The iconic character of Tom “Iceman” Kazansky returned alongside his former frenemy, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, on the silver screen’s gigantically successful nostalgia sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Having overcome numerous delays over the subsequent decades since the first film’s release, Maverick finally flew into theaters in 2022 and surprisingly found itself nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Picture. Honestly, the emotional payoff regarding Val Kilmer’s return as Iceman was a big reason why.
Any fan who has seen Top Gun: Maverick knows that while Iceman appears on screen interacting with Maverick in one of the film’s most pivotal moments, he has noticeably little dialogue. Unfortunately, the reasons for this extend out into the real world, where star Val Kilmer has struggled with the very same illness as his Top Gun flight school counterpart. Thankfully, Kilmer’s real-life story has a happier ending than Iceman’s, and we’re about to explore both as we examine the reasons Iceman doesn’t speak in Top Gun: Maverick.
What is the Real Life Story Behind Val Kilmer’s Illness?
A Sudden Illness Redefined the Career of One of Hollywood’s Best
In January 2015, Val Kilmer entered the hospital for what, at the time, his management had said were tests for a possible tumor. Kilmer later denied this report, but his health continued to decline, and in 2017, he pulled back the curtain, informing the world that he had survived a bout with throat cancer. At the end of that year, The Hollywood Reporter dug further into the story, discovering that Kilmer’s two-year battle with throat cancer had resulted in a procedure that destroyed his trachea, reducing his voice to a whisper and making it difficult for the actor to breathe.
In order to speak, Val Kilmer had an electric voice box inserted into his trachea, and, as he later revealed in his documentary Val, he can no longer talk unless he plugs the hole in his neck that is now permanently a part of him following a series of tracheotomies. Even more heartbreaking is the fact that the damage to his mouth and throat is so extensive that Kilmer can no longer eat unless he is fed through a feeding tube. And yet, none of these difficulties prevented the man from continuing to act, including reprising his beloved role as Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick. Accepting the role did, however, come with a few additional difficulties that Kilmer and the film’s production staff had to solve. At the top of that list was figuring out how to reunite the actor with his voice.
How Has Val Kilmer Used A.I. to Voice His Recent Performances?
His Determination Has Proven to be Equally Crucial as the Technology
For the most part, Val Kilmer uses a computer program to speak for him as Iceman during his conversation with Maverick in the midst of his memorable return in Top Gun: Maverick. He does, however, use his voice to utter one memorable line, which we will explore the contents of a little more in-depth in a moment. First, let’s figure out how Val Kilmer was able to use his voice during this scene.
In 2021, Val Kilmer partnered with Sonantic, a voice synthesis company, to feed hours of his archival performances through A.I. programming to generate a voice model that cloned the actor’s original voice. This process is known as the “text-to-speech” approach, and providing hundreds of hours of vocal performances essentially trained the model to duplicate the actor’s voice. Unfortunately, however, the recordings Kilmer provided to Sonantic weren’t enough to generate an accurate model, forcing the company to develop more than 40 different voices and select the best, highest-quality one for Kilmer to use.
While Kilmer used the voice that Sonantic developed for him in some of his on-screen performances, Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski later revealed that the actor had not used his A.I. technology to voice his one on-screen line. For that, Kosinski says, Kilmer remarkably used his actual voice, which was then later cleaned up digitally for clarity.
How Does Top Gun: Maverick Reference Val Kilmer’s Illness to Move the Story Forward?
By Drawing True-to-Life Parallels Between the Character and Actor
When audiences first met Tom Cruise’s Maverick and Val Kilmer’s Iceman in the original Top Gun, these two men were butting heads to prove themselves to be the best pilots in their Top Gun class. From that, their relationship grew into one of mutual respect as both men proved that they were nearly equals when it came to the need for speed. In the subsequent years between the original film and the eventual sequel, the bond these two men developed continued to evolve as Iceman rose up the Navy’s ranks and Maverick more or less just stayed put, being unable to shake his insubordinate nature.
In Top Gun: Maverick, the United States Navy disciplines everyone’s favorite fighter pilot after Maverick pilots the experimental Darkstar jet without receiving the proper permission. The only way to save Maverick’s career is for Iceman to assign him back to the Top Gun Academy. From there, it’s up to Maverick to train a new crop of fighter pilots to take out a heavily fortified enemy bunker, one of whom is Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s deceased partner, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards). When Maverick hesitates to put Rooster in harm’s way, he has a meeting with his former rival turned close friend, Iceman, that changes everything.
When invited to Iceman’s home for a one-on-one conversation, Maverick confides in his friend, admitting to his hesitation regarding Rooster. Maverick still feels immensely guilty about the role he played in Goose’s death, however unintentional, and he is terrified at the prospect of leading Rooster to his death as well. After listening to his friend voice his concerns and, occasionally interjecting with text voiced through a computer program, Iceman (and Val Kilmer by proxy) musters up the strength to say the words that Maverick needs to hear:
“The Navy needs Maverick. The kid needs Maverick. That’s why I fought for you. That’s why you’re still here.”
Of course, with these two being as competitive as they always have been, there’s a little good-natured ribbing in regard to whom the better pilot is as well. Shortly after that, Iceman passes away, but this unexpected moment provides Maverick with the motivation he needs to commit himself to his next course of action. When another training incident results in Maverick being stripped of his command of the class, he takes it upon himself to prove his friend’s last words are true and that he can pilot the upcoming mission better than anyone, being (reluctantly) selected as the squad’s leader. From that position, Maverick is able to not only complete the mission but also save Rooster’s life when complications arise.
It was Iceman’s faith in Maverick’s abilities (when he had none in himself) that saved the day and ultimately proved to be the boon Maverick needed to hear in order to accomplish his goals. This narrative intent is made all the more emotionally affecting by knowing that actor Val Kilmer was going through a similar life-threatening illness. The fact that it meant so much to Val Kilmer to use his authentic voice during this performance, even if it was for little more than one line, added layers to the scene’s meaning and turned it into one of Hollywood’s most celebrated moments in recent summer tentpole movie history. Simply put, Top Gun: Maverick wouldn’t have been the same without him.