-blowing aerial sequences (majorly filmed using a Learjet), all wrapped around the tale of two resourceful, yet psychologically different pilots. The idea for the movie came about when director Jerry Bruckheimer read the article “Top Guns” by Ehud Yonay in the May 1983 issue of California Magazine. The piece featured aerial photography by Lieutenant Commander Charles “Heater” Heatley and detailed the lives of fighter pilots at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, known as “Fightertown USA”. Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. were then hired to write the script, before several actors were cast, including Val Kilmer.
In the movie, Kilmer’s character, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky is a highly skilled fighter pilot who is part of the U.S. Navy’s elite TOPGUN program. His icy calm demeanor whenever he is under pressure earns him the call sign “Iceman.” He seems destined to become the top graduate, but the presence of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise), a protocol-hating pilot, proves to be a major obstacle.
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Given the differences in personalities, Iceman and Maverick keep clashing. Iceman remains critical of Maverick’s reckless methods, insisting they endanger fellow pilots and put missions at risk of failing. His passionate, rational hatred towards Maverick projects a barely repressed sense of competitiveness that is normal in such fields.
Throughout the movie, Kilmer’s character remains a cauldron of suppressed emotion. Watching him in the Tony Scott movie, we glimpse the seal of a talented performer: not just acting, but reacting, so that all audience attention stays with him, even with charming Tom Cruise sharing the frame and enjoying the lion’s share of the dialogue, because he had top billing.
As the two compete for the TOPGUN trophy, Iceman continues playing by the rulebook while Maverick does things his way. The death of Maverick’s RIO, Goose, puts tremendous strain on the relationship between the two. They are thus set for a showdown. The overdone, ‘80s-style back-and-forth exchanges may be a bit overdone, but the director doesn’t skimp on the social, professional, and psychological commentary. Watch out for that famous ending — it’s one of Tony Scott’s cutest closers.
Val Kilmer Only Played Iceman Because of Studio Contract Obligations
Having honed his skills in theater, Val Kilmer only wanted to take serious drama roles early in his career. But for young inexperienced actors, Hollywood isn’t just a buffet where you pick and choose whatever you like. You have to be comfortable accepting any role, so long as it falls within the realms of decency. Still, Kilmer felt he ought to be the designer of his own career trajectory.
“I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me, not even one bit,” Kilmer admitted in his best-selling 2020 memoir I’m Your Huckleberry. The actor recalls how stubborn he was and frowns at the fact that his agent couldn’t leave him alone. He narrates: “He basically tortured me into at least meeting Tony Scott, saying he was one of the hottest directors in town.”
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Kilmer also tried to sabotage his audition. He confesses that he “showed up looking the fool” and wasn’t even dressed right, as he had “oversize gonky Australian shorts in nausea green.” And when it came the time to prove himself, he “read the lines indifferently.” To his surprise, he was told that he had the part. “I felt more deflated than inflated. I had to get out of there,” he states.
Kilmer sheds more light in his 2021 documentary Val, saying he felt the script by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. was “silly.” His principles also played a part in his reluctance. He admits to disliking warmongering, concluding that he might still have said no, but had to sign the papers to honor his contractual obligations with the studio.
‘Top Gun’ Wouldn’t Be the Same Without Val Kilmer
Top Gun is Tom Cruise, but the movie (and the franchise) wouldn’t be the same without Val Kilmer. According to the actor,mostly he added flesh to Iceman. He mentions that there was “very little” to the character, so he infused his backstory and dialogue.
“None of us knew at the time what a crazy commercial success the film would be. All of a sudden I was being catapulted into the celebrity stratosphere, and for the rest of my life I would be called Iceman by every pilot at every airport I went to.”
After seeing the reception, Kilmer came to appreciate his character more. In 2022, he told People that he couldn’t miss out on the chance of a sequel, and was thrilled when he was cast in Top Gun: Maverick, saying he felt like someone who had been reunited with a long-lost friend. “The characters never really go away. They live on in deep freeze. If you’ll pardon the pun,” he said about getting to play Iceman again.
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Tom Cruise, too, enjoyed working with Kilmer again. During a 2023 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he recalled that he was very emotional.
“I just want to say that was pretty emotional,” he recalled. “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.”
All said and done, it’s safe to say that Top Gun would be nothing without Val Kilmer. The first installment is, in no way, a perfect movie, but Kilmer’s acting and overall personality elevated it to great heights. At the time, cinema was full of Tom Cruise’s kind of character: a daredevil who pulled all kinds of stunts. Iceman, on the other hand, was calm and disciplined, but none of that would have been believable if Val Kilmer wasn’t this way in real life.
In the same way that the Batman actor didn’t rush to take any roles, Iceman is never frantic while on the job. His poise is incredible. It made audiences adore him. Iceman is a counterbalance to Maverick’s recklessness and an accurate representation of a military man. Despite feuding with Maverick, he remains a beloved figure in pop culture. How fitting that at the end of his illustrious career, Val Kilmer would return to the role of Iceman with such warmth and gusto.
