By Kelly Wynne
Culture Writer
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Val Kilmer is known for a lot of things, but most people seem to associate him with the 1986 military film Top Gun. It's a huge part of his career history—which boasts other film escapades like Tombstone, Willow and Batman Forever—so naturally, it's a part of his new book I'm Your Huckleberry.
There's an essay in the book (which you can read online right now at The Daily Beast) that dives into what really happened on the set of Top Gun. It begins with a huge revelation: Kilmer didn't care at all about the film and didn't even want to be there.
It's a shocking thing to read, considering the huge success and nostalgia Top Gun would go on to receive. (I mean...is there anyone who doesn't tense up hearing "Take My Breath Away" now?) But there's a list of super interesting, funny and concerning admissions from Kilmer that we just had to outline for you here.
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Kilmer was dragged to audition by his agent
Kilmer had no interest in auditioning for—or participating in—Top Gun. He only showed up because his agent said he "could never afford to not meet with as many [hot Hollywood directors] as possible."
He got the part immediately, and he was pissed. Kilmer didn't want the role, and according to his essay he "had to get out of there" after feeling "deflated" after his receipt of the part.
He quoted the director, Tony Scott, who could obviously see his disappointment. If this quote is real, it may be the best foreshadowing of all time. "I know that the script is insufficient, but it will get better, Val. Wait until you see these jets," Scott said. "They take your breath away."
Scott was SUPER passionate
Kilmer describes the director like a child in utter wonder at the set and concept of Top Gun. Immediately after he was given the part, Scott endorsed the film by making plane noises, Kilmer said, in a hallway full of people.
Onset, though, he described the clear passion Scott had for the project. "Tony loved the process, loved the energy of the set, loved the characters. Everything was fuel to Tony," Kilmer wrote. "Every time a jet took off, Tony swooned. I threw lines away. He would jump for joy."
Kilmer led the "The Party Boys"
Off the clock, Kilmer and his colleagues went wild. Once, he was driving at a four-way intersection—all lights red—with some very drunk colleagues (don't worry: it appears Kilmer was the designated driver). He pulled into the center of the intersection and drove in a perfect circle, "burning rubber" as he called it, and met a cop car at the end.
Kilmer used his actor privilege and said they were late for filming a cool movie called Top Gun down the street. The cop apparently knew of the film and had enough respect for it to let them go without a ticket.
Tom Cruise (the lead, Maverick) never participated in the partying, as he just wanted to be a good actor, Kilmer claimed.
Cruise got pranked
Cruise didn't escape all of the fun from Kilmer's camp, though. I'll let Kilmer tell the story because no one else's telling could do it justice.
"My favorite moment between us was a small prank in which I gave him an extremely expensive bottle of champagne but placed it in the middle of a giant field and made him follow scavenger-hunt-style clues to find it," he wrote. "I hid behind a bleacher and watched him lug the giant crate to his motorcycle. He never did thank me for the Iceman-style bit. I thought it would break the ice, but I guess the ice was just right."
Wait! Kilmer loves this movie now!
In filming, and after, Kilmer began to love Top Gun and truly enjoy the process. "All in all, the movie was both a blast and an education," he wrote.
Later in the essay, he revealed within the first five minutes of the completed film, he knew it would be a hit. He also claimed by the end of filming, he'd become the actor most dedicated to the mission of the movie.
Kilmer learned how to fly the jets
Through the film, Kilmer actually learned the working mechanics of the jets on set. Of course, he wasn't actually flying during filming, but he was able to get up in the air and learn the ropes to make his part more realistic. In his essay, Kilmer bragged that he was the only cast member who didn't throw up due to the wild flying experience.
Yeah, Iceman was a jerk, but Kilmer saw him as more
Sure, Kilmer played the bully in Top Gun, but he questioned what made Iceman that way. In true actor fashion, he fought to get to the center of his character instead of just seeing him for the "arrogant jerk" he was.
He had a true breakthrough. "I became so obsessed that at one point in my trailer I actually saw—the way Macbeth saw the ghost of Banquo—Iceman's father, the man (my imagination told me) who had ignored his son to the point where his son was driven to prove himself as the absolute ideal man," he explained.
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