"He Was Iceman:" Tom Cruise Discusses The Power Of Val Kilmer's Top Gun: Maverick Cameo 3 Years Later

Less than two months after Val Kilmer’s death, his Top Gun: Maverick co-star Tom Cruise has been effusive in praising the actor while talking to Sight and Sound magazine. The pair first played rival fighter pilots Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in the 1986 action movie Top Gun, before they returned for its 2022 sequel. In this second installment, Iceman has terminal throat cancer, which was a contributing factor to Kilmer’s death in real life. Cruise describes how the late actor still embodied his character despite being unable to speak, explaining, “He was Iceman.” (via Collider)