Val Kilmer has enjoyed a long and successful film career. He recently wrote the memoir I’m Your Huckleberry, opening up many behind the scenes moments to his fans. When he reflects upon his breakout role as Iceman in Top Gun, Kilmer goes into detail about his friendship with Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise was very focused on his acting career, while Kilmer was the life of the party. Thus a rivalry was born.
Val Kilmer’s memoir is an opportunity for the actor to reflect upon his career, and to share intimate details of his life with fans. Top Gun holds a special place in that career, because it was the springboard from which Kilmer was able to win lead roles such as Tombstone and Batman Forever. Kilmer reveals to fans that when he was a 26-year old fledgling actor on the set of Top Gun, he wasn’t much more than a glorified frat boy.
When he arrived at the set of Top Gun, Val Kilmer still had a lot of growing up to do. In excerpts of his memoir, published by The Daily Beast, Kilmer is very candid about his wild side. He admits, “We were the party boys. Every night we’d hit the San Diego nightlife.” One evening Kilmer and his co-stars had a run in with the police. Kilmer was pulled over for running a red light, and the officer was greeted by the smell of alcohol when he approached the car. He said to Kilmer, “It smells like a frat party in here.” Kilmer was the designated driver, so he was able to keep his cool. He simply replied, “Yes, officer. I’ll tell these bozo ruffians to shower.” The young actor actually managed to talk his way out of the ticket.
Although Kilmer had his party entourage, Tom Cruise was not interested in joining the frat boys. Cruise was laser focused on his career, so he distanced himself from Kilmer and the other wild co-stars. Kilmer described the dynamic: “Off set, the actors broke into two camps—mine and Tom’s, a reflection of the rivalry between our two characters.” Even though Tom Cruise had no interest in Kilmer’s after parties, the rivalry was all in good fun. It actually became a way for the two actors to stay in character.
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Yet Val Kilmer did manage to talk Tom Cruise into going along with at least one prank. Kilmer sent Cruise on a wild goose chase to find a gift. Kilmer describes the prank: “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.” Although Cruise did find the champagne, Kilmer noticed, “He never did thank me…” Cruise was not amused by Kilmer’s antics, but he was a good sport about it.
Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer have reunited to film the sequel Top Gun: Maverick. According to Entertainment Weekly, Cruise is in on the jokes this time around. Kilmer is under strict instructions not to reveal any details about the new film, but he did comment,”… in between takes, Tom and I just laughed like we were in high school.” So apparently the ice has thawed.
Top Gun was a career milestone for both Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise. Although the two actors were rivals on set, the separation was all in good fun. Val Kilmer may have been a party boy, but he still admired Tom Cruise’s dedication to put forth his best effort for the film. Perhaps Tom Cruise even inspired Val Kilmer to party a little less.