Val Kilmer improvised one of Top Gun's best lines. Playing Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, it's clear from the get-go that he would be the prime rival of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) at TOPGUN. Throughout the Tony Scott-directed flick, the pair would get into various contests of sorts. But although the competition was intense between them, it never became personal. Instead, both just wanted to excel and be the top pilot trainee in their batch.
Releasing in 1986, Top Gun catapulted Cruise to mainstream popularity and paved the way for greater success. The movie became a box office success for Paramount - earning $356 million against a production budget of only $15 million. It has also become a cult favorite, with enduring popularity as it continues to be regularly referenced in contemporary times. Aside from Top Gun’s memorable soundtrack and thrilling aerial action sequences, the blockbuster also has one of some of the most quotable pieces of dialog. This helps it stay at the forefront of pop culture conversation. But as it turns out, one of its most memorable lines was not in the script.
During the first proper lesson of the new TOPGUN recruits with civilian instructor, Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis), Maverick claimed that he had seen a MiG-28 do a four-g negative dive. After some back-and-forth, Maverick revealed that the only way he witnessed this was after he flew above him, inverted. It was the cocky lieutenant's way of wooing his teacher. But while they were having a moment, Iceman suddenly made a coughing sound and subtly said "bullsh*t" — calling out Maverick's bragging. This caused some of their co-pilots to break into chuckles breaking up the flirtatious tension between Charlie and Maverick. Apparently, this moment was not in the Top Gun script, instead, it was Kilmer who came up with his character's subtle dig. The reaction from the rest of the cast and the extras was genuine and made the whole scene much better so it was kept in the film.
While both are gifted pilots, Iceman and Maverick had very different flying approaches. Iceman wasn't a fan of Maverick being a daredevil. He didn't particularly like that Maverick had the tendency to break off protocol and abandon the team by pursuing his personal objective. In Iceman's eyes, it's dangerous to fly with his rival because of Maverick’s Tony Stark-like penchant for recklessness. That being said, the ribbing between the pair throughout Top Gun was more playful than vile. Both were simply committed to making sure that they make it to the top of their class, and given their varying styles, it made sense that they were skeptical of each other. When Maverick got into a rough patch after the accidental death of his RIO, Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), Iceman laid low with his snide comments. In the end, they eventually became allies after teaming up during Top Gun's final crisis.
Kilmer is returning in Top Gun: Maverick as he reunites with Maverick on the big screen more than three decades since the events of Top Gun. It's unclear what Iceman's role will be in the upcoming Joseph Kosinski-directed flick as marketing has purposefully kept him hidden. Nonetheless, the fact that he's back must mean that he somehow factors into the story since not all characters from the original film will be in the follow-up.
