Hollywood star Val Kilmer at first did not want to play the role of Iceman in Top Gun. The 65-year-old American actor died on Tuesday from pneumonia, his daughter Mercedes Kilmer has confirmed to the New York Times newspaper. Val, who rose to fame alongside Tom Cruise as his wingman in the classic 1986 blockbuster, originally didn't want to take on the iconic role. He made his movie debut in 1984 spy spoof Top Secret! but was also best known for his portrayal of the late rocker Jim Morrison in 1991 biopic The Doors.
Val's last credited movie appearance was in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick, where he reprised his role as Iceman and briefly reunited with fellow co-star Tom Cruise.
However, his appearance as the hotshot pilot in the original film almost didn't happen. According to TIME Magazine, Kilmer was courted by director Tony Scott for the role but initially hesitated. He wrote in his memoir, "I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me."
Kilmer also felt that the character Ice Man was "one-dimensional" and added, "I felt the script was silly and disliked warmongering in film, but I was under contract with the studio, so I didn’t really have a choice."
Val also constructed a backstory to add further tension between him and Cruise during filming: Iceman was passionately driven for perfection, as he was ignored by his father growing up. He went out to raise the temperature to add depth to their on-screen rivalry, but in real life, he did get along well with Tom.
Val was born in Los Angeles in 1959 and his younger years were blighted by the death of his younger brother Wesley, who drowned in a swimming pool at the age of 15 in 1977.
After years of speculation about his health, the star confirmed in December 2017 that he had been battling throat cancer and had undergone a procedure that left him short of breath and raspy-voiced.
He wrote on Facebook at the time: “I have not had a tumor, or a tumor operations, or any operation I had a complication where the best way to receive care was to stay under the watchful eye of the UCLA ICU. I am praying for a speedy return to the boards as they say. God bless you all and please don’t worry." [sic]
