Watch Val Kilmer’s final film scene as he reunited with Tom Cruise in Top Gun… but was so ill his voice was cloned by AI
THIS is the moment Val Kilmer stars in his final ever film role after returning to the Top Gun franchise alongside Tom Cruise.
The Batman and Heat star passed away from pneumonia at the age of 65 on Tuesday after almost four decades in Hollywood.
Kilmer became a household name when he played fighter pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in Top Gun alongside Cruise in 1986.
Both actors played two of the best pilots in the Top Gun Navy programme in the film as the pair shared a competitive rivalry.
The Iceman was a straight-laced aviator who was an expert in his field and had perfectly developed his skills to make it to the top.
Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell was a pilot who risked it all every time and was known as a confident and cheeky aviator who wasn’t afraid to step on any toes.
It comes as…
- The Hollywood star died of pneumonia on Tuesday
- Tributes have poured in for the legend after his tragic death
- The actor’s haunting last post was revealed
- Inside Kilmer’s health battles with throat cancer
Thirty six years after their first roles in the action drama, both men returned to the Top Gun franchise in 2022.
Cruise played the titular role in the sequel Top Gun: Maverick as Kilmer reprised his role with a brief cameo.
He had to bravely fight to return to the big screen as the Iceman after almost a decade battling with serious health issues.
In 2014, he was diagnosed with throat cancer and left needing a voice box to speak.
Kilmer underwent major surgery including a tracheotomy which significantly impacted his speech but ultimately helped him defeat the disease.
In Top Gun: Maverick, Kilmer’s character stayed with the force and became the all-conquering commander of the US Pacific Fleet.
Opting not to shy away from his real-life health struggles, the film presented Iceman as facing a serious battle of his own with his condition said to be rapidly deteriorating.
In one of his only scenes, Kilmer’s character speaks with a returning Maverick by texting him via a computer monitor as he can’t speak anymore.
A final brave scene sees him manage to say a few raspy lines to an emotional Maverick which helps to inspire his famous fighter pilot compatriot.
The rousing speech was made possible due to a clever AI generated voice modelling system called Sonantic.
The voice synthesis company used hours of Kilmer’s speech from throughout his life and put them through a voice generating AI.
It then created a vocal clone of the actor which was used in the movie.
Kilmer’s death was tragically confirmed by his daughter Mercedes, 33, this morning who said he died surrounded by his family and friends.
Aside from Mercedes he is also survived by son Jack Kilmer, 29.
The acting star was married to both the children’s mum and fellow actress Joanne Whalley from 1988 until 1996 after the pair starred in the hit film Willow together.
A haunting final post on Kilmer’s Instagram also gave fans an insight into the charisma and humour the star still had despite his health issues.
He shared a series of videos, paintings and images of things to do with Batman back in February.
A short clip shows Kilmer talking to his fans before holding up a customised Batman mask.
He starts to put on the iconic piece of Hollywood history as he jokes: “It’s been a while.”
Inside Kilmer’s incredible career
The actor spent 38 years rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s biggest movie stars from Robert De Niro and Al Pacino to Robert Downey Jr and Tom Cruise.
He first appeared in slapstick comedy Top Secret! in 1984 before landing a role in Top Gun two year later as his career took off.
In 1988, he played the lead role in Willow alongside his former wife Joanne before starring in a string of 90s classics.
He played Jim Morrison in The Doors in 1991 before featuring in Quentin Tarantino’s second ever screenplay True Romance in 1993.
Kilmer arguably had the best year of his life in 1995 as he played the role of Bruce Wayne and Batman and starred in Heat alongside legendary duo Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.
Throughout the next 20 years, Kilmer started to play a range of role in musicals, TV shows and even doing voice overs for children’s movies.
These included Knight Rider, Planes and The Ten Commandments before his final brief role back in the Top Gun universe in 2022.
Inside Kilmer's health battles
BY Milad Sherzad, Sun News Reporter
VAL Kilmer was left using an electronic voice box and feeding tube after bravely battling throat cancer before his death aged 65.
The legendary actor began his battle in 2014 and later underwent chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery.
This tough fight forced him to step back from the Hollywood spotlight for a number of years.
After undergoing both radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the star underwent a tracheostomy in 2015 to help him breathe.
This procedure permanently damaged his vocal cords and left the iconic actor’s voice forever altered.
He was forced to use an electric voice box on the artificial hole in his throat in order to speak.
Kilmer would cover his neck in a scarf following the surgery to hide the device.
In a candid Amazon Prime documentary entitled Val, the Top Gun and Batman Forever star said: “I obviously am sounding much worse than I feel.
“I can’t speak without plugging this hole [in his throat].”
When asked what he missed most about his voice, Kilmer joked about how he “didn’t laugh like a pirate” before the surgery.
The actor also faced numerous other challenges, including having meals given to him through a feeding tube.
He said: “You have to make the choice to breathe or to eat. It’s an obstacle that is very present with whoever sees me.”
He had initially kept his cancer diagnosis secret before revealing his struggles in 2021.
He explained how he was unaware of his throat cancer until he coughed up “coagulated blood” one day and was rushed to hospital after passing out.
Tributes to an “icon”
Tributes have already started to pour in for Kilmer as fellow actor Josh Gad labelled him “an icon”.
On Instagram the voice of Frozen‘s Olaf said: “RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood.
“You truly were an icon.”
The official Top Gun X account also posted: “Remembering Val Kilmer, whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations. RIP Iceman.”
Goonies and Avengers star Josh Brolin also posted a touching tribute to his close friend alongside a snap of the pair smiling.
It read: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker.
“There’s not a lot left of those. I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there.
“Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”
Matthew Modine, star of Full Metal Jacket and Stranger Things, also took to X, as he penned: “RIP Val Kilmer. If it wasn’t for our chance encounter at the Source in 1985, I may never have been cast in FULL METAL JACKET. Thanks, Val.”
Filmmaker Michael Mann also shared a tribute.
Sharing his message with The Hollywood Reporter, he said: “While working with Val on Heat I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.
“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”