Val Kilmer has published himself a memoir full of anecdotes befitting a Hollywood legend, including tales of his romances, his battle with throat cancer, and the time he was "visited" by an angel (to learn more, read the book...or, there does happen to be a summary right here).
That book, titled I'm Your Huckleberry for reasons that would make sense if you've seen Tombstone, also contained an interesting bit of info that pertains to landing his breakout role as Iceman in Top Gun, and then reprising that same role more than 30 years later in the film's upcoming sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.
As it turns out, Kilmer originally wanted nothing to do with the part. He even tried to tank the audition after his agent pressured him into attending.
"I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me,” Kilmer recalled.
After talking about his agent compelling him to at least audition, he shared that he tried to sabotage himself. File this idea away for future job interviews, or what not to do at future job interviews. Depends on the position.
“I showed up looking the fool, or the goon. I wore oversize gonky Australian shorts in nausea green," he wrote. "I read the lines indifferently. And yet, amazingly, I was told I had the part. I felt more deflated than inflated.”
Suffice to say that deflated feeling probably didn't last, especially when he was propelled to superstardom. Now, 34 years later (a.k.a. the perfect time to run a sequel), Kilmer has revealed that he begged to be a part of 2020's Top Gun: Maverick. Oh how the tables can turn.
Kilmer said that the idea for him to return was well-received. "[A]s the Temptations sang in the heyday of Motown soul, ‘ain’t too proud to beg,’” Kilmer wrote. “The producers went for it. Cruise went for it. Cruise couldn’t have been cooler. … Tom and I took up where we left off. The reunion felt great.”
He further revealed that he's sworn to secrecy when it comes to plot details. That's fine because it's not that far a—oh wait, it'll be awhile. At the moment the sequel is slated for Dec. 23, 2020. Stress "at the moment." For what it's worth, you probably didn't see it in theaters, but you've still waited X amount of years since you saw the first one. In relative terms it's not super far off.
In the meantime, here's a trailer, a link to Kilmer's book, and a profile from Men's Healththat intentionally coincides with the book's release, should you be interested:
