Top Gun stars now amid Val Kilmer's tragic death - break-ups, addiction and secret pain
Val Kilmer, who played heartthrob Iceman in Top Gun, has tragically died aged 65 from pneumonia. The movie shot its stars to worldwide fame, but many of them have had to deal with their own personal struggles too
It was the adrenaline-pumped action movie that turbocharged the careers of its entire cast, turning some like Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer into Hollywood heartthrobs. Fans who swooned over those hunky Top Gun aviators from their cinema seats will today be reflective after the news one of them, Val Kilmer, has died, aged just 65.
Val, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday in Los Angeles, played the cool-headed Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in the classic 1986 film. The role catapulted him to fame and he went on to star in some of the biggest movies of the 1980s and 90s, including his biggest role as Batman in 1995 blockbuster Batman Forever. For some of the other cast members, success in Hollywood has also come hand in hand with personal struggles and heartache. Here’s what happened to the original Top Gun gang...
Tom Cruise - Peter ‘Maverick’ Mitchell
Tom Cruise's portrayal of the rebellious, cocky fighter pilot Maverick turned him into one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, with an impressive string of hits, including Mission: Impossible franchise, Jerry Maguire, Rain Man and many more. And reprising his role in Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited sequel in 2022 which was widely praised, proved his star power was just as strong.
But the actor has also become known for his sometimes outlandish behaviour away from the movie screen. Perhaps the most notorious incident was his 2005 interview with Oprah Winfrey when he started manically jumping up and down on the talk show host’s furniture. And he has also faced personal struggles, including his high-profile divorce from actress Nicole Kidman in 2001, followed by his subsequent marriage to Katie Holmes, whom he divorced in 2012.
He is also known for performing his own stunts in films, which sometimes go wrong. One, in which Cruise jumped from one rooftop to another for Missing: Impossible Fallout, he broke his ankle in a grisly clip which has since gone viral.
Kelly McGillis - Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood
Kelly McGillis was the stunning blonde who won a legion of male admirers for her role as Tom Cruise’s love interest in Top Gun. The actress went on to star in films like The Accused and Made in Heaven, but she turned her back on Hollywood at the height of her fame, later admitting she had developed a serious addiction to drugs and alcohol. She blamed an incident in 1982 when she was sexually assaulted at knifepoint while studying acting in New York, which she said left her deeply psychologically scarred.
Disaster struck in 1996 when The Centurion, a 110-foot schooner valued at $1.5 million owned by McGillis and her then-husband, Fred Tillman, was destroyed by fire at a marina in Dania, Florida. In June 2016, she was left scratched and bruised when she fought off another attacker, a woman who had broken into her home.
In 2009 the actress came out as lesbian, saying she hid her sexuality after becoming convinced she was being ‘punished by God’ for being gay. The following year she entered into a civl partnership with Melanie Leis, and she now works full time with drug addicts and alcoholics at a rehab centre in New Jersey.
Anthony Edwards - Nick "Goose" Bradshaw
Anthony Edwards played Goose, Maverick’s loyal and tragic best friend, whose death in Top Gun remains one of the film’s most memorable and emotional moments. After Top Gun, Edwards enjoyed a successful career in television, most notably starring in the long-running medical drama ER as Dr. Mark Greene, a role that earned him multiple awards including a Golden Globe and four Emmy nominations.
But he was also hiding a secret pain. Aged 55, the actor wrote an essay on online publishing platform Medium in which he revealed that he was sexually abused between the ages of 12 and 14 by Hollywood producer Gary Goddard, who was his “mentor, teacher and friend”.
Anthony wrote: “Only after I was able to separate my experience, process it, and put it in its place could I accept this truth: My abuse may always be with me, but it does not own me.” Goddard — founder entertainment design company the Goddard Group — through a spokesman “unequivocally” denied the allegations in the past.
He took a leave from his own company in late November 2017 in the wake of him being accused by multiple child actors. Meanwhile Anthony has one son and three daughters with first wife Jeanine Lobell, and married actress Mare Winningham in 2021.
Tom Skerritt - Viper
Tom Skerritt had an extensive career in television and film before playing Viper, the wise and experienced Top Gun instructor, appearing in classics like MASH* and Alien. Now aged 91, he has appeared in more than 40 movies and 200 television shows in the last five decades.
But he has also experienced several failed marriages. The actor, who has five children from three relationships, is now married to third wife Julie Tokashiki.
Meg Ryan - Carol Bradshaw
Meg Ryan’s role as Goose’s wife, Carol, was relatively small in Top Gun, but it left a lasting impact. Ryan went on to become one of the most beloved rom-com stars of the late 1980s and 1990s, starring in hits like When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail. After a successful career in romantic comedies, Ryan shifted to more dramatic roles in the 2000s and directed her first film, Ithaca, in 2015.
But her squeaky clean image took a hit when it emerged that she'd cheated on her then-husband Dennis Quaid with Russell Crowe, who she met Russell on the set of the 2000 thriller Proof Of Life. The film's director Taylor Hackford blamed the relationship for the film being a flop at the box office.
Barry Tubb - Wolfman
Barry Tubb played Wolfman, one of Maverick’s fellow pilots, in Top Gun. His career continued after the film, co-starring in a Broadway production of Sweet Sue in which he appeared nude. But he later became disillusioned with Hollywood, moving to France to ride in a Wild West show and turning to independent filming.
Tubb, who didn’t return to Top Gun: Maverick, hit the news last year when he sued Paramount for using his image in the new film, when his face is seen in 1986 'class picture' from the original shown on a wall. He filed a lawsuit alleging that there was no mention of a sequel in his original contract, and they had no right to use his image. Tubb hasn’t acted in a decade and the last film he directed was in 2011.
Rick Rossovich - Slider
Rick Rossovich played Slider, one of Maverick’s fellow pilots, but his career after Top Gun didn’t achieve the same level of fame as some of his co-stars. He left Hollywood altogether in 2003, moving from Los Angeles to Ojai, California, where he and his wife had spent 18 months restoring a house in the early 1990s.
They then moved to Sweden, where they live today. He said in 2012: "I've had a really great marriage and kids. I've saved my money and invested. I can do what I want. I guess that's a blessing and a curse. It takes away some of your drive to go out and be a workaholic.”