'Top Gun: Maverick': How Val Kilmer 'Begged' To Join Cast

“Top Gun: Maverick” is bringing back the original antagonist Iceman (Val Kilmer). However, the character wasn’t part of the original story for the film. Kilmer has revealed that he had to “beg” in order to get a chance to reprise his role.

Kilmer is currently promoting his memoir “I’m Your Huckleberry.” An excerpt of the book posted on ComicBook reveals how the actor got a role in the highly anticipated sequel to the hit 1986 movie “Top Gun.”

In order to reprise his role as Iceman, Kilmer had to beg the producers and the lead cast member Tom Cruise, who will be back as Maverick in the upcoming film.

“Cruise couldn't have been cooler,” Kilmer wrote in his book and added that he and his co-star were able to reconnect and the reunion apparently “felt great.”

Kilmer contrasted his approach to being cast in the sequel to the one for the first film. The actor apparently didn’t like the story in the first “Top Gun” movie, and he tried to sabotage his chances during the audition. Despite his “oversize gonky Australian shorts in nausea green” and him reading the lines “indifferently” during the auditions back then, he got the job.

Filming the first film was also an interesting experience for Kilmer. While he and a few others went out to party every night, Cruise remained “laser-focussed” on learning his lines, perfecting his stunts, and working late into the night in order to become “the greatest action hero in the history of film,” ET Online reported. The Iceman star expressed his admiration for Cruise for not only his dedication, but also for managing to achieve what he set out to do all those years ago.

Cruise’s fans can expect yet another action-packed ride in the upcoming film. Maverick will be back in flight school in order to train the next generation of hotshot pilots to dogfight. Preview stills of the film that were released on Entertainment Weekly, teased the pilots and their fighter jets.

“Top Gun: Maverick” is scheduled to be released on Dec. 23. It remains to be seen if there will be a change in the date because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.